Three arrested in dogfighting bust

By Anna Koeppel

Published Oct. 23, 2007

Officials in rural Stoddard County in Southeast Missouri seized 26 dogs and arrested three people suspected of running an illegal dogfighting operation after the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department received a tip, a news release from the Humane Society of Missouri stated.

Stoddard County Sheriff's Department officers arrested Jamie Sifford, 29, of rural Stoddard County, Mo.; Jessey Short, 30, of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; and Curtis Pickering, 28, of South Fulton, Tenn.; early Sunday morning, a news release from the sheriff's department stated. A team of six animal-abuse investigators from the Humane Society of Missouri accompanied the officers to the property outside Dexter the news release from the society stated.

The department news release stated that the department conducted surveillance on the property after receiving the tip and then obtained a warrant.

One beagle and 25 pit bulls appeared to have new and old wounds consistent with dogfighting, a news release from the society stated.

The dogs were taken to Humane Society of Missouri headquarters in St. Louis City, where they will stay in the custody of the Humane Society of Missouri as long as law enforcement officials deem necessary, the news release stated. The Humane Society of Missouri is evaluating the dogs for trauma and injuries, and is treating them.

Officers also seized equipment and medical supplies associated with dogfighting and training, as well as a quantity of controlled substances, a news release from the sheriff's department stated.

"We are very pleased that the Stoddard County Sheriff's department pursued this case so diligently," Tim Rickey, Humane Society of Missouri Director of Rescues and Investigations, said in the news release. "Dog fighting is a felony in Missouri. The animals in these situations suffer horribly."

Representatives from the Humane Society of Missouri and the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department could not be reached for comment.

Bond was set for Pickering and Short at $125,000, and no bond has been set for Sifford, the news release from the sheriff's department stated.

Further charges, including charges of animal abuse, are pending.