Results tagged “dog fighting” from Petfinder Blog

As you may have heard, convicted dogfighter Michael Vick has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Vick served 23 months in federal prison on charges of conspiracy and running a dogfighting operation. Announcing the deal, Eagles coach Andy Reid told reporters: "I'm a believer that as long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance."

While the dogs killed by Vick's dogfighting associates and Vick himself, as several commenters have pointed out will never get their own second chance, many of the Pit Bulls rescued from Bad Newz Kennels have. For some of their stories, check out
the incredible work done by BAD RAP in Oakland, CA.

But they're not the only Pits in need. There are at this moment 11,751 Pit Bull Terriers and 3,851 American Staffordshire Terriers available for adoption on Petfinder.

How can you help?
 

• Adopt a Pit Bull. I am a proud rescued-Pit parent, as are my mother, several coworkers and many of my neighbors. They are devoted, affectionate and joy-inducing pets with as great a range in personality as any other breed. As with dogs of any breed, not every Pit is perfect for every family. Read more about things to think about if you're thinking of adopting a Pit Bull after the jump.
• Volunteer with Pit Bulls. At many city shelters, Pits and Pit mixes make up the overwhelming majority of the canine residents, and because Pits have been bred to bond closely with humans, the isolation of shelter life is particularly hard for them. You can visit the shelter to help exercise and socialize the dogs; open your home to a foster dog; photograph and write bios for local adoptable dogs' Petfinder profiles; start a bedding drive at your office to collect old blankets and towels to donate ... the possibilities are endless. For more ideas, read our article on volunteering or visit BAD RAP's How You Can Help page.
• Educate others about Pit Bulls. Once you've fallen in love with a Pit (and to know one is to love one), you'll start to notice how many offhand Pit-Bull stereotypes people throw around in everyday conversation (and I'm not just talking about Sarah Palin). Learn the facts about Pits and you'll be able to shoot down the myths (no, they do not have locking jaws). Some great resources include Petfinder's book The Adopted Dog Bible (you'll find an excerpt, Pit Bulls: The Myths, the Legends, the Reality, after the jump), as well as BAD RAP's Monster Myths page, Pit Bull Rescue Central's breed info page and Animal Farm Foundation's Fear vs. Fact document. (All three sites are excellent, and I'd encourage you to click around on them.)

A Pit Bull's best friend is the responsible dog owner who allows the well-socialized, happy Pit to be an ambassador for the breed. Unlike Michael Vick, Pit Bulls don't need a multi-million-dollar contract. A loving home, a warm dog bed and plenty of pets are the second chance they need -- and deserve.

The dog's appearance was enough to make a person cry. He was starved and looked like a skeleton. Walking was hard for him, and he was riddled with scars.

Nevertheless, the good folks at Adams County Pet Rescue in Ritzville, Wash., knew he deserved a chance and took him in and placed him in a foster home.

It didn't seem likely, however, that he would be adopted. He was in bad shape and, in addition, he was a Pit Bull Terrier, a much maligned breed. Nevertheless, his photo and description were placed on Petfinder. In addition to compassion, his rescuers and foster dad had an abundance of hope.

Carrie Hawley of Coeur d'Alene was mourning over the loss of her eight-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier, Bella, who had died of lymphoma. "I had a huge hole in my heart and could not stop the tears," she says. She and her partner started looking on Petfinder at all of the Pit Bulls that needed homes, knowing many would never be adopted.

Convicted dogfighter Michael Vick today pled guilty to a state dogfighting charge in Virginia, the Associated Press reports.

According to the AP, the plea makes the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback eligible for early release from the Kansas prison where he is currently serving a 23-month sentence on federal dogfighting charges.

It could also put him on the fast track back to the NFL. (The AP reports, "Federal law prohibits prisoners from being released to a halfway house if there are unresolved charges pending against them.")

Vick was given a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to a single count of promoting dogfighting (a second count, involving animal cruelty, was dropped). He told the judge: "I want to apologize to the court, my family, and to all the kids who looked up to me as a role model."

There have been no reports that Vick made any apologies to the dogs he admitted to killing.

UPDATE: After news of Vick's plea broke, our friends at Animal Planet decided to re-air their hit special episode of Animal Witness which details this horrifying case and the brave people who brought Vick to justice (as well as the amazing volunteers who rehabbed the dogs rescued from his compound). The show will air Thursday, Nov. 26 at 9 p.m. EST. Find out more about the show -- and take the excellent Pit Bull Myths Quiz -- on AnimalPlanet.com.

October 25 is Pit Bull Awareness Day, so in its honor, we're highlighting a group doing amazing things for Pits: BAD RAP, which stands for Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls.

The San Francisco-based organization provides rescue services as well as extensive educational opportunities.

BAD RAP made national news last year when it was called in to evaluate 48 dogs from the Michael Vick case. Several groups stepped forward to foster the dogs, and 10 Pits came back to the Bay Area with BAD RAP. The dogs' amazing progress is detailed in the group's Vick Dog Blog.

In addition to its hands-on rescue work, BAD RAP offers a gamut of services to the local community as well as to animal welfare professionals. Most notably, it offers weekly Pit Ed classes to help educate the parents of these special dogs. According to the BAD RAP mission, Pit Ed participants "learn basic handling skills, dealing with breed traits and responsible ownership protocol."

Michael Killen and Jim Kreitzburg, the animators behind Taco Bell's talking Chihuahua and the California Cheese cows, created this moving PSA about the cruelty of dogfighting.

Killen says on his Web site that he'd been deeply affected by the Michael Vick case. He writes that he asked himself, "What if we did a commercial speaking from the perspective of the dogs?"

The resulting PSA doesn't contain graphic scenes, but it makes its point with the simple question: "Who's the animal?"

I recently posted a Happy Tail from Christine in New Haven, CT, about Russell, the dog she'd adopted from F.O.B.A.S. in Trumbull, CT.

Russell had been rescued from an abandoned dog-fighting facility in Georgia, where he was used as a bait dog.

Then I received an email from Virginia, who had fostered Russell for F.O.B.A.S. She sent along the above photo of how Russell looked when he was seized from the dog-fighting facility. F.O.B.A.S. paid to transport Russell from Georgia to Connecticut and then posted him on Petfinder so he could find a wonderful home. After the jump, see what Russell looks like now.

Here's a heartwarming Happy Tail from Christine in New Haven, CT:

Russell is a Boxer mix. We came across him on Petfinder and instantly fell in love with him from the video that was posted. He is 3 years old and comes from a troubled past. He was rescued from an abandoned dog-fighting facility in Georgia where he was used as a bait dog.

A bait dog is tied up and used to train fighting dogs. Russell came to us in the typical condition of an abandoned bait dog: starved, badly scarred and injured. The details of his story are too disturbing to repeat. If it weren't for Virginia Marconi of F.O.B.A.S. in Trumbull, CT, he would not be with us today.

Today Russell is a healthy 64 lbs. He goes out for three walks a day and spends free time in the yard or lounging around the house. He is a perfect gentleman, and we are convinced that he belonged to a family at one point in his life because of his manners and his love of children.

We are grateful to have him in our lives and can't imagine what life was like before he joined us. He is in a loving and safe home. Russell is a true "happy tail." We love him.