MUSKEGON, MI - Undernourished and clearly beaten up in what authorities say is the result of an organized dog fight, the young, male pit bull still wagged his tail inside the county's animal shelter Thursday, June 4.

Pound Buddies Director Lana Carson said the blue pit bull was brought in around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, to the shelter by a police officer who located the injured pup at the corner of Barney Avenue and Ninth Street.

Carson said the dog represents the county's growing dog fighting problem - something she said is hard to address as it's difficult to locate perpetrators and bring them to justice.

"It's not uncommon. There's a huge dog fighting problem in Muskegon and Muskegon Heights," Carson said. "But who do they prosecute when there's just a random dog found? It's so hard. It's known that these dog-fighting rings are underground and well financed."

The pit bull brought into Pound Buddies Wednesday night will be seen by a vet and hopefully thrive once he is healed, Carson said.

The dog suffered chewed-up ears, puncture wounds all over his body, a badly injured eye and had a severely swollen face. He could barely walk from the cage he was placed in at the shelter and his ribs and back bones were noticeable as the dog is underweight, Carson said.

"He's as sweet as anything. He's extremely friendly. These dogs are not bred to be aggressive toward humans," Carson said.

Animal Control Officer Tiffany Peterson, of the Muskegon County Sheriff's Office, said there is a possibility of dog fighting but it's "kept very quiet."

"It's very hard to find. There is basement fighting and it's soundproof. It's kept very quiet and there's big money in dog fighting. But it's hard to prove it. The suspects are sneaky," Peterson said. "It's good money to them."

Peterson said that when tips about the underground dog-fighting rings do come into law enforcement, by the time police arrive, the suspects scatter and take anything that could be used as evidence against them.

Heather Lynn Peters covers police and fire, and writes a statewide food column, The Spunky Kitchen, for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email her at hpeters@mlive.com and follow her on Twitter @HLPNEWS.