In South Carolina a man accused of breeding, training and selling dogs for illegal fighting was sentenced to thirty years in a cage of his own. Two days into his trial, David Tant changed his plea to guilty as the overwhelming mountain of evidence that the prosecution had assembled made it clear that he would almost certainly be convicted of charges carrying over 200 years of prison time.

The whole operation might have gone undetected were it not for a chance encounter with a railroad surveyor. Steve Baker, a surveyor doing some routine work for his employer, ventured into the woods surrounding David Tant’s property. Suddenly there was the sound of a gunshot, and pellets sprayed his body. Tant had placed bobby trap devices utilizing shotgun shells in the woods to ward off unwanted visitors. To the casually stupid criminal mind, this must have seemed like a good idea. It probably never occurred to him that anyone injured by one of these things would notify the police.

Baker’s injuries were painful but not life threatening, and he went to an emergency room for treatment and contacted the authorities, who soon discovered what was going on. Tant claimed that he was just a dog lover who raised pit bulls as a hobby, but the amount of training equipment found on the premises – treadmills, cattle prods, heavy chains and fighting pits – convinced the police that it was more than that.

A search warrant was obtained and more evidence was discovered, including video tape of training sessions and actual dog fights. Tant kept sales records, and also made it a practice to record telephone conversations with customers and potential customers, even complaints from customers who were unhappy that the dog they purchased didn’t win. All of which proved helpful in court.

As the jury sat watching videos of dog fights, some with a look of shock and disgust, others with tears streaming down their faces, it became obvious that David Tant was going away for a very long time. So they cut a deal, one that may allow Tant to live outside the walls of a prison in this lifetime.

The sad thing is that this case might never have gone to trial, and if it had, the penalty likely would have been much less severe had it not been for the booby trap devices. The thought that it might have been a kid or a person walking a dog who was injured got the public’s attention. Laws against dog fighting are not taken seriously in much of the rural south, and it is shrugged off, much like moonshining. Sure it’s against the law, and you might not have a still in your back yard, but you probably know someone who does. Until attitudes toward dog fighting change in rural areas, the laws against it don’t mean much.