Out of the Pit and Eco-Trauma

Out of the Pit amplifies the negative consequences of environmental trauma without providing any hope for rehabilitation. By documenting the rigorous and vicious training canine ring fighters endure as gang dogs in Chicago, these dogs have no Zen training to transform them from deadly monster to companion species, despite serving as pets for gang members. Combining interviews with archival footage and direct cinema, Out of the Pit reveals the torturous process implemented to prepare dogs for battle and its long historical roots. 

Dogfighting grew out of centuries of battling canines. In a brief historical overview, the documentary explains that dogs were trained for war as early as 3500 B.C. Mastiffs fought along with the Romans around 50 A.D. By 1100 A.D., pit dogs fought against a variety of animals, including bulls. These pit fights continued into the nineteenth century when the British Mastiff was bred with shorter and faster dogs. By 1835, bull baiting was outlawed, and dogfighting took hold in Britain and the U.S. The pit bull terrier bred for speed, tenacity, and loyalty to humans proved most adapted to the ring. The American pit bull used in most contemporary dogfights serves as evidence of this long history of canine soldiers. Although dogfighting was banned in most of the U.S. in the 1970s, it is still legal to attend fights and possess fighting dogs in some states. And the popularity of the sport in the last 20 or so years has outpaced police response.

The sport has a clear structure, according to the documentary, normalizing the environmental trauma endured by the fighting dogs. The Humane Society outlines three levels of dog fights: professional fight organizations with large kennels and training facilities, hobbyists who may breed and sell dogs within the county and state, and gang related street fighters who raise and haphazardly train pit bulls in their neighborhoods. Pit bulls still are the dog of choice. They are aggressive, loyal, and eager to please, willingly returning to battle even when badly injured. Archival footage shows the training techniques used at the professional level. These are elaborate and intense, with regimens that include running on treadmills and swimming in pools and irrigation ditches, ingesting steroids and hormones, living isolated lives to foster aggressive behavior, developing stronger jaw muscles, and suffering dehydration to limit bleeding. Street fighting rings emulate these techniques in miniature, training dogs more quickly and recruiting neighborhood children to participate in the training. 

Out of the Pit takes the time to show the procedure during actual fights, as well. Although held in private homes instead of larger facilities, street fights follow the same format as professional fights.  The rounds continue until they are no longer capable of going in for the fight. Fights usually last for about 45 minutes but may last as long as five hours. The dogs suffer serious injuries, of course, and they are shown in shock, dehydrated, and bleeding to death by the end of the fights. Fight footage shows the pain and suffering they endure. 

Professionals may treat their dogs as commodities meant to be preserved. But street fighters punish losing dogs by setting them on fire or shooting them.  Despite the contempt police officers, veterinarians, and Humane Society officials show for these street fighters and their torturous treatment of dogs, the documentary offers no hope for pit bulls rescued from the ring. Instead, detailed scenes with county veterinarians reveal that all of the dogs will be euthanized once the gang’s court cases are settled. In Out of the Pit, the environmental trauma faced by fighting dogs always leads to death.