Tonight I asked the head of the CNYSPCA whether he knew about a new game app called Dog Wars available for Droid based smartphones. Paul Morgan had not yet heard of it, but he quickly added he wasn’t surprised that someone would create such a game.  Paul has repeatedly seen first hand the results of dog fighting in our Syracuse community. He’s the investigator who responds to the calls. He sees the bloody results of pit bulls being bred to attack each other and on occasion people.

So when a company named Kage games developed and marketed an app that glorifies dog fighting it doesn’t shock Paul Morgan.  Even notorious former dog fighter Michael Vick issued a statement tonight calling on Google to end the availability of this app in its market.  Vick posted the comment on the Humane Society's website. The Los Angeles police department has also condemned the Dog Wars game.  The game invites the player to pick a persona which includes a street gang character and a football player as choices.  Once engaged in the game you can feed the dog raw meat, you can train it be tying it to a tire so it can get stronger by dragging it.  You have to go through all these steps before reaching the level of being able to fight your dog. 

It is a horrendous example for a civil society.  As some others have mentioned in the articles starting to be written, this game acts as a playbook for potential dog fighters. When you download this app from Google’s Android market there are no restrictions. You can be any age. It is free.   Even if one argues that adults should be able to choose whether they want this alleged form of entertainment there are no controls for children.

Public opinion momentum is likely to quickly grow in the coming days against this dog fighting app.  The company will also get a lot of attention and downloads in the meantime.  It is hard to  understand how the creators of this game have thought it was a good idea. It’s hard to understand, but should come as no surprise. Just ask animal cruelty investigator Paul Morgan.

 Link to ASPCA's blog about the app.

Any questions or comment please forward them to mattsmemo@CNYcentral.com.   I may even use some of your thoughts on NBC 3 News at 5:00,  the 10:00 News on CW6 or on CNYcentral.com.                                 

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