BY TIM POTTER AND JON SCHUBIN
The Wichita Eagle
Published July 25, 2006

Wichita police have taken two children into protective custody from a home where authorities found 68 pit bulls.

The dogs were taken from the home Monday in the 2300 block of East Shadybrook by local and state animal control officers, Wichita police Capt. Darrell Haynes said.

Most of the dogs were kept inside the house, although several were found in the back yard, police said.

A household can have a maximum of four dogs without a kennel license, police Capt. Randy Landen said.

Police said the dogs were bred at the house and sold on the Internet. The dogs -- black-and-white pit bulls of varying ages -- were in fair to poor condition, Landen said.

Some of the dogs have scars, which suggests they were used at some point for fighting, Landen said.

He said a state social worker went to the home Monday afternoon to check on the welfare of children there.

The children's 32-year-old father answered the door and told the worker there were no children inside, Landen said.

The worker, who was accompanied by police officers, heard children inside, but the man slammed the door and officers forced their way in, Landen said.

He was booked into jail on suspicion of resisting arrest, obstructing the legal process and child endangerment.

The mother was not charged, but her 11-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter were taken into protective custody.

She and the children had been living at the home since March, Landen said.

The dogs were taken to the Wichita Animal Shelter.

original story:  www.kansas.com