The charges stem from Pew’s May 19, 2006 arrest, when Lee County Animal Services took 22 dogs. In addition, sheriff’s deputies reportedly confiscated two dog treadmills and a spring pole, traditionally used to train fighting dogs.

Anthony Pew, 42, was arrested Wednesday evening on charges stemming from one of the dogs biting a 10-year-old boy on May 19.

He was released on Oct 12 after posting $2,500 bail, according Lee County Jail records.

Along with the dogs, sheriff’s deputies confiscated two dog treadmills and a spring post with a flat basketball attached, both traditionally used to train fighting dogs, according to sheriff’s reports.

Pew, a landscaper, said he used the treadmills to walk some of the dogs if he got home too late. He says neighborhood children helped him walk the other dogs, except for the four he termed “dog aggressive.” One feisty dog named A.K. used the basketball as a chew toy, he said.

Animal officers cited Pew 22 times for not having proper licenses, each carrying a $163 fine.

“He signed them all over to us. He voluntarily released them,” said Lance Raiche, Animal Services field operations manager.

“It’s actively being investigated,” Lee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Larry King said. “A lot more work goes behind these things than people realize.”

Deputies found the 23 pit bulls, apparently bred for fighting, after a 10-year-old boy was bitten in the hand by one of the dogs on May 19.

The dogs were seized in May and will likely be euthanized, but because it’s a criminal case, taking legal possession of the dogs could take weeks or months, said Rita Brown, spokeswoman for Lee County Animal Services.

County animal workers are taking care of the pit bulls at the animal services facility on Banner Drive in south Fort Myers.

Lance Raiche, field operations manager for animal services, said there are numerous scars consistent with fighting on some of the dogs.

Sheriff’s and animal services investigators responded May 19 after a 10-year-old boy was allegedly bitten on the hand by a red-nosed pit bull that was in the yard at 16911 First St. in Charleston Park.

According to a sheriff’s report, Gracil Ryals of Alva brought her 10-year-old son, Terrence Harrison, to Lehigh Regional Medical Center that day after he was bitten by the dog. He was playing with other children at a home in Charleston Park.

Investigators went looking for the dog and later seized 23 dogs and fighting equipment on the property, including treadmills and a spring post with a flat basketball attached to strengthen a dog’s neck and jaws. Possession of that equipment is a felony, Brown said.

According to sheriff’s reports, Andrew Pew, 42, lives at the house. Pew did not return messages seeking comment, but his longtime friend, Tony Neal, 40, of Fort Myers said animal services went too far by taking all the dogs away.

“Most of the dogs they took from this man are harmless in the community’s eyes,” said Neal, who has known Pew since 1979. “He’s just known for taking care of injured dogs in the neighborhood. If he was breeding dogs for fighting, people would have called the police a long time ago.”

The treadmills were used to exercise some of the dogs because he couldn’t run them every day, Neal said. The dogs were not starved or neglected, he said.

Meanwhile, the youngest dog seized likely is the only one that could be put up for adoption, Brown said.

Investigators took his 23 dogs nearly three weeks ago and said Pew would be taken into custody on dogfighting charges.

They responded more than three weeks ago after a 10-year-old boy was allegedly bitten in the hand by one of the chained-up dogs in Pew’s yard at 16911 First St. in Charleston Park, a neighborhood near Alva in eastern Lee County.

But deputies haven’t arrested Pew. Investigators first removed his dogs from his home on May 19. Animal services Chief Lance Raiche, the field operations manager, said he could not talk about the case and referred all questions to the sheriff’s office.

“They haven’t charged me with nothing,” Pew said. “There ain’t anything illegal going on.”

Along with the dogs, sheriff’s deputies confiscated two dog treadmills and a spring post with a flat basketball attached, both traditionally used to train fighting dogs, according to sheriff’s reports. Pew, a landscaper, said he used the treadmills to walk some of the dogs if he got home too late. He says neighborhood children help him walk the other dogs, except for the four he termed “dog aggressive.” One feisty dog named A.K. used the basketball as a chew toy, he said.

“You can show that ball to every one of them, and only one will bite that basketball,” Pew said.

Deputy Sylvester Smalls, who is investigating the dogfighting allegations, declined an interview through sheriff’s spokesman Angelo Vaughn.

“It’s still an ongoing investigation,” Vaughn said.

Since they took his animals, Pew said he went to Lee County Animal Services at 5600 Banner Drive in south Fort Myers on two occasions. He said officials told him he would have to pay $25 a day per dog to get them back.

“That’s not fair,” Pew said. “It started out as dog bite, then it became a dogfighting ring. It’s become so many different things.”

Pew, 42, said he has taken care of dogs for years, picking up strays and watching dogs for friends and neighbors.

He gives them heartworm pills and other preventative care. None of the dogs appeared to be malnourished when they were at animal services.

“I love them dogs,” Pew said. “That’s what I want to do — clear my name.”

But Pew may not get his dogs back anytime soon. He said animal officers gave him 23 citations for not having proper licenses, each carrying a $163 fine.

He said he can’t afford to pay that kind of money.

Meanwhile, animal-control spokeswoman Ria Brown said Friday she couldn’t talk about whether the dogs still were at animal services or have been adopted, referring questions to the sheriff’s office.