Minnow, who was used as a "bait dog" in a busted dog-fighting ring, has been staying at Kent County Humane Society undergoing obedience and social training.

GRAND RAPIDS — The little black dog — a terrier mix — spent most of her life terrified, locked in a small cage as a “bait dog” to train fighting pit bulls. Tethered to a treadmill, pit bulls would try to attack the dog just beyond their reach. “Her life in that atmosphere, was probably — gosh, I can’t even explain it — it would have been constant fear,” Dr. Wendy Swift, medical director at Humane Society of Kent County, said Wednesday.