Michael Vick's dogs......

This was emailed to me and I thought it was worth cross posting. A story of the aftermath of Michael Vick's dog fighting "career".

For everyone in rescue and even for all who may not rescue but have a sense
of decency, compassion and a moral compass this is a MUST READ news column.
After you have read it pass it on to everyone you know who feels the same
about Michael Vick. Then drop a note or email to Mr. Plaschke, or contact on
twitter/FB and thank him for this outstanding article.

Bill Plaschke
Los Angeles Times
bill.plaschke@latimes.com
http://latimes.com



Dog owner can't forgive Michael Vick

Quarterback shows greatness on the field, but evidence of former cruelty
remains.

Bill Plaschke
8:27 PM PST,
November 16, 2010

While Michael Vick was screaming toward the sky, a black pit bull named Mel
was standing quietly by a door.

On this night, like many other nights, Mel was waiting for his owners to
take him outside, but he couldn't alert them with a bark.
He doesn't bark.
He won't bark. The bark has been beaten out of him.

While Michael Vick was running for glory, Mel was cowering toward a wall.

Every time the 4-year-old dog meets a stranger, he goes into convulsions. He
staggers back into a wall for protection. He lowers his
face and tries to hide. New faces are not new friends, but old terrors.

While Michael Vick was officially outracing his past Monday night, one of
the dogs he abused cannot.

"Some people wonder, are we ever going to let Michael Vick get beyond all
this?" said Richard Hunter, who owns Mel. "I tell them,
let's let Mel decide that. When he stops shaking, maybe then we can talk."

I know, I know, this is a cheap and easy column, right? One day after the
Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback officially becomes an American hero
again, just call the owner of one of the dogs who endured Vick's unspeakable
abuse and let the shaming begin.

Compare Vick's 413 total yards, four touchdown passes and two rushing
touchdowns against the Washington Redskins to the 47 pit bulls who were
seized
From Bad Newz Kennels, his interstate dogfighting ring.

Contrast one of the best three hours by a quarterback ever to the 21 months
he spent in prison.

Cheap and easy, right? Not so fast. Vick's success is raising one of the
most potentially costly and difficult perceptual questions in the history of
American sports.

If he continues playing this well, he could end up as the league's most
valuable player. In six games, he has thrown for 11 touchdowns, run for
Four more touchdowns, committed zero turnovers and produced nearly 300 total
yards per game. Heck, at this rate, with his Eagles inspired by his
touch, he could even win a Super Bowl, one of the greatest achievements by
an American sportsman.

And yet a large percentage of the population will still think Michael Vick
is a sociopath. Many people will never get over Vick's own admissions of
unthinkable cruelty to his pit bulls; the strangling, the drowning, the
electrocutions, the removal of all the teeth of female dogs who would fight
back during mating.

Some believe that because Vick served his time in prison, he should be
beyond reproach for his former actions. Many others believe that cruelty to
Animals isn't something somebody does, it's something somebody is.

Essentially, an ex-convict is dominating America's most popular sport while
victims of his previous crime continue to live with the brutality of that
crime, and has that ever happened before?

Do you cheer the player and boo the man? Can you cheer the comeback while
loathing the actions that necessitated the comeback? And how can you do any
of this while not knowing if Vick has truly discovered morality or simply
rediscovered the pocket?

If you are Richard Hunter, you just don't watch football. "When you look at
Mel," said Hunter, a radio personality from Dallas, "you just don't think
about how Michael Vick is a great football player."

A couple of years ago, Hunter and his wife Sunny were watching a documentary
on Best Friends Animal Society, the Utah sanctuary where the court sent
22 of Vick's 44 seized dogs. It was after 1 a.m. when the show featured a
Vick victim that had been so badly abused, it refused to move, behaving as
if paralyzed.

"My wife said, 'Get out of bed, get on the computer and e-mail those people,
I want one of those dogs,' " Hunter recalled.

Nearly 18 months later, they became one of six people to adopt one of the
dogs. The process included a home visit by caseworkers, an extended visit to
the southwest Utah sanctuary, home monitoring by a dog trainer and a
six-month probation period.

"These dogs were scarred in many ways both emotional and physical," said
John Polis, Best Friends spokesman. "It was something we had never really
Seen before."

Hunter and his wife quickly saw Mel's scars. The dog wouldn't bark, wouldn't
show affection, and would spend nearly an hour shaking with each new
person who tried to touch him.

It turns out that Mel had been a bait dog, thrown into the ring as a sort of
sparring partner for the tougher dogs, sometimes even muzzled so he
wouldn't fight back, beaten daily to sap his will. Mel was under constant
attack, and couldn't fight back, and the deep cuts were visible on more than
just his fur.

"You could see that Michael Vick went to a lot of trouble to make Mel this
way," Hunter said. "When people pet him, I tell them, pet him from under
his chin, not over his head. He lives in fear of someone putting their hand
over his head."

On Monday night, no, Mel was not hanging out by the televised football game.
He was hanging on his owner's bed as they watched something on HBO.

"How can you support football when you know one of their stars did this to a
dog?" Hunter said. "If more people saw Mel at the same time as they saw
Michael Vick, he wouldn't be so lauded."

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, the lessons learned from Vick's crimes were on
display in a postgame quote from Eagles star receiver DeSean Jackson.

"We were like pit bulls ready to get out of the cage," he told reporters.

Cheap and easy, huh?

This is an excellent article. While NFL is very popular in my house, none of us support Vick, or any team that he plays for. Its absolutely disgusting how people forget so fast.

And do you think that piece of human garbage Vick gives a shit about Mel? Didn't then and wouldn't now. Great article. I wish people who support Vick would read it.

He makes me absolutely sick! One of my coworkers (who sits right beside me) loves him. I asked her how she could and she said she loved him as a football player. I see him as nothing but a dog killer. I HATE that he's back in the NFL and doing so well.

Aussie Witch wrote:And do you think that piece of human garbage Vick gives a shit about Mel? Didn't then and wouldn't now. Great article. I wish people who support Vick would read it.

Of course he doesn't. Anyone who tortures animals doesn't care about them or even sees them as living creatures. Ugh he makes me sick, I read this article when it came out and it was so so good. Best Friends also posted a blog article in response to this and stated that neither Vick nor his handlers ever inquired (or donated) after any of the dogs, except a PR person contacted them once to see how he could get "good" publicity out of it. And yet he's back to being a national hero, this country has some seriously messed up ideals.

Wow... Great article.

This particular quote got to me:

It turns out that Mel had been a bait dog, thrown into the ring as a sort of sparring partner for the tougher dogs, sometimes even muzzled so he wouldn't fight back, beaten daily to sap his will. Mel was under constant attack, and couldn't fight back, and the deep cuts were visible on more than just his fur.

People forget. We need to remind them. He has NEVER said he's sorry (and meant it) and I am sure he'd go right back to it if he weren't so closely watched. To me, he's a monster, and no amount of touchdowns will get forgiveness from me.

Plaschke rocks. We love his column.

Vick makes me sick.

This article is heartbreaking - because it is true. I just cannot believe people are so willing to look the other way, all for the stupid sport.

I have the article linked on my Facebook page. I refuse to watch Philly play any more and wish that Vick wasn't reinstated. I think more people need to read this article and *see what that monster has done. He's far, far removed from a hero in my home.

Saira wrote:

Aussie Witch wrote:And do you think that piece of human garbage Vick gives a shit about Mel? Didn't then and wouldn't now. Great article. I wish people who support Vick would read it.

Of course he doesn't. Anyone who tortures animals doesn't care about them or even sees them as living creatures. Ugh he makes me sick, I read this article when it came out and it was so so good. Best Friends also posted a blog article in response to this and stated that neither Vick nor his handlers ever inquired (or donated) after any of the dogs, except a PR person contacted them once to see how he could get "good" publicity out of it. And yet he's back to being a national hero, this country has some seriously messed up ideals.

I totally agree and was seriously hacked off at some of the responses I got when I posted the link on my FB page.

Thanks for posting that article. As a lifelong Eagles fan (as is my entire family), I went through a lot emotionally when they decided to sign Dick. Then I thought, well, maybe he CAN use his celebrity to educate kids who find the idea of dog fighting appealing and since the HSUS was behind him and he was doing outreach....
I still an conflicted. I keep hoping and praying that he uses his second chance for good, but I do know that he is a sociopath and unless he is getting continued therapy, he is not likely to honestly change.

Pugsavers wrote:Thanks for posting that article. As a lifelong Eagles fan (as is my entire family), I went through a lot emotionally when they decided to sign Dick. Then I thought, well, maybe he CAN use his celebrity to educate kids who find the idea of dog fighting appealing and since the HSUS was behind him and he was doing outreach....
I still an conflicted. I keep hoping and praying that he uses his second chance for good, but I do know that he is a sociopath and unless he is getting continued therapy, he is not likely to honestly change.

He was doing outreach b/c he was forced to do outreach. I don't think he feels he did ANYTHING wrong. He's never expressed remorse, except for the fact that he lost all that money and had to do time in prison. He's never inquired after the dogs, never offered anything except what he was required to do based on the terms of his sentence. And that's why I can't stand him. If he had been sorry for his actions, learned from them, and really changed, that'd be one thing. But he hasn't. And he hasn't tried to hide that fact.

And I hate him. Will never support him. I think it's absolutely disgusting that he's being hailed as a come back hero. Steve likes to say "winning solves everything", and I hate that it apparently does. Since the Giants were playing Dick's team on Monday night, I had Steve go watch it in another room. I couldn't even stand to hear them talk about that man.

And yup - got lots of ugly remarks for posting it on my FB. But I don't care. Those animals will pay for his actions for the rest of their lives.

Amber wrote:I totally agree and was seriously hacked off at some of the responses I got when I posted the link on my FB page.

TxAllieGrl wrote:And yup - got lots of ugly remarks for posting it on my FB. But I don't care. Those animals will pay for his actions for the rest of their lives.

I don't know. Maybe some of your haters would think differently if they knew anything about Plaschke. He's a straight up, well respected sports columnist who has been writing for the Times as long as Karl and I have been reading that paper. Until he wrote that article, we didn't even know he liked dogs. He certainly isn't an activist. This Vick thing must have really affected him in a big way. So I give him big props not only for saying something that needed to be said but for going out on a limb and risking the credibility of his column for saying it.

Logan wanted to see the puppy again.

People made ugly remarks when you guys posted this on FB!?!?!?! Jesus F*cking Christ. Glad to know something like this brings people's true colours to the surface.

What is the link to the article? I want to put it on my FB page...

Maryjo wrote:What is the link to the article? I want to put it on my FB page...

You can link from my page, just find the article on my wall, and share it.

I honestly don't think Michael Vick has one redeeming quality. The only thing he is sorry for is that he got caught. I don't think you can separate a person into two halves. He is truly evil and I don't think he will ever be any different. His "religious" conversion is a typical jailhouse conversion. Sounds good but not a bit of truth in it.

I just hope and pray that there is a special place in hell for him.

lindarpugma wrote:
I just hope and pray that there is a special place in hell for him.

There just has to be.

And having worked in the criminal justice world for many, many years, I know that once a person has done their time and paid their debt to society, there's two ways it goes. If your famous--everyone forgives you everything and you go on to more fame and glory. Look at all the famous utter losers that continue to flourish like the new bay tree in spite of damage they've done to others.

I'm not an advocate of punishing someone for ever and a day for their crimes, but it galls me something fierce that the wealthy, the famous, the sports stars go on with their lives as if nothing ever happened. And that's essentially what happened with Vick. I had hoped that he would use this opportunity for good, but nope. He's serving himself.

And if you're not famous or a celebrity, maybe you begin again. But it's hard and it haunts you for most of your life. DUI to the average person can lose you a job, the ability to be bonded, the ability to do any number of jobs. A celebrity with a string of DUIs? Nothing. Not a single repercussion for most of them.

amen Blanche.

Here's Best Friend's response to that LA Times Article:
http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2010/11/18/michael-vick-the-value-proposition/

LA Times sports reporter Bill Plaschke wrote a compelling piece for yesterday’s paper on the resurgence of Michael Vick as an NFL quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Plaschke interviewed the caregiver of Mel, a pit bull and former resident of Best Friends Animal Society—and one of Vick’s former canine victims. Powerful stuff. Plaschke’s article boils down to is this question:

“Essentially, an ex-convict is dominating America’s most popular sport while victims of his previous crime continue to live with the brutality of that crime, and has that ever happened before?

Do you cheer the player and boo the man? Can you cheer the comeback while loathing the actions that necessitated the comeback? And how can you do any of this while not knowing if Vick has truly discovered morality or simply rediscovered the pocket?”

From what we at Best Friends know of the way Michael Vick has related to the animals he abused, the answer is clearly that he has “simply rediscovered the pocket.” Best Friends took 22 of Vick’s 48 seized dogs and the only contact we’ve received from Vick or his representatives was by way of some overtures from his agent, one of his attorneys and a PR firm specializing in reputation rehabilitation. They were interested in some public glad handing that would put Vick in a favorable light with the NFL, which at the time was still considering whether or not to reinstate him. We declined.

Best Friends has never heard from Michael Vick or any of his representatives inquiring after the health or well being of any of the 22 dogs that we received from his fighting ring.

According to the law, Michael Vick has paid his debt to society. Many would argue though that being free to get on with his life is one thing. Being welcomed into the highly privileged ranks of the NFL is quite another and warrants a much higher threshold of qualification. Plaschke again:

“…a large percentage of the population will still think Michael Vick is a sociopath. Many people will never get over Vick’s own admissions of unthinkable cruelty to his pit bulls — the strangling, the drowning, the electrocutions, the removal of all the teeth of female dogs who would fight back during mating.”

Obviously not a sufficiently large enough percentage of the population feels that way to deter the NFL from allowing someone on the field who many do believe is a sociopath ex-convict as long as he can fill the seats. They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t know they could get away with it.

Despite the fact that America is routinely described as a nation of animal lovers, concern for the lives and well being of those animals doesn’t yet compete with the desire to be entertained. That’s a problem.

It’s a problem because the same imbalance of public opinion that tolerates Michael Vick as a celebrated athlete also tolerates puppy mills, pet stores and shelter killings…each a cause of suffering many magnitudes the scale of Michael Vicks crimes and in some cases the same order of depravity.

Ending the societal abuse of homeless pets that results in the death of 4 – 5 million animals annually in our shelter system will require more than the heroic efforts of rescuers, it will require recruiting a larger percentage of this nation of animal lovers to a value proposition that places the lives and well being of our animal companions above personal entertainment, the allure of designer breeds and pets as fashion statements. The Michael Vick story is, for me at least, a marker along the way pointing us to the tasks ahead on the road to No More Homeless Pets.

Francis Battista

Co-Founder, Best Friends Animal Society

WOW! Powerful and very well said. Thanks for posting it, Allie