Your post was very eloquent and worth pondering.
Not too many years ago, dogs and cats were not a part of the family as they are now.
My granddad lived on a farm (as do I). They were fed and given all needs to live. If one of the resident dogs/cats got killed by coyotes or however, it illicited no more than a shrug of the shoulders.
Fast forward several years. He had to come and live with me. I had six very large “part of my family” dogs in the house. Since he was in his 80’s...I’m sure he thought he was moving into an asylum. But he had no choice.
One of the family dogs took him under her wing and he fell in love with her. He would have killed anyone that tried to hurt her.
So I guess the point of this boring story, lol, is that people’s hearts can change. Perhaps Vick’s will as well.
And as you said, breaking the cycle of violence is very important.
Thank you.
This is one of those cases that go beyond the academic claim to be willing to forgive your enemies. This is where rubber is hitting the road and a good test of one’s real willingness to forgive when the hurt is deep.