Posted on 03/12/2005 1:20:26 PM PST by kanawa
Boudreaux and his son Guy had been under investigation by state police since January. The streaming video shows aerial surveillance footage of the Boudreaux property in Broussard.
It was shot by Customs agents with the Department of Homeland Security.
The Boudreaux's had come under the gaze of Customs because of their international sales of pit-bull terriers.
The Boudreauxs were arrested today at their south Lafayette parish home. 2 1/2 months of investigation ended today at this home behind me when investigators made their move.
Investigators say 70 year-old Floyd Boudreaux is one of the most notorious dog breeders in Louisiana who raises his pit bull dogs to fight, then sells them off.
This morning, state police working with local and national Humane Societies and federal agencies served a warrant and arrested Floyd and his son Guy Boudreaux.
John Goodwin, Humane Society of the United States:
"Floyd Boudreaux is the fighting-dog Don. He's been breeding dogs for fighting purposes for 50 years. Some of his dogs are the foundation of some of the most prominent fighting lines in existence today."
At Boudreaux's home police found 68 pit bulls and 40 chickens and roosters. Many of the dogs had scars and bruises.
Laura Maloney, Society for the Prev. of Cruelty to Animals:
"This is a historical case. If we get him, it will send ripples through the dog-fighting community and nationwide."
Some people living in this Broussard neighborhood are outraged about the alleged dog abuse.
Jess Spiehler, Broussard Resident:
"I guess what bothers me the most is that they're on a 3 foot chains. Big, heavy chains. They spend their life under a chicken coop on a chain. That is not a life......that's horrible."
Boudreaux and his son were charged with 64 counts each of dog-fighting and animal cruelty. They're also facing charges for allegedly using steroids on the animals.
I hope that [expletive deleted] rots in jail until he dies there.
What is really sad is that any of the dogs that were found there, most likley will be put down.
They should have their pockets stuffed with steaks and then be locked in a room full of hungry pit bulls.
Who Let The Dogs Out?
I hope they make the charges stick.
I think he should be left in a cage with a few of his dogs and see whats left after a few days.
Godfather Ping
Glad he was busted ... hang him high.
But what was the Dept of Homeland Security involved for? Was the aerial surveillance considered "training"?
Well, you know, start a federal police force, and sooner or later it's going to expand its portfolio...
My sediment exactly - While I'm completely glad an animal abuser like this is locked up the idea of Homeland Security being involved is simply nonsense.
This is exactly why those preaching about our liberties being abused via Homeland Security (and the Patriot Act) have reason for concern.
"I guess what bothers me the most is that they're on a 3 foot chains. Big, heavy chains. They spend their life under a chicken coop on a chain. That is not a life......that's horrible."
Agreed. What's not mentioned here is the Humane Society's being infiltrated by PETA....
~snip~
The animals - most found in healthy condition - will probably be euthanized, said Laura Maloney, director of the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The New Orleans-based nonprofit was helping in the dog removal.
Maloney said the dogs could be too dangerous to place in homes.
"These dogs are bred specifically for aggression," she said.
The dogs were on heavy chains in a large fenced lot next to Broussard's home.
Maloney said investigators also found dog fighting "paraphernalia" in the home, including dogfighting magazines, videos of fights and treadmills she said were used in training to help build strength in the animals.
Floyd Broussard lived in a wood-frame house on the property; his son lived in a trailer behind the house, according to police. The family has lived on the property for more than 25 years, neighbors said.
Williams said the father and son are accused of breeding, raising, training and selling dogs for the purpose of dog fighting, which is illegal in all 50 states.
Shane Vincent, who was raised next door and whose parents still live there, said he used to go to "dog pulls" with Guy Boudreaux -contests of dog strength - and knew that Floyd Boudreaux was "famous" for one of the pit bull bloodlines he developed.
But Vincent was surprised to hear about the arrests.
"I never knew him to fight any dogs," Vincent said.
Byron Girouard lives on Rue D'Or, down the street from the Boudreaux home.
"I've known them since I was 5 years old, and I've never heard them talk about fighting dogs," he said. "... Their daughter is my best friend. It's crazy. I heard they had the FBI in there."
Girouard said that the Boudreaux family is well-known in the area and "treated me like a son. If I needed help with anything, they're the ones I know would help."
A search on the Internet turns up several references to Floyd Boudreaux and his pit bulls, including references to him on the Web site for the American Dog Breeders Association.
According to information from the Humane Society, he is known for the "Eli" bloodline of dogs, considered a top choice for dog fighters.
The lineage dates back more than 50 years and Boudreaux's dogs sometimes fetch more than $10,000, according to the Humane Society.
"This man's dogs are sold internationally," Goodwin said.
An Internet Web site that lists contact information for Floyd and Guy Boudreaux offers "Eli" dogs and states that "owning a Boudreaux dog is like owning a piece of history."
The Web site includes a disclaimer that, "No dogs intended or sold for any illegal purposes."
Floyd and Guy Boudreaux each face 64 counts of animal cruelty, 64 counts of dog fighting and one count of possession of steroids.
Williams said Floyd Boudreaux also faces a firearms charge for a sawed-off shotgun allegedly found in his home.
The father and son could face up to 10 years per count on the dog fighting and cruelty charges.
They were being held in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center on $101,500 bond each.
As horrid as this sport sounds to some, a dog trained to be dog aggressive is rarely human aggressive.
As horrid as this sport sounds to some, a dog trained to be dog aggressive is rarely human aggressive.Unless of course, that human is walking his non-ferocious dog.
I cant stand the breed personally - but it looks like theyre in a veal pen - big deal - Id also like to know what Homeland Sec has to do with dog fighting - or is it just the fact the laws - particularly privacy laws are for the most part waived for them
Any thing that enjoys watching animals fight is sick. I can't even watch the Discovery channel when they have those survival in the wild shows. but at least that is nature. What these a -holes are doing is beyond contempt
Are you serious! That is just wrong.
I think a lot of the dog fighting stories are BS.
PETA types would like to kill off the APBT "breed".
They are great dogs and far more friendly to people then most of the purebreed show dogs I come across.
I live in a (very) rural area of Georgia. Several years ago, my wife and I found a flea-infested, month-old pup at our back door. After taking care of the fleas, we decided to keep the pup, not knowing what breed she was. Good feed and a little TLC worked wonders. When the dog approached sexual maturity, we took her to the vet for spaying. The vet told us she looked like "pure" pit bull. And a healthy, well-muscled specimen she was.
Nicer dog you couldn't ask for. Independent, yes. She was not underfoot or "in the way". Very protective of family members, indifferent toward others. Only dog I've ever seen who would smile with her mouth, while waggling her whole body. But then, she would only smile at my wife, never at me or at others.
Your dog reminds me of my neighbor's dog. Only he's a bull terrier mix. I was worried about him being around my children until I realized he was even scared of our little cat. I feel bad for him. He's so skittish and acts like he's always in trouble. When he is in trouble, his owners might give him a tap on his rear, but not hard.
Good catch. If the details in this story are accurate as reported, the perps deserve what they get. The fact that HSUS is involved, though, immediately activates the ol' skepticism transducer. It may just be that the reporter called them for a quote, or...?
FWIW, I try to stay out of the breed wars. One of the nicest dogs I ever knew was a pit bull mix...and the meanest was a mini-schnauzer who was smaller than a cat. (And one of the nicest dogs I ever knew was also a mini-schnauzer; thus, my breed-agnosticism.)
Of course she won't. Most animal control offices will and should not take on the liability of adopting out any pit bull, let alone ones taken from dog fighters.
Heaven help me, I would be thrilled to see every human who participates it this sort of thing removed from society forever.
"Goose is dead, I almost got kicked out of Miramar, Iceman just keeps coming at me, plus I'm bangin' the intelligence officer. It ain't easy being Maverick!"
Oh, "that" kind of dogfighting....nevermind.
I'm sorry... I'm just of the opinion that some dogs have been bred for jobs that are both cruel and carry traits not best suited in modern society. To promote the breed is to promote the further suffering of the animals created and tortured by jerks like this one.
It is because of my pity for the dogs, the losers, winners and victims of dog fighting, that I want to see the breeds most victimized by it become extinct.
Tell that to the horse ; ~ )
This has nothing to do with PETA you schmuck...
Since it was state police and homeland security investigating the guy, and he was apparently well known, the locals must have been paid off or did not care. It's not like he operated in secret. In the county I grew up in, everyone knew who participated in cockfighting.
Don't you think those into the "sport" will just find another breed?
I do.
THE DOGS ARE DEAD
Hello Cherie,
According to state law, fighting dogs are considered contraband and
can be destroyed immediately.
We cannot legally place any dogs into foster homes that are involved
in a court case.
We have high regard for APBTs. They're fabulous dogs, but we cannot
release dogs into the community that are bred for animal aggression.
The evidence against Mr. Boudreaux is exceptionally strong, hence,
the dogs were euthanized.
Laura Maloney
Executive Director
Louisiana SPCA
Well there it is, no testing, immediate extermination.
How anyone with a regard for dogs can countenance this is beyond me.
Excellent idea!
Carolyn
Never been too fond of dogfighting even though I have never been to one, I've heard enough about them.
I have enjoyed bull and cockfighting.....not against each other.
I am not in favor of killing humans for being cruel to animals though. I guess I'm hard.
The article speaks of events in the 60's.
I haven't seen anyone denying that this fellow, decades ago, was involved in dog-fighting.
The question is whether he is still involved.
FWIW
I received this and have permission to cross post.....
Floyd has NOT been involved in sporting dogs for ALOT of years!!! He, his wife and his son look after the dogs along with various "yard boys". It should VERY obvious to anyone with eyes that these dogs were not on 3 ft chains and I thank Leisa for correcting it to the 12 ft rigs they are really on.Floyd is a prominent name in the breed...has been for 50 yrs! His bloodlines go back and back and back as some of the top sporting dogs in the breed. His reputation was built on the history of the APBT and the history was helped along by Floyd. There's not many of the oldtimers left alive, let alone still producing some of the best now show dogs the ADBA has to offer!! The slightly experienced eye can pick out a Boudreaux dog at a show.
Those that know Floyd, respect him and his family for the work that he puts into the overall care of his dogs. From speaking to people and close friends of his that have spent days there, they know it's clean, free of parasites (which is tough with mulitples and southern climate) and the dogs are healthy. Floyd himself has donated signed pictures of himself with various dogs to my club to help us raise money...in fact, Dave was just getting ready to get us some more!
There is so much more to this story that is just not worth taking up list space with. There's about 5 yrs of history behind this assault on Floyd and none of it has to do directly with Floyd!
Trust me this "person" was involved in dog fighting. It is a big thing with a lot of the cajuns. I live a few minutes from one of the largest cock fighting arenas. I don't understand the mindset of people who enjoy this "sport".
They do not adopt out aggressive breeds here.
Trust is nice, facts are better.
What's the basis for your assertion?
Maybe this guy is guilty as sin.
But I'd like to see some hard facts.
Um, living in this area for all of my life. The people know who's involved it's not a big secret. The cock fighters have their roosters out in plain sight. People talk about it all the time. Same with the dog fights. The die hards think it's their right to continue on with the tradition as part of the Cajun culture. It's been discussed at city councils off and on for years and years. This is one tradition I hope goes away. Let them get their jollies some other way.
I do agree its a terrible shame that all the dogs were simply authanized without the fellow even having a chance to clear himself.
These two "people" deserve to be executed. Those poor dogs. What an abomination.
Those guys are somethin' else. 'proven', '6x winner' and so on. I've browsed around the root site that led to that forum, if you dig deep enough, you can find dog fighting rules, and first aid instruction for bleeding and injured dogs. I'm quite certain they have a private part of that forum where they really talk.
Very sophisticated, and all over the world. These dogs aren't just the back alley produce of gang members... they are being actively bred and fought by people who take it very seriously.
I am not naive enough to think they can be eliminated. It's just wishful thinking.
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