Update On The Vick Dogs

I got a wonderful email from a dog loving friend the other night. In it was a link to this blog post talking about the cover story for tomorrows Sports Illustrated Magazine.

“Did you see the Sports Illustrated article on Michael Vick’s dogs?” a friend asked me this morning.

“Not yet,” I told her. “Is it good?”

“No,” she said. “It’s perfect.”

"Perfect" is an understatement. From the heartbreaking...

The dog approaches the outstretched hand. Her name is Sweet Jasmine, and she is 35 pounds of twitchy curiosity with a coat the color of fried chicken, a pink nose and brown eyes. She had spent a full 20 seconds studying this five-fingered offering before advancing. Now, as she moves forward, her tail points straight down, her butt is hunched toward the ground, her head is bowed, her ears pinned back. She stands at maybe three quarters of her height.

She gets within a foot of the hand and stops. She licks her snout, a sign of nervousness, and looks up at the stranger, seeking assurance. She looks back to the hand, licks her snout again and begins to extend her neck. Her nose is six inches away from the hand, one inch, half an inch. She sniffs once. She sniffs again. At this point almost any other dog in the world would offer up a gentle lick, a sweet hello, an invitation to be scratched or petted. She's come so far. She's so close.

But Jasmine pulls away.

...to the heartwarming...

During a walk in Golden Gate Park one day, Jonny was mobbed by a group of kids. Cohen wasn't sure how Jonny would react to all those little hands thrust at him, but the dog loved it. He played with the children, and Cohen realized Jonny had an affinity for them. He enrolled Jonny in training for the program Paws for Tales, in which kids who get nervous reading aloud in class practice their skills by reading to a canine audience of one. Jonny was certified in November, and now once a month he sits patiently listening to children read.

He's not the only one of Vick's former dogs lending a hand. Leo, who lives with foster mother Marthina McClay in Los Gatos, Calif., is a certified therapy dog who spends two to three hours a week visiting cancer patients and troubled teens. Two other dogs are also therapy dogs, and two more are in training. A total of six have earned Canine Good Citizen certificates, issued by the American Kennel Club to dogs who pass a series of 10 tests, including walking through a crowd and reacting to unexpected sights and sounds.

...author Jim Gorant hits the heart of the issue and does not let up. These are not mean dogs who are irredeemable and unreformable. These dogs are....

"Of all dogs," says Dr. Frank McMillan, the director of well-being studies at Best Friends Animal Society, a 33,000-acre sanctuary in southern Utah, "pit bulls possess the single greatest ability to bond with people."

Perhaps that's why for decades pit bulls were considered great family dogs and in England were known as "nanny dogs" for their care of children. Petey in The Little Rascals was a pit bull, as was Stubby, a World War I hero for his actions with the 102nd Infantry in Europe, such as locating wounded U.S. soldiers and a German spy. Most dog experts will attest that a pit bull properly trained and socialized from a young age is a great pet.

Which is something that dog fanciers across the country have been trying to tell breed ban proponents across the country for years! Yet as far as "animal welfare" groups like PeTA and the HSUS are concerned these dogs don't deserve the second chance that Utah's own Best Friends Animal Society are giving them.

PETA wanted Jasmine dead. Not just Jasmine, and not just PETA. The Humane Society of the U.S., agreeing with PETA, took the position that Michael Vick's pit bulls, like all dogs saved from fight rings, were beyond rehabilitation and that trying to save them was a misappropriation of time and money. "The cruelty they've suffered is such that they can't lead what anyone who loves dogs would consider a normal life," says PETA spokesman Dan Shannon. "We feel it's better that they have their suffering ended once and for all." If you're a dog and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals suggests you be put down, you've got problems. Jasmine has problems.

Thank God there were a few dedicated people who were willing to take the risk that PeTA would not.

Do yourself a favor and read Gorant's excellent article and then take in the pictures that go with it. Then after you dry your eyes, please consider giving a donation to Best Friends to help them in their efforts to take care of the other animals in their care. While Michael Vick is required by the court to pay for the care of his dogs, the others don't have a court ordered benefactor and they could really use your help!

And what business is it of yours?

Michael Vick, quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, recently had a Virginia home he owned raided by police who busted up an apparent dog fighting ring. Now Vick claims to have not had anything to do with the ring even though (according to the story) there were dozens of malnourished and injured animals on the property. The story does not state if Mr. Vick lives in the home, just that it was a home that he "owned" which I find to be interesting. No charges have been filed in the matter as of today.

That has not stopped Rep. Tom Lantos (D-CA) from jumping in and condemning Vick based on the "evidence" available to him (which is the same evidence available to you and I - news reports).

"The level of cruelty involved in exploiting animals to the point that 60 malnourished and injured dogs were removed from Mr. Vick's property is mind boggling," Lantos said. "I will view anything less than the strongest repudiation of Mr. Vick's involvement as tacit support for this atrocious activity."

Now leave it for the moment that no charges have been filed or that there is an ongoing police and NFL investigation or the fact that this is not even happening in Rep. Lantos' district. What business is it of yours, Rep. Lantos? Well he answered that.....

"U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) pointed out that he's a senior member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which two years ago held highly publicized hearings on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in professional sports....In a not-so-subtle threat of possible congressional action, Lantos reminded the commissioner of his committee's efforts to weed out those who use performance-enhancing drugs.
"I also suggest you educate your players on the illegality and cruelty of dog fighting to prevent this from happening again," Lantos wrote. "It is my hope that the issue of animal fighting will not require us to further investigate the behavior of your athletes." (emphasis mine)

So Vick and the NFL py proxy are guilty until proven innocent in Rep. Lantos' eyes. Lovely...

Oh and for the record, if Vick was involved in this and the evidence shows as much, I would certainly not mind him getting punished under the full extend of the law, losing his job with the Falcons AND having some of the abuse he meted out on those innocent dogs visited on him. I have no love for people who abuse children or animals. I also have no love for people who will condemn a person before all the evidence is in. I happen to be a little picky that way...However, I will not publically call for ANY punishment until all the facts are in and charges filed and that is where Rep. Lantos and I part company.