Chicago police have broken up a dog fighting ring that was operating in a house along side a day-care facility.

Cook County police arrested three people and recovered nine dogs that required surgery in a raid that discovered that kiddies and dog fighting were operating side by side.

Children “were playing on a swing set just 10 feet away from a vicious fighting dog and blood-stained floors” a police spokesman said. “To be engaged in this sort of activity is disturbing enough, but to take a chance with anybody’s children is reprehensible.”

According to local media, the day-care operator “insisted she was not involved in dog fighting and said children were never near the dogs or dog fighting equipment.” Her husband was among those arrested.