Pit bulls become pound puppies: “Please take us hoooooome!”

The 407 dogs seized in last week’s dog-fighting bust, the largest in U.S. history, caused the Humane Society of Missouri to open an emergency shelter. Now they’re trying to find organizations to take a few of the former fighters off their hands.

“We need to hear from rescue groups right now if they’re in any way interested and willing to accept one or more of these dogs,” said Debbie Hill, vice president of operations and incident commanders of the emergency rescue shelter. “Because this was the largest dog fighting ring in the country, we’re hoping groups from around the country will answer the call.”

The Humane Society of Missouri is on strict orders from the Justice Department not to discuss the dogs’ condition (the dogs are evidence), but she said injuries typically include: old scars, new scars on old ones, deep wounds, amateur veterinary repairs, missing eyeballs, and legs or ears that have been gnawed off.