(2) Send a Letter to Judge Henry E. Hudson

The Federal judge in the Vick case, Henry E. Hudson, will decide when the dogs are no longer needed as evidence and he will then give permission to the government to destroy the evidence. Plead with the judge to spare the dogs. Tell him they are not evidence, they are LIFE. Plead with him to order the government to keep the dogs for as long as it takes for an effort to spare the dogs and give them a life that was better than what they had before. Tell him the dogs want to live, which is why they fought so hard for Vick in the first place.

Judge Hudson's contact information is:

Honorable Henry E. Hudson
United States District Court
1000 E Main St
Suite 305
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 916-2290
FAX: (804) 501-5505


Here is a letter that was sent to the Judge:

Honorable Henry E. Hudson

Judge, United States District Court

Easter Virginia (4th) District

1000 E Main St

Suite 305

Richmond, VA 23219

RE: Michael Vick's Dogs

Dear Judge Hudson:

My purpose in writing is not to plead with you to give Michael Vick his due once he pleads guilty, as I am sure many others have done. From all I have read about you, I am quite confident that whatever decision you make will be an appropriate one, given the facts as they have been reported in this horrific case. What I am writing about is something I do not even know is within your authority to do anything about, and that concerns the fate of Michael Vick's dogs, the victims of his alleged crimes.

As I understand it, once there is no longer a need to keep Vick's dogs as evidence, they will be destroyed because they are too dangerous to be kept around. What shocks me more than Vick's and his accomplices' alleged crimes is thet attitude that so many people (including the humane organizations I support) have that these poor dogs cannot be rehabilitated or, barring that, cannot live peaceful lives somewhere. The reason we have the laws on the books making cruelty to animals illegal is because we believe that their lives can be as meaningful to them as our lives are to us. If that is the case, why, then, will Vick get 18 months or so for brutally harming and killing 60 dogs or more, but these poor dogs get death for being his unwilling vicitms? That is at least unfair, if not plainly inconsistent ethically.

My purpose in writing is to do nothing more than ask you to not permit the destruction of Vick's dogs until every avenue has been explored to either rehabilitate these dogs or give them peaceful lives in their few remaining years. (I am sure Chris DeRose from Last Chance for Animals, who helped out during the investigation, can find a soltuion. I have already pledged my support to him if he does so.) Any life they will be able to have will be infinitely better than the lives they have had so far. They --- and not Vick and his accomplices --- should be the reminders of not only the animal cruelty that goes on in our country, but the fact that we can bring victims back from their hellish lives to the lives they deserve. So please, sir, show not only justice to Vick, but, more importantly, compassion to his victims. If it is within your authority to do so, please instruct the government to find a non-fatal solution for the dogs. Any justice to Vick will be empty and meaningless unless something is done for the victims while there is still time.

Thank you for reading this letter.

Sincerely,