Why the Vick Dogs Should be Saved

Why the Vick Dogs Should be saved.

The whole sordid Michael Vick affair came to light as the result of a drug bust that was made on his property in Surry County, Virginia, in April of this year,. During the course of that drug bust, the authorities discovered Vick's dog fighting operation and seized the 53 living dogs --- all pit bulls --- from the property. The dogs were not seized and kept alive out of humane concerns but because they were needed as evidence. From what I have read, since that time, those poor dogs have been living in cramped conditions in an undisclosed location, many not even being given an opportunity to be walked. The authorities gave the owners of those dogs until the week ending August 25th to come forward to claim those dogs, as they are required to do by law. No one did. (Why anyone would come forward to claim the dogs is beyond me, because if they did, they would be immediately charged with crimes similar to Vick and his accomplices. Perhaps the government was hoping that the real owners would be stupid enough to come forward thinking they would be given immunity from prosecution simply because they had the heart to claim the dogs.)

In recent weeks, the focus of the government authorities and the humane associations has been on getting Vick convicted for the heinous acts that he and others committed at that hellish place of his. Not once, though, did I read anywhere that anyone showed any concern for the seized animals. In fact it was just the opposite. From all that I read, government authorities (in this case, the federal government) and the animal welfare organizations (e.g., The Humane Society of the Untied States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, American Humane Association, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and others) were saying that, sadly, all the dogs might have to be euthanized because they were too dangerous to keep around, even though they have admitted that the dogs are not dangerous to their human handlers, only perhaps to other dogs. Not once did I read of any of any animal welfare organizations that was willing to step forward and say they the dogs should be given some chance to live.

Well, expressing only "sadness" about the inevitable fate of these dogs is not good enough for me. Although I admit that I am not an expert of the recovery and rehabilitation of dogs seized from dog fighting rings, I got tired of hearing that these dogs would have to put to death when they are no longer needed as evidence, and that's why I started this blog after being encouraged to do so by at least one compassionate soul who felt the way that I did.

After I started the blog, I read that as part of the plea agreement, Vick has agreed to pay for the long-term care or the humane euthanasia of the dogs. That told me that at least in the back of someone's mind in the government there is the chance that some or all of the dogs can be saved.

Without having had the time to put my thoughts into some philosophical essay form, here are the 14 reasons I believe the dogs ought to be spared, and I do not mean just some of them, I mean all of them.

1- A solution that favors LIFE is always preferable to one that favors DEATH, unless suffering would be involved,

2- These dogs were lucky enough to be seized, now they should be lucky enough to be allowed to live.

3- These dogs can be used as reminders to us for at least several years of the cruelty that dog fighting doles out to the animals, Let them be as ambassadors for this purpose so that we do not forget.

4- The reason these dogs are alive is that they fought hard in order to live. Now is our chance to show them that they earned what they fought so hard for.

5- Vick is going to be the one to pay for their costs. If he does not spend it on these dogs, when he gets out fo prison, he will spend the money on comfort items for himself. This would be wrong to let him do that. He must have a living reminder of his wrongdoing.

6- The reason Vick is being convicted is because "we" have said it is wrong to inflict harm on animals. If we kill Vick's dogs and say there is nothing we can do about them , we are almost as bad as he is. How can we create laws because of our concern for dogs, but then after we punish the people who inflicted injury or death on those dogs, turn around and kill who were the victims supposedly protected under those laws. It does not make sense.

7- Sure these dogs will never live normal lives of dogs. For instance, they will probably never be able to be around another dogs. But any life they will lead will be infinitely better than the lives they would have led under Vick. Whatever life they have without suffering will be a life that has meaning to them. (And surely some ingenious person should be able to develop some kind of a muzzle that will allow these dogs to be around each other without inflicting harm. If ever there was the opportunity to invent something like this, this is it. And all at Vick's expense. Think how many other dogs will benefit in the long run.)

8- The dogs can used as models to show that dogs seized from fighting rings can be rehabilitated or lead otherwise pleasant lives.

9- If we cannot find a solution for this problem, how can we say that we can find solutions for the many other problems facing the animals, the planet or humans? How will we ever be able to find a solution for the problem of dogs being used for fighting, whether they be pit bulls or others? Surely that problem is harder than finding a home for Vick's dogs now.

10- Sure there are many other animals (not to mention people) that need our time, attention and money. But these dogs need it too.

11- Even if these dogs are declared dangerous dogs, the law provides means by which dangerous dogs can be kept. We should follow those laws ourselves.

12- If the dogs are kept, Michael Vick ought to be given the chance to tour the country with them showing that he is changed man, able to show compassion to his dogs (although this Blogger does not believe he is able to do that).

13- If the Vick dogs are killed, it is going to feed the paranoia and myth about the viciousness of pit bulls, and it will lead to thousands of more deaths of these poor dogs and then, when there are no more pit bulls around to kill, whatever breed succeeds them.

14- It is the right thing to do

To be continued. If anyone has any other ideas, please add them in a comment below.

An afterthought. While no one has suggested the following question yet, I have heard it so often before in other contexts that I will raise it here myself, and that is this: Why should we spend so much time, effort and money on trying to save these 53 pit bulls when there are so many pitbulls, dogs, animals, people or earth causes that could benefit from our resources? Of course, those readers who have already thought about that question know what the answer is. For the benefit of those who have not had the opportunity to raise it before, you would be absolutely right in asking it because there really are so many, many compassion opportunities at any one time that need all our attention. My guess is, though, that if you took the time to visit this blog you are one of those compassionate people who have been faced with this question many times already. There are, of course, many answers that I could give, and have given, but the one that keeps coming back to me time and time again is this. When I have learned of something going on in the world that I have concluded is wrong, and if I know there is something I can do about, I really have no choice but to act and do those things that are within my reach and means to do so. Time and time again I have proven myself correct in my assumption that one person can make a difference. But more importantly, time and time again when I have acted, regardless of the outcome of those actions and the similar actions of others, I have felt good about myself and the knowledge that I have reduced or tried to reduce suffering and opted for life. Beyond that, each opportunity I seize to do something like this strengthens me in my resolve and in my skills to do something even greater the next time. It will do the same for you. And more than just feeling good about yourself, you will actually reduce suffering. And that, in my estimation, is why we are all here.