Michael Vick’s Abused Pit Bulls Are Given A New Leash On Life
If there’s anything that upsets me as much as the abuse of innocent children or the elderly, it is the abuse of innocent animals. I’ve done many posts here dealing with the outrages of pet/animal abuse, and it is my opinion that anyone who treats a poor creature in this manner doesn’t deserve to walk the streets free.
That is why it is nice to see an article such as the one I read this morning, on the pit bulls owned by former Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick. Michael, if you recall, was the starring QB of the team, who’s star was rising and who had everything in the world at his fingertips…yet he chose to live a secret life that centered around dogfighting, and who’s actions either directly or indirectly contributed to the abuse, torture, and death of his animals and those of other kennels. Discovery of his secret life ultimately led to his arrest and incarceration at Leavenworth for twenty-three months on Federal charges, not to mention an upcoming trial on two state charges which could merit him a ten-year sentence.
Forty-seven pit bulls were found at his property, most of whom were in such bad shape physically and psychologically that it was thought there was no hope for them to ever be rehabilitated. Traditionally, dogs rescued from dogfighting kennels are put down, but in this case more than half were sent to various rescue organizations and shelters. The twenty-two worst cases were sent to Best Friends Sanctuary in Utah, a center which attempts to remold the dogs from fighting animals to loving pets, or at least give them a comfortable place free of pain and fear in which to live out their days. For the past two years, the show DogTown on National Geographic Network has followed the animals as they attempt to, for once, have a real life:
There’s Cherry, an animal so terrified of people he cannot even walk when a human is around. His perpetually cowering stance convinces assistant dog care manager John Garcia and veterinarian Patti Iampietro that he must have been used as a “bait dog” to train the champions. Denzel is anemic and ill, and no one can figure out what’s wrong. Meryl is so hyper-aggressive toward humans that the court has ordered she must always stay at Dogtown, while Georgia cannot be around other dogs without attacking. And no wonder. Her scars indicate she was possibly a “championship” fighter, which explains why she has been bred repeatedly and abusively — at some point, all her teeth were removed to make, as Iampietro surmises, the forced breeding less dangerous to the other dog.
So if you ever wondered how bad dog fighting is, here’s your answer. To its everlasting credit, “DogTown” does not sensationalize the abuse; the histories of the dogs are simply pieced together from behavior patterns and physical evidence, which is much more chilling and effective. And while Garcia and dog care manager Michelle Besmehn are clear in their condemnation of the “sport,” they are more concerned with proving that pit bulls are not by nature dangerous animals and that even severely abused dogs can become loving pets for the proper owners.
The goal in each case — save Meryl’s — is adoption, but “DogTown” does not offer some miraculous “before and after” cure. Instead, viewers are taken through the painstaking process of first reaching the animals, earning their trust and then training them to behave with control in the Dogtown environment. In one story thread, Besmehn is drawn to Cherry because he is shy like her, and she spends the better part of a day just sitting with the dog and sees extraordinary progress when Cherry sniffs her coat and her arm.
Not much gets me upset faster than the torture and abuse of an animal. I sit here and look at my two cats, whom I raised on a bottle from the time they were three weeks old and for whom I ran into a burning house to save, and I wonder just what it is in humans that would make them willingly and knowingly inflict such pain on God’s creatures, animals who were given to us for companionship and love. I can look out the back windows of my home and, at the very back part of my little acre, I can see a fenced-in field in which three or four rescue horses contently munch grass…horses with scars on their bodies, thin flanks and jutting rib cages, who really do not like our lawn mower, and wonder why anyone would do such a thing to such magnificent creatures.
I strongly urge anyone reading this who cares about animals to find their local animal rescue center or shelter and make a donation of food, litter, blankets, or money. Six to eight million animals will enter shelters in the United States this year alone, so while you’re there, you might consider adopting one of the little lost animals and making it your forever friend…but please do not adopt more animals than you can take care of, and make sure you are a good fit with the animal you are considering adopting. One of the key phrases in the quoteblock above is “the proper owners”…do not adopt an animal that you cannot take care of or that is not a good fit to your household. I can just take care of the two I have, any more would be cruel to all concerned, but I will donate to my local shelter so that other animals can be fed and sheltered and adopted out to loving homes.
If Joyce McKinney wanted a replacement pit bull so badly, she could have had one of these.
This particular episode of DogTown airs tonight on the National Geographic Channel, 9PM ET/PT, 8 CT.
Pink Stripe WordPress Theme Designed by Joni Mueller &
Seeing the photo of Cherry brought tears to my eyes.
Like you, nothing angers me more than the abuse and torture of animals. Thankfully there are people like those at Best Friends who are willing to give these dogs a home. Bless them.
And please don’t breed or buy while shelter pets die.
Comment by Rachel — September 5, 2008 @ 11:17 am
Beautifully presented k, thank you. People who torture animals are in the same class as people who torture children (or anyone for that matter). I have no doubt there are special place in hell for those with no empathy for other creatures.
Comment by D — September 5, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
My sister rescued a shar pei/pit bull mix at a local gas station a few years back. She was just a puppy, but you could tell she had already had a hard life. She was so emaciated she had no fat on her at all and cigarette burns all over. She brought her home and we fell in love with the little skamp. Hayden is still shy and anxious around strangers, especially men, but is the sweetest puppy with my family. I don’t understand how anyone can do the horrific things they do to these dogs. I just pray these other dogs suffering out there get a chance at rehabilitation and a loving home.
Comment by Christy — September 5, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
I’m with you guys. I’ve adopted three rescue bunnies over the past few years and I’ve loved each and everyone of them. My current girl bun lost her mate recently when he just stopped eating because of teeth problems, so I’ll be looking to adopt her a new mate soon. Bunnies are the pets for me, and adopting them from shelters just makes it better all the way around.
Comment by Mouse — September 5, 2008 @ 8:29 pm
Thank you k on behalf of those of us on the front lines.
Comment by Mitsu Too — September 5, 2008 @ 9:09 pm
I am with all of you on this subject. I am currently watching the program as I type this. The beginning brought tears to my eyes and continues to do so knowing that these dogs who strive to be so loving and loyal to their owners were tortured the way they were. It isn’t like Michael Vick didn’t have enough money that he had to start a dogfighting ring. It just blows my mind how people can do such things without it even affecting their conscience. I can’t fathom standing around a ring watching two dogs fight until one is dead. It truly breaks my heart that so many dogs lose their lives in these situations. It makes me want to just love my dog more and I wish so much that I was able to adopt more animals however with my husband being in the military that isn’t possible at least for now. They are God’s creatures that need our love and affection. I hope that most of those dogs get the opportunity to get the chance to experience just being dogs, unfortunately Meryl will have to stay at Dogtown but I am sure that she is going to receive a lot of love, affection and praise. God Bless those that are taking care of them and give them the strength to get them through these difficult times.
Cherie
Comment by Cherie — September 5, 2008 @ 9:45 pm
I believe in God and that he will one day bring about justice for all the world blameless creatures. I know in my heart of hearts that he will. In the mean time, lets increase penalties on animal abuse, abandonment and place limits on breeding. Remember, one dog that is born takes the future of a dog waiting in a shelter. In my life I have had the ugliest dogs with the biggest hearts…all those gigantic hearts pounding away with love…please stop breeding and take what is in the shelter. That’s all I have to say.
Comment by Raylynn — September 5, 2008 @ 10:18 pm
WHAT’S THIS TALK ABOUT “UTAH”?!? ARE YOU A MORMON?!? You AGAIN owe Ms. McKinney an apology due to your unbelieveable IGNORANCE and your lack of knowledge of the TRUE FACTS about her. Also ditch your ”holier than thou” attitude. First of all, we have had the luck and good fortune to know this kind lady for many years. During those years I have seen her work non stop in animal rescue WITHOUT PAY, taking animals to her 100 acre home, feed them and gently nursing them back to health as if they were baby birds. As for you snotty comment that “Ms McKinney should adopt one”, why don’t YOU adopt them, You of the Hypocritical Big Mouth? Ms. McKinney, at this writing already has FIVE rescue dogs, three which she saved from the death needle at the pound (all pitbulls). She also has another little dog which she took in 15 years ago. (It’s cruel owner moved out of a trailer and left this dog with the moving boxes and no food or shelter. Ms. McKinney went up there and fed her and took her in and still has her fifteen years later.) Her FIFTH rescue dog is a big hound dog she rescued from the hurricane and flood. She RISKED HER OWN LIFE to wade through waist high water to get to him as he was on only a small mound of dirt with water surrounding him. She mended his broken leg and sewed him up with fishing wire and gave him her own antibiotics, until the road people cleared the road of debris enough to get him to a vet. Now THAT’S Love. Some body should pray for YOU and get you to read the Bible so you will stop judging others, especially such kind hearted people as Ms. McKinney, who has been through so much personal pain from slander, and endured it all because of her wonderful animals who she says, along with her faith in God, helps her survive it all. And by the way, some other media sources were added today by her libel attorneys to a huge Slander and Defamation suit they are working on. She wants to use the money to repair her life and build a training center for service dogs. Some of the cloned puppies will be trained there as service dogs. Also she wants to adopt more animals from pounds, who are doomed to death, and to train them as Service dogs. That way she will be “saving two lives instead of one”, she says. You know, you really need to get to know who you are criticizing and talking about, before you critique or slander them. You might find them to be nice people. In fact Ms. McKinney is very much against the fighting of pitbulls and has worked and spoke out against it. She really loves the breed and wants to restore their good name in the movie script which she is working on about the Pitbull service dog she had which is now famous due to the cloning. Her goal is to get some good positive PR for the pitbull breed and hope that a good positive film on a pitbull service dog will help people be more open to adopting them in pounds. Obviously, some of the whackos who criticize her say goofy statements like “There are 80 million homeless dogs in shelters, why doesn’t Miss McKinney adopt them instead of cloning a dog?” They are such thoughtless morons that they don’t realize that NO one human being could possible adopt 80 million dogs on her own! Ms. McKinney is mature and realistic enough to realize that we each have to do what we can. Every little grain of sand can help to move an ocean. Telling the very special story of Service Dog Booger and the Love he spread in this world, is her way of doing that. And the beautiful healthy cloned puppies will be his genes, his intellectual level, his legacy. As the esteemed genius scientist who cloned them said “We can only give them their bodies; you can supply the love and environment of the original Booger, and only God will give them their souls”. Well put. People should focus on the positive or scientific aspects of this story rather than be cruel and hypocritical and make comments which hurt Ms. McKinney and cause her emotional pain without any purpose. Hope you have learned your lesson. And we hope you read the book and go see the movie on Booger’s story when it comes out.
Comment by eb — September 5, 2008 @ 11:36 pm
I don’t “owe” “Ms. McKinney” anything. Tell “her” that for me, okay?
Wow. Nobody said she should adopt the millions of dogs in shelters (btw, nobody said 80 million, it was six to eight million). They said if she wanted to replace one dog, then she should adopt A pit bull from a shelter. “A” means singular. Uno. One. But nice try.
And in case you didn’t read it the first time, I said that I have all the animals that I can properly take care of, and for me to take in more would be both cruel to the animals I already have and to the new adoptee. However, I do donate time and goods and money to shelters so that they can help find animals new homes. More animals does not necessarily mean more love or more “heart”. It just means you know and accept your limitations.
So thanks for the testimonial of someone which I’m sure you are very, very, very close to. But I won’t spend one red cent to buy any book or see any movie that might come out of this selfish, self-centered, horrific fiasco (if indeed there is any).
I must be on your Google Alerts, you were right here as soon as your name was mentioned. So save your fingers typing out your little manifestos, because they are falling into the category of tl;dr. You aren’t fooling anyone. In case you didn’t realize it there is a little thing called opinion, and anyone who puts their story out in the public eye should expect others to form and voice their opinions, and not be surprised if they should differ. People who don’t like it should keep their stories to themselves.
This will be my last reply to you, because this is getting boring, repetitious, and old. Have a nice day.
Comment by k — September 6, 2008 @ 1:40 am
K – Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this message. There is a very special place in hell for people like Michael Vick, and another very special place in heaven for those who save these poor creatures from lives filled with nothing but torture and pain.
I have 3 dogs myself that are all rescues, and 2 of them are from the no-kill shelter for which I volunteer some of my time. One of my dogs is now ancient, but she had been found dumped at the side of a road when she was a puppy. Another was part of a round up of stray dogs near an Indian reservation that were about to be shot by the local sheriff. (How’s that for a euthanasia method.) My newest little one is a Katrina rescue that had terrible health issues including a nasty case of heartworm (we almost lost him during his treatment,) mange, and maggots in open sores on his hind legs. Unfortunately, his health issues were firmly in place LONG before Katrina. It still makes me angry to this day to think that he was either one of the thousands of strays roaming the streets of New Orleans making thousands more babies, or if someone did own him, no one cared enough to get him the proper medical attention he so desperately needed.
Today, I am so happy that I can provide these little ones with fulfilled, happy and healthy lives. In fact, my husband and I often joke the only reason we are here is to attend to their every need. When we go to bed at night, nothing is more peaceful than listening to my babies snoring contentedly.
And K, thank you for noting that there are limits. Every person must understand the importance of following the laws of the state/county/town, etc., regarding the number of animals allowed, and only adopt what can be cared for properly. Caring properly includes evacuating WITH their animals in the event of an emergency such as a hurricane, wild fire, flood, etc.. Further, laws regarding the types and number of animals are put in place for health reasons and to keep people in check…because hoarding almost always starts with good intentions that have gone terribly awry.
Comment by Ann — September 6, 2008 @ 4:01 am
YES. I could not agree more.
Comment by k — September 6, 2008 @ 4:14 am
I can not believe anyone would go to the distance to hurt these animals like he did. I am just happy most of them have been given a chance to change to succeed in life.
There is a lot of pain given to animals in this world today and it is very upsetting. Animals are apart of this world and they hurt just as we do. But there are people such as Mike Vick who do not have a care if he hurts something such as a animal.
I have gone the distance like you all and saved animals from harm and from being put to their death. What gets me is people out there will get an animal to care for while they have that feeling, but if the animal does things the owner does not like, then it is to the shelter or abuse/neglect is given. What is the reason for such things? It hurts seeing Cherry, Georgia, and the others hurting like they are. It makes me sick.
Comment by Marte — September 6, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
I have nothing but admiration and praise for the people who have helped Mr. Vick’s victims. It is their good deeds that comfort me when I read about the horrific torture these animals were subjected to. I have two cats, that I rescued, and imagining that they might have suffered just some of the unspeakable things inflicted on these poor dogs, makes my heart ache. I wish I could help them all.
Comment by Fran — September 7, 2008 @ 12:42 am
Thanks for posting this article. All of my pets are adopted also. I hope Mike Vick gets to meet and get very friendly with a “BIG DOG” in prison and the tables are turned on him. See how he likes being a victim. I don’t think his sentence was long enough AT ALL.
And kudos to all the people who saved the victims.
I hope that any money he made off this discusting past time is taken out of his estate also. (if they can find out how much from a couple of whistle blowers)
And he needs to be forced to clean the pens of the animlas in shelters. You know to be put on “Poop Detail” for a year at the very minimum.
They can call the sentence…
“Sh*t cleaning up sh*t”.
Comment by Call me Bubba Darling Ok? — September 7, 2008 @ 9:02 am
Hey John Garcia!!!
Thank you for educating people!!!
Until..saw the show(which my husband saved..HAAd to watch) My conception of the “Pit Bull” was totally incorrect!!!
You will be so.so…so…. “PICKY”…I luv all of them..but “Georgia” really is special..to me!!!
If we could have a chance?? You will know!!!
Contact us @ tombooth@sbcglobal.net
katzyann@sbcglobal.net
Arlington,Texs
817-296-0241
Thank You!!!
Comment by kathy galentine — September 15, 2008 @ 6:11 pm
What a lovely article, the look on poor “Cherry” was so heartbreaking,,and I thank God, there are people that will take the time to work with these animals, it’s such a blessing for them to see these animals slowly turn into loving, trusting dogs..What breaks my heart is animals are so trusting, and so unaware of what or why bad things happen to them. You have to be a real criminal minded person to hurt them. I have cats, and all have been rescue cats, I’m on my 6th one, having just lost my 14 year old boy last month, from cancer..I rent, they don’t allow dogs, but when I was growing up we had 4 at one time, I still rememeber my burly dad, gently picking up the puppy and hugging him, and my mom laughing while she cuddled the kitty, in the little dress, my girls had dressed him in,,our example was to love and care for these pets, we volunteer our time to the animal shelters to spend a few hours a week, playing and petting them, there is always something you can do, thanks for the lovely article,,Daisey
Comment by Daisey — September 20, 2008 @ 8:04 pm