About two dozen people from all across southwestern Ontario are protesting animal cruelty in front of the Chatham courthouse today.
They're led by Michelle Nicholson who even put on a dog costume to bring attention to the issue.
"We just use costumes and some bright things -- not to make it fun, but to make it pop and bring attention to the issue," says Nicholson. "We have a dog costume and some devil masks and some chains and we're just enacting brutality."
Today's protest drew supporters from all across southwestern Ontario with people making the trip from Windsor, Corunna, Hamilton, Sarnia, and London.
"I live in Sarnia, but I grew up here and I consider this my backyard," says Nicholson. "I know that people from London, Windsor and other parts of southern Ontario also think of it as their backyard."
The group is calling for strict penalties for several people who are accused of animal cruelty in connection with a suspected dog fighting ring near Tilbury if they are convicted. That court case has been put over to November 27.
A fourth person was charged Thursday in connection with the dog fighting ring. A 21-year-old of Morris Line in Tilbury Township has been charged with 13 counts of careless storage of a firearm. He's also been charged with four counts of unauthorized possession of a prohibited weapon and a drug trafficking offence.
