100 years ago in Spokane: Neighbor sics animal control on brothers for pit bull fight

From our archives, 100 years ago

Two brothers were arrested for cruelty to animals after a neighbor testified that they were conducting a dog fight between two “pit bulldogs” in the alley.

The neighbor said the dogs were fighting for at least 15 minutes. When she “cried out” and begged the brothers to step in and stop the battle, they “simply laughed at her.”

She said the men finally separated the dogs, but only after she warned them that the humane officer was on the way.

From the court beat: A hired hand named Harry Smith was suing a rancher and his wife for $144.50 for back pay.

Testimony showed that Smith had once confronted the rancher about the money and the two “were about to exchange blows.”

At that point, the rancher’s wife stepped in and declared that “she would do the fighting.” In court, she told the judge that she used her fists to pummel Smith, and he “took it like a baby.” When asked what she would have done if Smith had punched her back, she told the court that she “would not have squealed.”

The judge was apparently unimpressed with the wife’s bravado. He ordered the couple to pay Smith the full amount.

Also on this date

(From the Associated Press)

1941: The Grand Coulee hydroelectric dam in Washington officially went into operation.