Forty-four Pit Bull-type dogs were pulled from a single property in Whiteford, Maryland, after investigators uncovered what federal prosecutors describe as a dog fighting operation that ran for nearly a decade. A father and son now face federal charges. The outcome of this case will decide whether the people responsible for this cruelty can ever do it again.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland should pursue the toughest penalties the law allows, ask the court for a lifetime ban on owning, breeding or selling animals for anyone convicted, and charge every co-conspirator involved.

According to the federal indictment, Theodore Lamont Stinson and Theodore Lamont Stinson Jr. bred, trained, bought and sold dogs for fighting starting in April 2016. Prosecutors say the pair marketed dogs through a kennel called KLK. When Harford County sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers searched the home in July 2025, they found the dogs along with a breeding stand, veterinary drugs, sales and pedigree records, and a spring pole, a device used to build strength in dogs bred to fight.

Dog fighting leaves animals with severe and sometimes fatal injuries. The indictment says others took part in this scheme, and the sales records seized from the home could help investigators track down buyers and partners.

The two men are presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted, each faces up to five years in federal prison on every count. Anything less than full accountability tells dog fighters that cruelty is just a cost of doing business. A lifetime animal ban would help make sure no more dogs end up chained, trained and sold for blood sport.

Sign the petition to demand full accountability in this case, before another dog is bred to fight.