In case you hadn't heard, of the 48 dogs evacuated from Michael Vick's dogfighting ring, 47 of them have been deemed acceptable to be released to rescue organizations. This is a HUGE victory for animal rescue folks, as only one animal had to be euthanized due to illness, and the evaluator said that the rest of the dogs were suitable for rehabilitation and training and eventual placement within loving homes.
This means that 47 dogs who had been doomed to a life of being abused by humans for entertainment, will now be loved by humans as family members. I don't know if you live in an area where dog fighting is common, but I do. Dogs get stolen out of back yards here to be "bait" dogs. Dogs are bred and trained to fight. Pit Bulls, especially, are routinely bred, abused, and trained to kill or be killed by other dogs. None of these gorgeous animals ever had a chance to be a pet, to be loved by humans. They are bred, abused, tortured, and viciously killed and thrown away.
Personally, I'm so grateful that this dog fighting ring was dissolved, and that charges were pressed. It sounds weird, but I'm glad it was somebody famous doing it, because it shows how pervasive dog fighting is, and it really put the epidemic of dog fighting out into the public eye. Now animal rescue folks can work towards tougher legislation, we can push for bigger penalties, we can rescue more animals from a life of misery and mistreatment.
This may be something you don't know: The shelter I volunteer for, The Richmond Animal League, has been awarded four of the 47 rescued dogs. They are going to be placed into loving foster homes where they can work on becoming loving members of a family, for the first time in their lives. And someday, when they recover from what they've been through, they can be adopted by their own loving families. Forever.
If you had thought about donating to something this year, I can't think of a better cause than volunteering your time or your money to your favorite local animal shelter this year.
And just in case you're interested, here's a list of the rest of the shelters that took in Michael Vick's dogs:
- Best Friends Animal Society, Kaneb, Utah (22 dogs)
- BAD RAP, Oakland, California (10 dogs)
- Richmond Animal League, Richmond VA (4 dogs)
- Georgia S.P.C.A., Suwanee, GA (3 dogs)
- SPCA of Monterey County, CA (3 dogs)
- Recycled Love, Inc., Baltimore, MD (3 dogs)
- Animal Rescue of Tidewater, Chesapeake, VA (1 dog)
- Our Pack, Inc. (1 dog)