DMX Hounded by Dog Abuse Claims

Authorities seized 12 distressed pit bulls and a large cache of weapons from the Arizona home of rapper DMX yesterday, MTV says, after receiving a tip that the dogs were housed in inhumane conditions. The hip-hop star, whose real name is Earl Simmons, wasn’t home at the time of the raid, but officials said they would like to question him.

No arrests have been made, but police, who found the charred remains of at least one dog in DMX’s backyard, said he was being investigated for dogfighting. The rapper’s attorney suggested his caretaker was to blame for the dogs’ conditions. In 2002, DMX was busted in New Jersey for animal abuse and later filmed a PSA against animal abuse. (More DMX stories.)