Michael Vick's Dogs: Does Obama Owe Them A Call Too? (POLL)

While Michael Vick's success this year has moved fans past his former transgressions, even garnering a phone call to Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie from President Obama, the re-emerging football star's former dogs seem to be left behind.

Despite an amazing recovery for many, and a second chance at life after they were pitted against each other and tortured as a part of Vick's dog-fighting circuit, the "Vicktory dogs" have gone relatively unnoticed by not only the President, but the media. Vick's desire to adopt a new dog, has grabbed more headlines than the ones he left behind.

Only 47 of the 51 dogs confiscated following Vick's arrest were deemed adoptable, and of those 22 were sent to Best Friends. 16 still remain at the Sanctuary, according to the Best Friends Animal Society's blog. Before any dog may be adopted, it must first receive a Canine Good Citizen certificate, a feat that's not easy for many dogs that have been trained to be aggressive.

Best Friends Animal Society, who came to care for many of the dogs, feels the President's call to Vick should have come along with a call to the dogs, whose progress is mixed.

Best Friend's Co-Founder Francis Battista simulated how he might respond to a call from the President on the shelter's blog:

"To be quite honest, sir, it's kind of a mixed bag as far as how the dogs are doing. After all, these critters were right there when Michael Vick and his friends were body slamming some of their doggie buddies to death and electrocuting, drowning and hanging others. Unlike Mr. Lurie and the NFL, Bad Newz Kennels wasn't into second chances. What's that, sir? Yes, he's having a great year ... yeah, a terrific arm."

"So, as I was saying, it's a mixed bag on the dogs, though some are doing very well, all things considered. Handsome Dan, Cherry, Mel, Oliver and Halle have all been adopted and some of these guys were pretty shut down, you know, terrified when they arrived here. Mel was mentioned in Bill Plaschke's article in the L.A. Times about Michael Vick ... yeah, he interviewed Mel's new family in Texas. Poor dog still shakes in a corner whenever a new person comes to the house, but he's in a great home and that's what counts."

The dogs will remain with Best Friends until they are either adopted or die of natural causes. The Utah sanctuary is the nation's largest no-kill animal shelter, with over 33,000 acres.

Quick Poll

Does President Obama owe Michael Vick's dogs a phone call?

Yes.

No.

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Comments

[Meredeth Oliver]

10:23 PM on 01/10/2011

Please sign the petition I created on 12/27 regarding this matter at change.org.

http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/tell_president_obama_you_dont_agree_with_him_supporting_michael_vicks_2nd_chance

[halinphilly]

11:15 PM on 01/04/2011

Despite the fact that I think President Obama made an error in judgement when he publicly weighed in on the Vick controversy, I don't think that's enough to give people the right to make any blanket statements about race. I for one am still a big fan of Obama for many, many reasons and intend to vote for him again.
On the other hand, I still hold Vick in utter contempt - And no, I don't feel he really paid for what he did, nor do I see any real remorse in his eyes when he talks about the dogs on camera.

[InformedAmerican]

09:33 PM on 01/04/2011

Every time I read articles like this it just makes me support MV even more. Let's see...I'd never purchased any NFL merchandise in my entire life but, I bought me and my daughter a Vick jersey. I'd never voted for a pro bowler or was ever interested in voting...but I voted for MV. Although I don't own any pets, I have always supported my local Humane Society but, after all the hatred spewed towards MV because of PETA, etc I will NEVER give any of these orgs another dime. And if you care to know just how your donations are spent, take time to visit their websites and read their statistics. You will find that they kill most of them anyway! And YES dogfighting is pevalent in the South and NO it did not begin with MV!! These orgs are exploiting these animals to rake in donations... and truth be told...anyone who adopts these animals are the ones who are sick!! Where is the outrage for the people who run a racehorse to death or until it breaks a leg, then kills it because it can no longer race?! HYPOCRITES!! I hope MV wins the SB..GO VICK!!! The more you hate him, the more I love and support him! I can't wait until he gets his MILLIONS back and a movie deal! He'll be laughing all the way to the bank at y'all crazy a$$es and so will I!

[Gideon Belete]

03:33 PM on 01/04/2011

so stupid! I love dogs but give it a rest..

[April Pells]

07:52 PM on 01/03/2011

You've got to be kidding me.

[jacquej1]

06:25 PM on 01/03/2011

Best Friends Animal Society took in the 22 worst-case pitbulls from Michael Vicks Bad Newz Kennels. The dogs were court ordered to remain at the sanctuary until they could pass the Canine Good Citizen test. (No easy test for ANY dog). To date, 9 dogs have passed the test, and five have been adopted into loving homes. Many of the remaining dogs are so emotionally damaged and shut down, that it will be a long time, if ever, before they can trust people enough to become good citizens. One of the sweetest of the dogs, Lucas, is court ordered to never leave the sanctuary because he was considered Michael Vick's champion. There are no second chances for Lucas. Georgia, one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met, has had every tooth yanked from her mouth, so that she could be bred repeatedly.

If you could take the time to look into Lucas' eyes (or any of the "Vicktory" dogs), you'd know why we take this all so personally. One of the BFs founders, Francis Battista, wrote an excellent editorial that you can read here: http://blogs.bestfriends.org/index.php/2010/12/29/when-the-president-calls-about-the-vick-dogs/

Michael Vick is not deserving of any of my attention. He is not worth my hatred. Frankly, I could give a rat's patootie what he does with the rest of his life. I just pity any dog that is forced to live with him.

[Kambriel2]

09:04 PM on 01/03/2011

Thank you for the link. I'll send a donation.

[Kambriel2]

04:21 PM on 01/03/2011

Well,I can't judge the President too harshly about this. He's a sports fan. Michael Vick did get convicted, and did his time in jail. I don't like the man, but he does have a right to work and live after release just like anyone else. While I feel his sentence was insufficient that is current state of law concerning animal cruelty. The rescue and rehabilitation of these dogs is the true success story. So many have healed and gone on to be companions and service dogs, when a few years ago people would have be advocating for their being destroyed because they were pit bulls and fighters. There are many wonderful people who have fought long and hard for these dogs and they deserve recognition.

True, Michael Vick is not the only person involved in underground dog fighting. He's not the first and not the last. Remember people like the HSUS and ASPCA and others are fighting to stop pit dog fighting everyday. They need support. Take the outrage and do some good.

[TurnToTheLeft]

07:53 PM on 01/03/2011

Agreed. Good Points. Besides President Obama is a dog lover - BO looks very happy. I live for my dog and dote on her. I would let her near Michael Vick but he does have a right to work. What do people want... do they want him to be a return felon who we have to pay for with our tax dollars.

[kevman08]

04:02 PM on 01/03/2011

I don't think Obama owes them a call, I think he owes them a belly rub on national TV.

[Jazmo]

03:18 PM on 01/03/2011

At the very least, since Obama brought it up, he could mention some of these wonderful rescues who took care of the dogs in the aftermath.

[Brenda Causey Tilman]

01:55 PM on 01/03/2011

Heroes are those who pitch in to take care of the aftermath of horrorific events. The heroes I applaude are those who took in the abused, the sick, the maimed, the scared, and gave them hope. The heroes I applaude are those who took in the dogs that Michael Vick maliciously and inhumanely tortured. I applaude those whose tears are shed for those dogs that Michael Vick and his crew murdered and tortured in the most heinous ways imaginable . . . . . I appluade those that see the good in these dogs. These poor dogs are not beasts. The beast hides behind an insincere smile and a football helmet.

[Sans Octavian]

07:23 AM on 01/03/2011

Obama must call everyone on earth who is offended by something and apologize.

[Anonani]

10:34 AM on 01/03/2011

To Hell with being President...it is telephone duty time. Heaven help a man who is always wrong, no matter what he does or says.

[Katrina Taylor]

11:32 PM on 01/02/2011

Seriously? This is an article?

[Sometimey]

02:16 AM on 01/02/2011

When a San Francisco couple, Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel, raised their dog to be a killers, and the dog killed their neighbor, and the dogs were put down, no one cared about the dogs, and there was no special animus toward the owners. You would think that dog fighting began and ended with Michael Vick! Somehow, no matter what the offense, the indignation is out of proportion, when the perpetrator is a *Diasporan.

No one seems to care that Michael Vick carries several human beings on his back! When he goes down, so do they.

It's not the love of dogs that drives these people, it's racial hatred. The same mentality that seeks to destroy Michael Vick, thought it made sense to rescue dogs in New Orleans, when people were dying. There has never been a dog rescue when white people were dying. The dogs are just an excuse.

*Diasporan: A descendant of a survivor of the African diaspora.

[GreenKate]

04:58 AM on 01/02/2011

"there was no special animus toward the owners"? Kroller and Noel's trial was relocated to LA because they could not get a fair trial here in San Francisco. They were convicted of murder and I agree totally with that result. They appealed and the murder conviction was overturned (with manslaughter upheld) but then the murder conviction was reinstated on appeal. Not sure what you means by "no special animus". These two are getting the justice that the public wanted. What are we supposed to do, advocate they be tortured? As for "no one cared about the dogs" that is false, but most people see the need for euthanasia of a dog that has killed with no provocation.

As for any racist angle to the Vick story, I detest racism. But Vick claimed in self defense that this "sport" is part of his culture, by which he was referring to black men. If you buy that, then any outrage about what he did becomes by default outrage against what HE claims is black culture. Which I think is crap. This "sport" is prevalent in other "cultural" groups as well. I'm sick of people doing things that are barbaric and then claiming their heritage makes it cool.

[probo]

10:15 AM on 01/02/2011

agree100%

[bcmom]

11:12 AM on 01/03/2011

Dog fighting crosses all cultural lines. It is criminal activity plan and simple. The result is animals pay with their lives. I was at an adoption show many years ago and a young man and his family wanted to adopt a puppy. His mother could not speak English so the young man spoke for the family. They did not have enough money to take care of themselves much less an animal. After talking for quite awhile, the young man said he did not want this puppy anyway, he was really looking for a pitbull because they were mean. Sooooo education needs to start very early. Already this young man had no compassion or knew what he was getting into. Rce or culture, rural or urban, dog fighting is everywhere.

[edacelis]

03:47 PM on 01/02/2011

Claiming that peoples' concern over a case in which dogs were tortured and killed for years has something to do with racism is absurd.

Rescuing pets/animals in disaster areas is done by animal organizations like the ASPCA. They didn't rescue animals in New Orleans because they hate black people. They rescue animals--not people.

[Sometimey]

04:51 PM on 01/06/2011

Aren't you at least curious as to why, in all all of your life time, with dog fighting all around us, we only got to know about it, and care about it, after Michael Vick did it?

And doesn't it at least raise a question, when the ASPCA that "rescues animals-not people," never rescued animals when white people were dying?

The sensitivity of Americans to racism is so dull, that in the movie "Legally Blonde," a law school instructor expresses her annoyance by painfully poking the only Diasporan in the class, in the head, with a hard object, causing him pain, and holding him up to ridicule before his peers . . . Nobody even noticed. A CNN study showed that almost all American children believe dark skin represents everything that is wrong and bad, and it wasn't even discussed. It's no wonder Michael Vick was identified for execution for investing in dog fighting, and OJ Simpson got convicted of kidnapping because the words, "nobody move," were spoken. Meanwhile, Lindsay Lohan, who actually did kidnap people, and blamed it on a Diasporan, who was one of her victims, while driving reckless and intoxicated, threatening and intimidating people, while in possession of cocaine, wasn't being charged for any of it . . .

[steve11407]

11:41 PM on 01/01/2011

Give it a rest.

[Jasel]

11:26 PM on 01/01/2011

Please tell me the title is a stupid joke.