Fifty-three dogs seized from NFL star Michael Vick’s property in Surry County, Va., could soon be destroyed, as no one has come forward to claim an ownership stake in the animals. The deadline is today.

Because fighting dogs aren’t fit for adoption, there is little chance they’ll survive unless they are needed as part of the case against the Atlanta Falcons quarterback and three others, a police spokeswoman said.

“They are still considered evidence at this point,” said Christi Goldman, an officer with the Chesapeake Police Department that oversees the animal control operations where many of the dogs are being housed. “If there’s a state charge or a city charge that [a defendant] could still face, then that would still have us taking care of the dogs.”

Vick has agreed to plead guilty to felony charges for his role in the dogfighting ring, which included executing dogs by electrocution, beating and drowning. The seized dogs aren’t suited for traditional pet ownership, said Wayne Pacelle, the president of the national Humane Society.

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“As a general matter we often recommend euthanasia of fighting dogs,” Pacelle said. “They’re breeding animals for fighting, training animals for fighting and they’re culling animals that don’t fight very well, so you’re left with the most aggressive animals,” he said. “Meanwhile, there are tens of thousands of animals in shelters in every community in the country needing adoption and needing love.”

The potential euthanasia of the seized fighting dogs is both a shame and what should happen to the animals, said Daphna Nachminovitch, spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“This is the outcome — dogs pay with their lives,” she said. “For many of them, these months that they’ve spent in animal shelters are the best of their lives.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

dgenz@dcexaminer.com