Whatever Happened to Michael Vick's Dogs?
UPDATE: Be sure to check out the "Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs" special today on the National Geographic channel, at 12 p.m. (see your local listings for times in your area).
Have you been wondering what happened to the dogs that survived their stay at Michael Vick's home? Me too. You can see how some of them are doing on CNN's Sports Illustrated site. The photos are great, and it's nice to see that these dogs are doing well. But, I really wonder what message is being sent by having the pictures on Sports Illustrated. Are they implying, "Hey, it's okay to mistreat your animals, they'll be fine"? Or am I reading something into this.
But I do know that I would feel totally different if the photos were posted on, say, the Humane Society of the United States' website. And maybe they are. The point is that you are exposed to Vick's name again, but this time it's more of a positive feeling. Well, guess what? Just because these dogs are doing well does not mean that what Vick did was okay, and I don't think SI should have had anything to do with publishing these pictures.
The real heroes here are the people working behind the scenes to make these photos possible. Let's start with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (donation link) in Kanab Utah. These guys are awesome! By the way, the picture of the dog when you follow that link above may be one of the rescued Vick dogs.
Anyhow, back to the story. The Pit Bulls that survived Vick's horrible abuse were sent to Best Friends, so they would have a fighting chance (in a good way this time). Best Friends is a no kill animal sanctuary, and they rehabilitated these dogs so that they could be adopted out to good homes. They do this with all the animals, though most don't get such great celebrity-related publicity.
Best Friends' staff did a wonderful job, and I'm sure that there were numerous humane societies around the country that were involved in finding homes for all the dogs that found homes. Take a look at the video about this story on the Ellen show.
There is also a National Geographic show, called Dogtown, that chronicles the lives of the dogs that Best Friends takes in. I'm really glad that the sanctuary is getting the publicity that they are now, but I know it's mostly because they took in these dogs. And even though the court order against Vick provided funds to care for the dogs, there are many other dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses, reptiles and other assorted beings that continue to need care on a daily basis.
So, my challenge to you, the readers of this blog, is to figure out a way to help Best Friends in return for doing such great things with animals. Here are some ways you can help:
If you are a member of Entrecard, I will give each person who donates $25 to Best Friends 500 Entrecard credits. For the rest of my readers, I will give you one free hour of my time, either as computer consulting or web design, in return for any donation to Best Friends. Let me know in the comments who you are and how you helped. Thank you very much.
Have you been wondering what happened to the dogs that survived their stay at Michael Vick's home? Me too. You can see how some of them are doing on CNN's Sports Illustrated site. The photos are great, and it's nice to see that these dogs are doing well. But, I really wonder what message is being sent by having the pictures on Sports Illustrated. Are they implying, "Hey, it's okay to mistreat your animals, they'll be fine"? Or am I reading something into this.
But I do know that I would feel totally different if the photos were posted on, say, the Humane Society of the United States' website. And maybe they are. The point is that you are exposed to Vick's name again, but this time it's more of a positive feeling. Well, guess what? Just because these dogs are doing well does not mean that what Vick did was okay, and I don't think SI should have had anything to do with publishing these pictures.
The real heroes here are the people working behind the scenes to make these photos possible. Let's start with Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (donation link) in Kanab Utah. These guys are awesome! By the way, the picture of the dog when you follow that link above may be one of the rescued Vick dogs.
Anyhow, back to the story. The Pit Bulls that survived Vick's horrible abuse were sent to Best Friends, so they would have a fighting chance (in a good way this time). Best Friends is a no kill animal sanctuary, and they rehabilitated these dogs so that they could be adopted out to good homes. They do this with all the animals, though most don't get such great celebrity-related publicity.
Best Friends' staff did a wonderful job, and I'm sure that there were numerous humane societies around the country that were involved in finding homes for all the dogs that found homes. Take a look at the video about this story on the Ellen show.
There is also a National Geographic show, called Dogtown, that chronicles the lives of the dogs that Best Friends takes in. I'm really glad that the sanctuary is getting the publicity that they are now, but I know it's mostly because they took in these dogs. And even though the court order against Vick provided funds to care for the dogs, there are many other dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses, reptiles and other assorted beings that continue to need care on a daily basis.
So, my challenge to you, the readers of this blog, is to figure out a way to help Best Friends in return for doing such great things with animals. Here are some ways you can help:
- Donate directly to Best Friends, by giving a cash gift or providing something that they need on their wish list.
- Visit Best Friends and help walk somebody or sign up for a volunteer program, or take someone home with you.
- Find a local animal rescue organization near you and help them out.
- Buy a reading from my animal communicator wife and donate it to an animal at the sanctuary, to help the staff better understand the animals and their history.
If you are a member of Entrecard, I will give each person who donates $25 to Best Friends 500 Entrecard credits. For the rest of my readers, I will give you one free hour of my time, either as computer consulting or web design, in return for any donation to Best Friends. Let me know in the comments who you are and how you helped. Thank you very much.
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