Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick, has agreed a plea deal on dog fighting charges.
Vick and three associates are alleged to have run a dog fighting outfit called Bad Newz Kennels.
Many of the dogs found on Vick's property in Virginia showed evidence of fighting injuries.
Investigators also found training equipment.
A big part of the dog fighting mystique is the bad boy macho image associated with it.
Before it went 'mainstream' dog fighting was mainly to be found in gang circles.
A gang banger's image got a boost if he owned a dog famed for its prowess.
In gang circles wagers are often made on the outcomes of dog fights.
In so-called 'pro' dog fighting circles the betting end of it is huge.
Vick and his buds took their dogs across state lines and allegedly wagered thousands on fights.
Animal welfare groups figure that all 54 dogs found on Vick's property will have to be put down.
Once pit bulls become trained fighters there is no way back to 'household pet' status.
One way animal welfare groups can assess how much dog fighting is happening in a particular locality, is to monitor the number of pit bulls that show up in shelters.
A couple of decades ago shelters rarely saw pit bulls.
In the US, the number of pit bulls taken in by shelters has soared to 30%.
A BBC report notes that one shelter in Mississippi reported a spike of 60% in the number of fighting bulls it had taken in.
Bloodlines are important for insiders, and they will pay big bucks to get a dog with serious fighting cred.
The methods used to turn these animals into fighters start at birth.
Puppies are taunted and provoked.
Owners have also been known to keep young animals chained and under-fed so as to heighten the fighting edge.
As the animal matures the training regimen becomes more intense.
Dogs are harnessed to treadmills and forced to run with some bait in sight, such as a cat or rabbit.
Various methods are used to strengthen the dog's bite - one of the most common is to get the dog to hang by the jaw from a piece of wood or from a chain.
New prospects are usually introduced to the fight game by stages.
They begin by fighting older animals that aren't too dominant just to see how they make out.
Then the competition gradually becomes stiffer as they move up the ranks.
What the handlers are looking for in addition to fighting ability, is 'gameness' - the willingness to fight to the bitter end even though bloodied and weakened.
Efforts to produce a killing machine go beyond mere training techniques.
Owners frequently pump their bulls with steroids and a lot of dogs have their teeth filed to make their bite as damaging as possible.
The guys who operate fighting dogs identify closely with the winning form of their animals.
When prize dogs are winners the egos of the owners get a boost.
They have bragging rights and it makes them feel like real men.
What kind of 'real man' though brutalizes animals in this fashion in the name of sport? After subjecting the dogs to degrading training regimens and bloodying them in the ring, many owners have no qualms about turning around at the end of the day and coldly putting a bullet in the head of an animal that doesn't cut it or is too injured to carry on.
Those convicted of dog fighting in the US, face up to 5 years in prison and a possible $250,000 fine.