Posted on 12/29/2010 9:35:07 AM PST by EBH
Now that President Obama has jumped on the Michael Vick bandwagon with an official call to Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie to congratulate him for giving the quarterback another chance, all of us here at Best Friends are waiting for a call from the White House to congratulate us for giving Vicks dogs a second chance. Im quite sure that the other organizations that also took on some of the canine survivors of the football stars dogfighting operation are similarly poised.
The conventional wisdom on this is that the presidents people have put their finger to the wind and decided that Michael Vick has been sanitized for political consumption by his success. (Its interesting to speculate how he would be perceived if he were having a lousy year.) Personally, Im kind of tired of hearing and reading about Michael Vick and wish that the media would lose its obsession with the man, especially since any mention of or concern about the dogs who managed to escape with their lives from his care is conspicuously absent from his public statements.
While we no longer wait by the phone for a call from Mr. Vick asking after his dogs, the likelihood of a call from the president has brought new esprit to the switchboard team and Ive put together some notes on those we call the Vicktory dogs in case someone puts the historic call through to me by mistake. The conversation will go something like this:
Mr. President, what a surprise! Thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedule to commend us for giving the Vicktory dogs a second chance. Sure, Ive got a few minutes to fill you in kind of a presidential briefing, I guess.
To be quite honest, sir, its kind of a mixed bag as far as how the dogs are doing. After all, these critters were right there when Michael Vick and his friends were body slamming some of their doggie buddies to death and electrocuting, drowning and hanging others. Unlike Mr. Lurie and the NFL, Bad Newz Kennels wasnt into second chances. Whats that, sir? Yes, hes having a great year yeah, a terrific arm.
So, as I was saying, its a mixed bag on the dogs, though some are doing very well, all things considered. Handsome Dan, Cherry, Mel, Oliver and Halle have all been adopted and some of these guys were pretty shut down, you know, terrified when they arrived here. Mel was mentioned in Bill Plaschkes article in the L.A. Times about Michael Vick yeah, he interviewed Mels new family in Texas. Poor dog still shakes in a corner whenever a new person comes to the house, but hes in a great home and thats what counts.
Whats that, sir? Sure, we want them all to be adopted and live in homes with a nice family, but unlike Mr. Vick, the court has ordered that most of the dogs, based on their behavior evaluations back in 2007, have to pass a good citizen test before they can be adopted. No, Im serious. Its called a Canine Good Citizen certificate, CGC, and it means that the dogs are able to demonstrate self-control, sociability and friendliness toward people and other dogs. Actually, its quite an accomplishment for a dog who was encouraged to be aggressive or maybe was used as a bait dog. Sir? Oh, a bait dog is a relatively non-aggressive dog who gets thrown into the ring with a stronger fighter just to give the stronger dog confidence and a taste for blood. Thats right, sir, kinda like a press secretary.
Anyway, 16 dogs are still at the Sanctuary: Mya, Shadow, Lucas, Layla, Willie Boy, Georgia, Meryl, Ellen, Tug, Denzel, Ray, Squeaker, Lance, Curly, Little Red and Oscar. And they get a lot of attention. Most of them have health issues; some have bebesia, a blood parasite that spreads among fighting dogs and flares up occasionally. Some have immune problems that we speculate came from excessive use of steroids, but they continue to make progress.
Ray, who was really shy and dog-reactive when he arrived, has earned his CGC. Oscar got his CGC and Shadow has made such great progress that he has a potential adopter coming to meet him next week. Were very pleased. Most of the dogs are now social enough to share a run with another dog and some spend a few days a week in staff offices, getting comfortable in new environments with people coming and going. Yes, I guess it is a bit like the new Congress, except that most of the dogs would never bite you and I doubt that Congress people are able to share a run, um, I mean, an office.
Why do we do all this for these dogs? Well, Mr. President, thats a big question but Ill try to keep it short. First of all, we dont believe that killing the Vick dogs, which many people and even some animal organizations wanted to do, would have been right. We know that they are individuals with the potential to have rewarding lives. They were like child soldiers kidnapped by warlords and forced to fight; no one thinks child soldiers should be killed just because they are damaged. Same thing applies here. Also, the Vicktory dogs are victims of a crime. As long as they are struggling to regain even a semblance of the life that should have been theirs from birth, then that crime continues to affect lives, dog and human, and is not yet a thing of the past, regardless of Michael Vicks jail time or talent. Youre right, sir, its not funny and Id hate to think of Bo in that situation, too.
Of course, no worries! Ive got a pretty busy day as well. Nothing like yours, but thanks for calling and please pass along a Happy New Year to Michelle, the girls and Bo from all the animals and staff here at Best Friends
. Oh, just one more thing: I think it would be a great message to send if you adopted a shelter dog as a companion for Bo, maybe a cute pittie girl with a big smile and wiggly butt. Sure, we can set you up. Call anytime youve got the number. And a good day to you, too, Mr. President.
Did you check out the comments at the link...
Rappers attempt to compare what he did to us whiteys hunting for dear.
I’ve hunted deer, I’ve bagged one every season I have applied (it has been awhile). But, you know what? Not 1 of the deer I shot - suffered. I pride myself on my stealth and accuracy - and a head-shot at 75 yards with a 22-250 means that the animal felt nothing.
One moment it was grazing, it heard a whistle - it put it’s head up to discern where the whistle came from - and the lights went out.
Compare that to a dog forced to fight in a cage, then beat and electicuted by a brute. Sorry, no comparision to deer hunting in the slightest.
Gratuitus Sadistic torture - yes; Deer Hunting - absolutely not.
I think you missed my point, I totally agree with you. One of my students made that arguement - tried to use rap lyrics as backup - and I instantly shut it down using similar words as yours only adding that, “the dear meat is processed and eaten and that the dear were not made to fight”. He was so shocked that he changed his mind about the whole thing.
Deep down inside I hate how successful Vick has become this year.
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