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Rescued Pit Bulls On Road To Recovery

CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. (WBBM/CBS) -- Two pit bulls rescued from a Maywood dog fight are on the road to recovery.

As WBBM Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports, Linda Estrada of the Animal Welfare League says one puppy, which they named Bubba, arrived with pretty severe injuries.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding Reports

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"His had horrific wounds," Estrada said. "He had bite wounds all over his face; a wound a 1/16 of an inch from his jugular; bite wounds to his testicles, his throat, his chest and legs."

But Estrada says he will recover and be ready for adoption as early as next week but the older dog, they named The Aggressor, may need a little more help.

"He's coming around," Estrada said. "He's being very good with people. He's just not fond of animals at all. We need to teach him that he gets attention. He doesn't know how to play. He is defensive mode all the time."

Estrada says the AWL works with different agencies that strictly rehabilitate fight dogs.

Estrada says both puppies were born to be companion animals.

"One was trained to be that one, the other one was trained to strictly fight," Estrada said. "That's the sad part. The dog's demeanor is that way because someone taught him that."

The dogs were taken from the basement of a home in the 700 block of South Third Avenue two weeks ago. Cook County Sheriff's officers rescued the dogs during an actual dog fight.

In total, seven people were arrested at the house, according to the sheriff's office. But only six have been charged.

Jonathan Holt, 28, of the 700 block of South 3rd Street in Maywood has been charged with dogfighting.

Tara Jackson, 19, and Ebony Jackson, 21, both of the 2000 block of South 13th Street in Maywood; Kevin Hicks, 25, of the 2700 block of West Maypole in Chicago; Aaliyah Jackson, 18, of the 500 block of South 5th Street in Maywood; and Andre Gaines, 24, of the 1900 block of 5th Street in Maywood all have been charged with attending a dogfight.

Estrada says her agency receives eight to 10 injured and dead dogs a week but she hopes a new law that makes even watching a dog fight a felony will cut down those numbers.

The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

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