Eleven pit bulls were rescued Friday afternoon from a home in North Philadelphia where they were living in "ridiculously unsanitary" conditions, according to George Bengal with the Pennsylvania SPCA.
Bengal said they'd been watching the house, undercover, for some time because they suspected it was a staging area for dog fights.
"There's training equipment in here. We did not find a [dog-fighting] ring but I mean we know, based on other evidence that we found that this is both a breeding and a fighting operation," Bengal said outside the home in the 2200 block of West Lehigh Street.
According to Bengal, the home is rented out to several people. Police took one man into custody who they found in one of the rooms with a pit bull puppy. Bengal says that man will be cited for unsanitary conditions. But they're more interested in finding a second man who they believe is the owner of the other ten dogs. Bengal says that man could face felony charges.
According to the PSPCA, a treadmill and injectable drugs typically used in dog-fighting were found inside the home.
Police also found nearly 60 bicycles from two rooms in the basement.
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The bikes were taken away from the home because police say they could be stolen property, according to the PSPCA.
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