DOG FIGHT
I was a pretty good pool player for a while during the late 60s and early 70s. Full of youthful exuberance and with a pocket full of pool winnings, including side bets on other players, I accompanied a recent acquaintance to the dog fights on the North side of Oahu in '68. He said we could make even more money. Having no idea what I was about to witness, I was in.
No, I had never seen a dog fight, except in the neighborhood; and those were always short lived, almost momentary; so I was ill-prepared for what I would see that evening. We walked into a very large barn. In the middle was the 'regulation' pit where the fights occurred. The pit was surrounded by bleacher type seating about 5 or 6 rows deep. The place was full, but a lot of people just milled around; so we were able to find a pair of seats on the 3rd row of one of the bleachers. We had come just before a break or lull in the bloody action, but people who knew what was coming were busy talking and betting.
Suddenly, a very large 'moke' (Hawaiian) stepped into the pit. He was wearing protective leather bands on his wrists and arms, heavy leather boots and a leather vest. He was carrying a large - close to 100 pounds I would guess - pit bull by the scruff of the neck. The dog was so muscular, so big. A stranger to my right said this animal had already killed two dogs that night. The big moke announced loudly and boldly, "I've got $10,000 and I'm givin' 2 to 1 against anybody's animal - all comers! Any takers!?" I noticed a big man on the first row in front of me get up and disappear behind the bleachers. Suddenly, he was walking into the ring hold a large dog crate. The crate was moving about violently, but the man was even bigger than the big ‘moke’ and seemed to deal with it. He was wearing studded leather gloves up to his elbows. He boldly stated, "You said anybody's animal for $10,000 at 2 to 1. Well, here's my animal." Just as boldly, he reached into the crate without hesitation and extracted about 35 to 40 pounds of WOLVERINE.
Now, as a child, I had read my Mark Trails American Mammals frequently and knew quite a bit about these beasts of the North and Great Northwest. No fear, rapier like claws, and high energy attack mode...even a follow mode….and exceptionally intelligent. Wolverines have no natural enemies. Wolves, large cats, even bears will think better of retreat. The big ‘moke’ was on the spot. He looked around for a few seconds, then took the bet. The room erupted with betting. A guy on the first row said he would give 4 to 1 on the dog. I reached in my pocket and quickly counted $660. I knew exactly what I was doing and had no doubt. I said, "If you have $2500, you are covered!" He said, "You're on." and moved up to a space next to me to show me his money. He did, in fact, have well over $5000 in cash. Must have had a good betting night, because he certainly didn’t look well-to-do. In the meantime, the owners were taunting and sparring the animals. The dog was literally foaming at the mouth. Straining at the lead, he could not wait. You could see his individual muscles …straining, taut, ready. The wolverine was fairly sedate. Oh, he hissed. Then, just as the bell rang, the wolverine suddenly stood up and stretched his front legs outward and upward while making a very menacing sound. The dog, released at the bell, tore at the wolverine, immediately grabbing him by the throat. He started shaking the wolverine violently, like a sack of kibble. In the meantime, the wolverine had done little to defend itself. Blood was being thrown on the crowd. Quite unexpectedly, the wolverine suddenly went limp. The crowd got quiet. The pit bull had seemingly won...BUT in that split second when the pit bull released his grip on the wolverine's throat to get an even better grip....his face disappeared. The wolverine's back legs were pedaling and had violently ripped open the dog's chest and you could see his organs. He heaved and fell on his side, still alive. Standing over the dying dog's body with blood dripping from his claws, the wolverine hissed a long coarse hiss while standing on his back legs with his forearms stretched out above his head. The dog’s owner walked over and put a bullet in the dog’s brain. The crowd was stunned. Me too! The guy was actually paying me! “Damn, that was fast", he said. "Who’da thought?” Me? I'm rich. With my pool winnings, I had over $3000. That was a lot of cash back then. Sent that money home to a college savings account. Told my Dad about it later in life. He had purchased my Mark Trails for me many years before and was proud that I read and remembered.
Dog fighting was one of the bloodiest things I have ever witnessed….short of war. I took my money and left, never to return. I was young and daring and dumb then, opportunistic too; but have been completely against such animal abuse ever since. Feel the same way about cock fights. Did you know they fight crickets in Vietnam? Who'da thought?
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