Recently I wrote an article about Best Friends Animal Sanctuary for a class I'm taking. The angle of the article was the rehabilitation of the animals at Best Friends. In preparing for this article I found myself researching the dogs that were victims of Michael Vick's heinous acts.
I concentrated primarily on two articles for my research, one by Jim Gorant of Sports Illustrated and one by Brigid Schulte of The Washington Post. Depending on the source, either 50 or 51 dogs were found alive on Vick's estate. Found chained to car axles, starving, dying of injuries and infections and terrified, the dogs were then put in solitary confinement for sx months while the trial ensued. Six months. These dogs went through hell, some for their entire lives, and then put into solitary confinement for six months.
Did you know only ONE Vick pitbull was euthanized for aggression?Let me repeat that: only ONE Vick PITBULL was euthanized due to aggression. Bet you didn't know that. Use that against your brother's wife or your roomate's cousin the next time they argue that pitbulls are inherently bad.
Let's take the more conservative number of 50. Let's say 50 pitbulls were found alive (don't want to know how many were dead when authorities showed up at Vick's hell hole that day in April of 2007) two died in solitary confinement, one was euthanized because her wounds were so badly infected and her immune system so weak, there was no other alternative, and ONE was euthanized for aggression.
Fast forward to a year later after the dogs were taken out of solitary confinement. Some very kind and rational people fought the mean irrational people who wanted all (47 at that time)remaining dogs be put down, and those nice, kind, rational people worked with them. Twenty-five were immediately put into foster homes. These foster homes had kids, small children and other dogs, and cats. The remaining twenty-two were sent to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary where today, fourteen more have been adopted out (again, exact numbers may vary slightly according to reports.)
Think about that, will you? This breed that has such a bad reputation. This breed, the pitbull. It is believed that a dog can hear a tick yawn from fifty yards away. Those dogs heard the other dogs' screams of agony when they were beaten, electrocuted and hung. When they were forced to fight and killed in the ring. Those surviving dogs heard sounds of torment and murder and yet, today they're rehabilitated, integrated into homes, around children and trusting of humans - the exact species responsible for causing years of torment.
Just think about that. The Pitbull seems to be a beautifully forgiving, remarkable breed. Don't you think?
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