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Emma Julius

Ms. Jizi

UWRT 1104

10 April 2017

Annotated Bibliography

Kalof, Linda, and Carl Taylor. "The Discourse of Dog Fighting." Humanity & Society 31.4 (2007): 319-

33. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

In this article "the discourse of dogfighting "there is a lot of information and proof of sources going from

the very start of dogfighting in history up to present day. The history of dogfighting goes back to the fifth

century BC, where dogs were trained to kill other animals, up until now where they are trained to fight

one another for human entertainment. In present day, dogfights in the US are most commonly related to

gang activities as a way of showing members masculinity based on the strength and aggression of their

fighting dogs. There are also interviews included from past gang members and other behaviorists that

discuss and analyze the actions of dogfighting.

This article relates to my topic because it gives information and insights into the culture behind

dogfighting. This will be useful with not only looking at present day issues, but also what happened

throughout history leading up to this point. It also shows that ideology behind these actions and why

people are participating in these illegal activities. Also, there is information included about more than just

dog fights like the training needed to create a good fighting dog and what made people want to fight dogs

in the first place.

This is a reputable source because it was written by two doctors of sociology from Michigan State

University that have done major research and specialize in the field of animal studies. The article also has
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many sources that back up the information given and the sources are dated from the 1970s up to 2007

which shows that a lot of research and hard work went into collecting this information. Finally, this is also

a peer reviewed article so it has been looked through and critiqued by people who are experts in this field

of study which means that other than the interviews within the article the rest of the information is made

up of facts.

Lee, Sherman A., Jeffrey A. Gibbons, and Stephen D. Short. "Sympathetic Reactions to the Bait Dog in a

Film of Dog Fighting: The Influence of Personality and Gender." Society & Animals. Brill, 01 Mar. 2010.

Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

This article is from an experiment done by researchers to look at how individuals traits relate to their

sympathy towards a video of a bait dog being rescued. This experiment occurred after the arrest of

Michael Vick for organizing and participating in dog fighting activities. The researchers wanted to

understand why people can feel sympathy for dogs and what types of people have these feelings. This test

was done by having a group of college students take 2 questionnaires, one before the video and one after

it, these surveys looked at each persons demographics and some of their character traits. With the

conclusion of this experiment it showed that people with more sympathy for animals had higher sympathy

traits for the bait dog in the video.

This article is relevant to my inquiry topic because instead of looking at just those who are involved in

dog fighting, it looks at how others react to it. This will be useful when determining how others react to

dog fights as well as how they feel towards the dogs involved. I will also use this because it includes

many statistics about peoples demographics and traits that can be related to their feelings as an outsider

group to the topic. Also. this article gives the reasons that people have these feelings and what in the

media has occurred to cause these feelings.

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This article is credible because each of the authors and researches are doctors of psychology and college

professors. This article also contains many sources that are cited throughout the paper and an entire

sources section at the bottom. This is also credible because this is a research article which means that the

majority of the statistics gained from testing were all gained from the authors themselves. Also, this is all

scientific data which was found by performing an experiment on a group of individuals and then reporting

the findings in the form of a peer reviewed scientific article.

Evans, Rhonda D., and Craig J. Forsyth. "ENTERTAINMENT TO OUTRAGE: A SOCIAL

HISTORICAL VIEW OF DOGFIGHTING." International Review of Modern Sociology 27.2 (1997): 59-

71. JSTOR. Web. 6 Apr. 2017.

This journal article discusses the history of dog fighting in both Europe and America. The article starts out

with describing what dog fighting is and people involved along with the activities that have lead up to

what dog fighting is today. It also shows how dog fighting grew in Europe and how it moved to the US

and what areas of the country are involved with it the most. After the background information is given, it

begins to discuss what dog fighting looks like in todays culture and where it may lead in the future.

I will be able to use this article by incorporating the past, present and future outlooks of dog fighting. This

will also help me to include background knowledge on my topic and look at the causes and effects of dog

fighting in society. I will also use this information to look at the people involved in dog fighting activities

and the time frame that these individuals have been participating in it. The article will also help me to

determine the historical events in dog fighting not only in America but across the world as well.

This article is credible because it includes many sources throughout history as well as interviews with

individuals involved with these activities. Also, I found this article through a previous source that I have

already used above which shows that people who are experts in this field have trusted this information.

Some of this information also comes from personal experiences because in the second section of this

article it mentions that both authors are related to someone who breeds and fights pit bulls.
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Rhoden, William C. "The Public Confessions of a Disgraced Dogfighter." The New York Times. The New

York Times, 23 Nov. 2010. Web. 07 Apr. 2017.

In this article, it looks at the life changes of an ex- dog fighter through the eyes of Michael Vick. Vick was

a NFL superstar that was arrested and charged for organizing and participating in dog fighting. This

article looks at how Vicks is using is NFL status to go to schools in the US and talk about what he did and

answer peoples questions about the topic. Vick has since partnered with the Humane Society of the

United States as a way to help recover his status and to regain peoples trust. Vick also discusses how he

knew what he was doing and how he felt when committing these crimes and talks with schools as a way

to answer everyones questions and to uncover all his secrets as a dog fighter.

I will use this article when looking at the types of people that participate in dog fighting. I can also use it

to help show the background and diversity of those individuals involved in such activities. This article

also relates to my topic because it answers questions as to who and why dog fighting is committed. This

also relates to my topic because it shows what happens to those who have committed the crime after they

have served their time.

This article is credible because it is from the New York Times which is a truthful source. This is also

credible because it is based on an interview and contains direct quotes from both Vick and the president of

the Humane Society as well as those from students. Also, the article was written by a long-time journalist

who has done a lot of work with the NAACP and other athletic issues.

"A Closer Look at Dog Fighting." ASPCA. ASPCA, 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2017.

In this article it looks at the different types of people and reasons to be involved in dog fighting. The

article explains why people would get involved in dog fighting and what they would get out of the

activity. The article also contains a video of dogs being seized from a fighting facility. The video also

gives personal accounts of the rescuers there that were saving the dogs and it helps to give more meaning

to the article itself.

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I will use this article to answer my inquiry topic of why do people fight dogs?. I will also use this

article to explain my question and answer since it gives a detailed description of my topic. Also, this will

be used to help give me more information to develop my own take on the subject and to broaden my

answer. The video contained within the article will also help to further my reasoning for the answer to my

topic.

This source is credible because it is from the ASPCA which is a nationally recognized organization for

their work with these types of cruel situations. Also, the video in the article contains personal statements

and accounts of rescuers on the scene of the facility. This source is also credible because the majority of

the information within the article is data that has been collected from the rescue itself.