The Warren County Sheriff’s Department was called Wednesday afternoon to Rector Lane to pick up a dog that appeared to have been used for fighting – the second such call that day.

Neighbors called just after 5 p.m. Wednesday to say the dog, a black and white medium-sized female pit bull, had been found, said Warren County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Wood.

It had injuries to its leg and nose clearly related to dog fighting, he said.

The first dog was found at 6:54 a.m. Wednesday in a ditch at 530 Rector Lane, Wood said. The brindle-colored female pit bull was also medium sized and had serious injuries.

A neighbor heard a vehicle squeal its tires overnight and went outside, but didn’t see anything. Wednesday morning he found the first dog lying in a ditch, Woods said.

&#8220People said that after the vehicle left they heard most awful commotion at the end of the road,” he said. It’s unclear what caused the commotion, Woods said. But the neighbors believed it might have been howling.

The vehicle fled the area in the direction of Allen County, Woods said.

&#8220(The dog) had open sores and wounds that were pretty fresh,” he said of the dog found in the morning. &#8220The dog could barely lift its head. The blood all over it was still tacky.”

It appeared it had been in a fight probably the night before and lost, Woods said. The dog was found about 3 miles from the Warren-Allen county line, apparently dumped and left for dead.

Typically, dogs used in fighting aren’t found, because the owners usually bury the dogs on their own property, Woods said. This is one of the few cases such a severely injured dog has been found in Warren County.

Both dogs, which were friendly to people, were euthanized.

When the second pit bull was found, the resident took it and placed it in a pen to wait for law enforcement to arrive, Woods said.

&#8220She said it just followed her to the house,” he said.

There are few rumors of dog fighting in Warren County, he said.

&#8220It’s very rare we get a call about pit bulls with fighting injuries,” Woods said.

Evidence of dog fighting in Warren County has been discovered twice by law enforcement since April.

Lorri Hare, executive director of Bowling Green-Warren County Humane Society, said out of concern for the safety of other dogs and humans, they must euthanize dog fight participants because they’ve been trained to be aggressive.

Dog fighting is an issue in this area, she said.

&#8220These cases were not the worst I’ve seen but they were still bad,” Hare said. &#8220Dog fighting is becoming more and more popular. People do it because they make money.”

The sheriff’s department is attempting to work with state police, Scottsville Police Department and the Allen County Sheriff’s Department to determine who might have abandoned the dogs.

In an unrelated case, the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force will present information to a grand jury about animal cruelty based on the investigation of 18 pit bulls found at the home of Joe Moore, 22, 3603 Barren River Road during a task force roundup in April.

Law enforcement officers arrived to arrest Moore on a warrant for trafficking in marijuana when the dogs were discovered.

&#8220There was evidence obtained in that residence indicating dog fighting,” said Tommy Loving, director of the Bowling Green-Warren County Drug Task Force.

There will be evidence against at least one person presented to the grand jury, he said. Several video tapes seized from Moore’s home contained dog fighting.

The investigation is ongoing but is expected to end soon, Loving said.

Fighting dogs is a felony offense.

But it can be difficult to catch anyone fighting dogs, Hare said.

&#8220If they caught someone and prosecuted them it might make an example of them and get others out of it,” she said.

– Anyone with information about this incident or dog fighting in general is asked to call Woods at the sheriff’s department at 842-1633.