It isn't that deep - people train dogs, not the other way around. No dog is born with a thirst for blood or a desire to attack and kill. That desire is trained, and that abusive "training" is carried out by people. This is abuse.
A repulsive chapter of this type of abuse was brought to national headlines when NFL quarterback, Michael Vick, was convicted of horrific crimes against pit bulls. No dog deserves to be treated this way!
Think it doesn't happen in VA - think again. Shelters in Fauquier County, Culpeper, and Rappahannock all see regular cases of abuse to pits, as well as other defenseless dogs. This abuse must stop!
Education is the answer. This webpage is dedicated to all the furry lives lost to human hands. We hope you'll check out and donate money to the organizations mentioned and find out more about how you can help these amazing animals in your own special way.
The Vicktory Dogs!
If you're like me, you were disgusted and repulsed by the cruel and vicious acts Michael Vick directed and personally inflicted on the many pit bull dogs at his horrid facility, including ordering female dogs to be repeatedly raped, as well as personally beating, torturing, hanging, and drowning dogs he deemed "not worthy".
While many people I know who are fans of his football career have pointed out to me that Michael has "served his time", he hasn't remotely done enough for the plight of these dogs for me. His actions were brutal. His actions were real. The dogs are real.
All "restitution" and school speeches that Michael's given to-date have been court-ordered, and he has never yet said that he was sorry for what he did. Don't believe me? Listen to one of his interviews. He's sorry he got caught. He's sorry his career was impacted and he lost everything. He knows that what he did was wrong... but he's never said he's sorry for what he did.
There's been no extra effort on Michael's part to do personal PSAs or provide additional funding to his dogs' ongoing care at the various rescue facilities around the country. Has Michael even visited them? What do you think ....
The awesome news is that despite many people's original wishes to have these "unsavable" dogs killed, these dogs were saved by several rescue facilities, including Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. Here is the latest update on those precious dogs who served more than enough of their own time in Michael's hellacious prison cell and are now overcoming their personal demons. See for yourself:
Best Friends, which is caring for more of Vick's dogs than any other organization, received about $389,000 court-ordered dollars from Michael's Vick - hundreds of thousands of dollars less than has been needed to pay for the hundreds of hours of love and time and patience and hugs and medicine and everything else that's been needed to help these dogs heal mentally and physically .
Many of the dogs are expected to be adopted after they are rehabilitated and matched with the right families. Vick’s 25 other dogs are in foster care all over the country. Here are some awesome stories about some of the other dogs:
Vicktory Dog Goes Home!
February 6, 2009 : 11:49 AM ET
The first Vicktory dog has gone home! How’s that for a statement worth shouting from the rooftops? This is one happy ending a long, long time in the making.
When Traci first heard about the Vicktory dogs, her heart went out to them. She couldn’t believe all they had been forced to live through. The one thing she knew for certain was that they deserved better. They deserved a home full of love and kindness. She wanted to be one of those homes. "If I could," she says, "I would have given every one of them a good home."
There was one setback, though. The Vicktory dogs were still a long way from looking for homes. First, they had quite the recovery ahead of them at the sanctuary. It would be a long wait to adopt one, with no guarantees, but Traci still wanted to be considered.
Then something happened. A big, goofy lovable pit bull named Tacoma came to Best Friends from a shelter. Tacoma is as friendly as a puppy. He even did a stint as office dog at the Best Friends clinic. Aside from knocking over all the furniture and thoroughly licking everybody who strayed close enough, he excelled as an office dog.
The adoption folks contacted Traci and told her about Tacoma. He, too, needed a home. Would she consider him? She took one look—and was hooked. Traci adopted Tacoma and they’ve been best pals ever since.
But she never stopped thinking about the Vicktory dogs. When the time came for several of the Vicktory dogs to get ready for homes, Traci still wanted to be considered. She and Tacoma felt it was time to welcome a friend.
It was a tough adoption process -- there a lot of special requirements for being able to adopt one of these special needs dogs. But after the adoption staffers approved Traci, she was thrilled! She had only one request: "Pick the dog you think will get along best with Tacoma."
Boy, did they knock this one out of the park. They chose Halle, a sweet, bashful girl who used to be afraid of her own shadow. When Halle first came to Best Friends, she was terrified of everything, everywhere. The whole world was one big threat. With all the help and constant TLC from her caregivers and friends, however, she’s come a long way and overcome so many fears. Even so, Halle still has confidence issues. Tacoma, on the other hand, is the kind of guy with enough confidence to bet the house on a pair of deuces in a poker game. This guy wouldn’t know how to act bashful on a dare.
When these two met, it was a cosmic case of love at first sight. They romped and played together and never had a moment’s trouble. In fact, they snuggled side by side on the bed with Traci during the initial sleepover. Talk about a deal-clincher! Traci and Tacoma took Halle home.
However, Traci can’t officially adopt Halle quite yet. The Vicktory dogs came to Best Friends with specific legal requirements, one of which is a six-month foster period before adoption. Still, if the first week of fostering is any indication, it looks like Halle has found her forever home.
She follows Tacoma around every minute and he’s equally smitten with her. They are inseparable in every sense of the word. Traci says that Halle is still a tad coy around new faces, but she doesn’t duck for cover or anything. Besides, every day she spends with Tacoma she absorbs a little of his confidence. And Traci couldn’t be more thrilled to have her around. "She has the sweetest, most innocent-looking face," she says about Halle.
So for now, it’s one big trial run. But with all the obstacles Halle has overcome so far, a six-month waiting period should be a cinch. Congrats to Halle, Tacoma, and Traci. It’s a happy-ever-after most certainly worth waiting for.
Story by David Dickson
Photo of Halle and Tacoma courtesy of Traci
Unfortunately, we all lost one of the Vicktory dogs recently. Here is her story:
A Very Special Life
February 12, 2009 : 3:21 PM ET
The last year of her life was by far the happiest. Bonita, one of the Vicktory dogs, just passed away from anesthesia complications during a dental surgery. She may have only lived at Best Friends for a little over a year, but she packed a whole lot of living into such a short time. She is already missed by many.
Bonita was withdrawn and shy when she first came to Best Friends. No surprise, considering the life she'd lived before. Not only was she a fighting dog, but her teeth had been filed down. Coupled with the scars on her body, it's a fair bet she was a bait dog, or a training dog for other fighters. The worst possible life imaginable.
Those first few days at Best Friends, Bonita kept to herself most of the time. Caregiver Carissa Hendrick remembers Bonita wouldn't even leave her dog house. Yet that didn't last for long. Soon Bonita sensed that something was different in this new place she'd come to live. She came out of her dog house and started sniffing around, hopeful.
Even early on, it was easy to see Bonita wanted to trust people. She had her doubts and all, but she wanted affection so badly she was willing to take a chance on a few familiar faces. Bonita had a close circle of friends who made her so happy she'd do a little dance of joy whenever they came near. For the first time in her hard life, she was loved. She was happy.
But progress didn't stop there. She started to trust an ever-widening group of people. Then her caregivers began training Bonita in basic good manners, the same they did with the other Vicktory dogs. Bonita, however, took to it more than most. In fact, once she learned a few tricks, she liked to show them off for attention. The wave was her specialty! Bonita learned that when she waved at people, they'd come over and give her some lovin'. You could hardly stop this girl from waving day in and day out!
She became such a star student that Carissa picked Bonita as the next dog she would take through the Canine Good Citizen classes. Carissa had already helped another Vicktory dog, Oscar, pass his tests with flying colors. "Bonita was totally going to pass," Carissa insists. "She was wonderful."
With all the strides Bonita made in overcoming fears, however, there was always one other problem that proved a little harder to solve. Bonita frequently had trouble with bloat, and she couldn't put on any weight. The vets and caregivers tried changes in diet, changes in portions and frequency, and they ran more blood work and other tests than you can imagine. They consulted specialists in babesia which is a tick borne disease known amongst fighting dogs that lowers the immune system.
Best Friends' Medical Director Dr. Michael Dix said, "I can't even tell you how many physical exams we've done on Bonita in the last six months." Between the blood work, the x-rays, and the physicals, she was no stranger to the clinic. Yet aside from the fact her weight never really increased, she proved healthy in all the exams and blood work.
There was a slim hope that a dental could help her gain weight as Bonita's mouth was in terrible condition and managing her teeth and gums was definitely a priority as her teeth had been filed and some were beginning to break. "Dentals are part of our diligence for complete health care at Best Friends," explains Animal Care Director Patty Hegwood. Dentals are only one part of a much bigger picture at the sanctuary to keep all the animals healthy and happy.
Yet with anesthesia there are never any guarantees no matter how many precautions you take, with animals as well as humans. Clinic staff performed the blood work beforehand, they monitored her closely during the procedure, but in the end Bonita's body didn't respond well to the anesthesia.
Those who loved Bonita knew her as a love-crazy lap dog. Yet even with strangers, Bonita was making great strides. She began to see a world of possibilities with each new face - amazing progress from when she first came to the sanctuary.
It's safe to say Bonita left a hole in the lives of those who knew her that won¹t be filled any time soon. And her life stands as a legacy and proof that no dog, given love and understanding, is ever beyond transformation.
Story by David Dickson
Photos by Gary Kalpakoff
To help stop breed specific legistration, click on this link and find out more:
Please help put an end to dog slaughter bills being passed where you live.
More than two dozen cities have already passed bills to round up and kill family pets who simply look like the kind of dog who might attack someone.
It’s the canine equivalent of racial profiling. And it’s quite scary. It started off with pit bull-looking dogs, and in some places it now even includes Labs and golden retrievers!
And when these bills are passed, who gets targeted the most? Answer: responsible, law-abiding families who have registered their pets and have their breed on record.
Yes, there are some dangerous dogs out there. But it has nothing to do with which breed they are, and everything to do with how they’ve been bred and how they’ve been trained.
At a conference in Denver, Colorado, at the end of October, Best Friends met with people from all over the country who are fighting dog slaughter bills in their own communities.
We also heard from experts who can demonstrate how totally counter-productive these measures are, and who know how to address the fundamental problem: the culture of violence that’s impacting dogs, irresponsible people, and impressionable teenagers who are being drawn into a world of crime, drugs and further violence.
Out of the conference in Denver, Best Friends is working with people everywhere who want to bring an end to dog slaughter bills, and to replace them with laws that crack down on the people who are using these innocent animals for criminal purposes.
To that end, we are drawing up the Family Dog Protection Declaration (FDPD), to help people guide their local legislators toward regulations that address the causes, not just the symptoms.
How you can help:
1. Please join this FDPD community, and join the forum discussions as we prepare the declaration and begin the campaign
2. Bring five other people to this community and invite them to sign in, too, and join the discussion.
3. Keep us all informed about any dog slaughter bills (breed specific legislation) that may be pending in your city or state.
Together we can work to replace the culture of violence with one of kindness – toward these animals, each other, and all living creatures.
