Where Are the Vick Dogs Now?

If you are sick of Michael Vick, and want to go straight to the part about the dogs, it is at the end.

A New BET TV Series Treats Michael Vick Like Heroic Figure.
“Maybe all anyone needs to know about BET's 10-part " documentary series" on Michael Vick is that the NFL quarterback's production company, MV7, is one of the producing partners.
That's one cultural fault line on which he stands: the one that divides people who feel the lives of animals are precious vs. those who believe there is something wrong with people who think that way.” From: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/zontv/2010/01/bet_michael_vick_project_hero.html

If you have any inclination to watch it, so you can judge for yourself if it is just a gimmick to get on the right side of animal lovers, and/or a way to make more money.  When it is on: http://television.aol.com/show/the-michael-vick-project/11601784/upcoming
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“New documents obtained by an Atlanta television station reveal more graphic details about NFL quarterback Michael Vick's barbaric dog fighting activities.
Vick slammed dogs who refused to fight to the ground and beat them with a shovel, plunged dogs' heads in buckets of water while another held their hind legs to drown them and got an "adrenaline high" doing so, witnesses told federal interrogators in documents obtained by WSBV-TV.

There were also reports of dozens of dogs hanged at his Virginia property.
Vick threw his own pet dogs and pets belonging to an unidentified woman into the ring and thought it was "funny" to watch pit bulls severely injure or kill these dogs, witnesses said.
The testimony portrays Vicks as a ruthless killer. In one case, one of Vick's associates said he wanted to give away a non-performing dog, but Vick said the dog "had to go" and he was killed.”
From:
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/pets/More_graphic_details_emerge_about_Vicks_dog_fighting_ring.html
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How about volunteering on game days:
From:http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/09/pet-rescue-group-offers-to-donate-dog-food-to-shelters-in-exchange-for-tackles-of-michael-vick.html
“The ads (one of which has already run in the Washington Post) urge animal lovers to "Consider volunteering at your local shelter on the day of the game. Spend some time walking, or brushing, or bathing, or hugging a homeless Pit Bull." Future ads are scheduled to appear in San Diego, Chicago and New York.

Beyond the call to volunteerism, the ads also feature a pledge from Main Line: For every time Vick is tackled during the upcoming game, the group will donate five bags of dog food to an area animal shelter.  (Since Vick is hard to catch, Main Line founder Bill Smith says the group will donate a minimum amount of food, even if he isn't tackled at all.) 
"Rather than slamming the guy for the next couple of years, we thought, 'Why not come up with something funny?'" Smith explained in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News. "We're not stupid," he added. "We're using Michael Vick to get attention." As long as some needy dogs also get attention as a result, that's good enough for us!”
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“The group calling itself BAD RAP said it extended the invitation through the Eagles to Vick last week to view his former dogs that were part of the dog fighting operation at Bad Newz Kennels in southeastern Virginia. Vick declined.”
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Michael Vick's Second Crime Almost as Bad as his First
“April, 2009 the U.S. Department of Labor accused Vick of making a series of transfers totaling about $1.3 million out of a pension plan that a celebrity marketing company which he owned maintained for nine employees. Further adding insult to injury, he used the funds to pay court-ordered restitution for the damage caused by the dog-fighting. Even though Vick had signed a ten-year contract worth $130,000, due to an extravagant lifestyle and poor investments, money was a problem for him even before he was arrested.
In other words, he was looting his company’s pension fund. Even without taking the current economic climate into consideration, this crime approaches brutalizing dogs in shamefulness.”
From:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/russ-wellen/michael-vicks-second-crim_b_183405.html

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So what is next?
“Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last 25 years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty.
The FBI has recognized the connection since the 1970s, when its analysis of the lives of serial killers suggested that most had killed or tortured animals as children. Other research has shown consistent patterns of animal cruelty among perpetrators of more common forms of violence, including child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse.

In fact, the American Psychiatric Association considers animal cruelty one of the diagnostic criteria of conduct disorder.” From: http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/abuse_connection.php

"A man who can look a dog in the face and deliberately pick the most brutal and prolonged way of killing that dog, for nothing more than being insufficiently vicious – I think most people could reasonably wonder if such a man could ever genuinely be rehabilitated."
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Endorsements

“During his NFL career, Vick became a spokesperson for many companies; his endorsement contracts included Nike, EA Sports, Coca-Cola, Powerade, Kraft, Rawlings, Hasbro and AirTran.^[13][14]
Before the animal cruelty case surfaced in 2007, Vick's corporate status had deteriorated. Among the negative incidents was his middle finger gesture to Atlanta football fans in 2006.^{[15][16]”.
From:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Vick}


NFL has really gone down in my estimation, and I am glad that most of his endorsers and those that were going to advertise on his ‘Project”, have withdrawn their support.
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There is even a Vick Dog's Blog:   http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/

But this about “Where Are the Vick Dogs Now?”     Especially this one re-named Ted:

“Ted was named by a toddler who helped acclimate him to his new life in CA. This dog, Ted, now a social boy has many canine friends and continues to defy every stereotype about dogs from fight busts. Now in a pending home with a female pit bull named Lizzy, he is inches away from earning his Canine Good Citizen award. His biggest hurdle: learning how to stay brave and focused during the sounds of gunfire and trains - both of which used to make him very anxious.

He stills ducks from raised hands; a gesture that indicates former abuse”
From: “Where Are the Vick Dogs Now?” http://www.badrap.org/rescue/vdogs_now.pdf

It sure looks like Ted on this ASPCA petition to stop dog fighting: http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=DogFighting 

I seen and have fostered many abused animals, and it takes a lot of love to get them re-habilitated.  I am still working on my foster cat "Patches", who used to run from everybody.  Now, she still narrows her eyes when you come near, as if to say "Don't hurt me", but enjoys knowing that it will be petting and stroking now.

“Where Are the Vick Dogs Now?”
http://www.badrap.org/rescue/vdogs_now.pdf     made my day.