Michael Vick's Former Dogfighting Pups Will Make You Believe In Happily Ever After

[baldguy]

Seven years ago, Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons at the time, was indicted on charges relating to an illegal dogfighting ring. Investigations revealed the pit bulls involved in this fighting faced horrific abuse and even death by strangulation, electrocution and drowning. Many, including the Humane Society of the United States, believed the animals were damaged beyond rehabilitation. But the Best Friends Animal Society disagreed.

The BFAS, an animal rescue group based in Kanab, Utah, took in 22 of the most traumatized pit bulls from Vick's fighting ring. After lots of love, care and rehabilitation, these 22 became known as the Vicktory Dogs. How far they've come is nothing short of inspiring.

...

"The work we have done here at [BFAS], we have proved that if you treat each dog individually and ... give them a chance, they can show how much potential they really have," Weaver added. "Not only have the Vicktory Dogs had great outcomes but it proves that other dogs rescued from horrific situations such as dog fighting deserve a chance."

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more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/10/michael-vick-dogs-vicktory_n_5119150.html

And

The Dogs That Were Involved In Michael Vick’s Dogfighting Ring Are Doing Better Than Ever Now (Photos)

If you were to hop in a time machine and go back in time about seven years, you’d probably be watching ESPN coverage on Michael Vick being indicted for running a highly illegal dogfighting ring. Most of the dogs were pit bulls who were forced to fight each other.

When the reports surfaced, not only did animal groups freak out, but so did everyone else. As a matter of fact, according to the Huffington Post, the Humane Society of the United States felt that the animals had been abused beyond rehabilitation.

Despite this, the Best Friends Animals Society disagreed with that claim, and took the pups in, who are now known as “Vicktory Dogs.”

“Currently 10 of the Vicktory Dogs are thriving with their adopted families, some living happily with other dogs, children and even a cat,” Michelle Weaver, a manager at BFAS told the Huffington Post.

...



more:
http://elitedaily.com/envision/the-dogs-that-were-involved-in-michael-vicks-dogfighting-ring-are-doing-better-than-ever-now-photos/

More proof that the bigoted, narrow-minded people prejudiced against Pit Bulls are concentrating on the wrong end of the leash.

[Enrique]

1. dog experts, tell me

the baby with it's head next to the dog's face, as well as the woman doing the same. Is this the correct way to interact with dogs, pit bulls or otherwise?

[magical thyme]

15. I sleep with my face next to either of my 2 dogs.

They tend to take turns during the night, sleeping by my head or by my legs.

I raised the 85 pound lab-x from a puppy. I raised the 55 pound rhodesian ridgeback-x from 7 months; he was pulled from a high kill shelter with history completely unknown.

I do run serious risk of having my face licked by one or the other first thing in the morning. Also, I feed them each a breath cookie at bedtime to protect myself from dragonbreath during the night.

My big guy would be safe with a baby, but he might accidentally knock a toddler over (and then smother with kisses), so I keep him leashed around small children. He loves babies in strollers because they're just the right height to kiss. The smaller dog is more excitable and plays too rough, so I would not leave him loose with a baby or toddler either.

Dog owners need to raise and socialize their dogs properly and need to know their dogs limitations.

[aikoaiko]

2. Are the 7 remaining at the facility adoptable?

Last edited Tue Apr 15, 2014, 09:10 AM - Edit history (1)

[magical thyme]

16. they were court ordered to remain at Best Friends.

So legally they are not adoptable.

Those orders I believe were from the outset, so it is not a statement on their rehabilitation.

"And a few were court-ordered to remain at Best Friends for life. But they too are healing and blossoming, and will enjoy a life of spacious beauty among the red rock canyons, their painful ordeals forever behind them. They are all Vicktorious."
http://bestfriends.org/The-Sanctuary/Explore-the-Sanctuary/Dogtown/Vicktory-Dogs/

[xchrom]

3. du rec.

[DrDan]

4. meanwhile . . . from the past couple of days

Branford woman, 93, severely injured in pit bull attack


A 93-year-old woman is being treated for severe injuries after she was attacked by a neighbor’s pit bull Sunday, Capt. Geoffrey Morgan said in a release.

At 2 p.m., the police and fire department responded to Harbor Street and McKinnel Court to 911 calls from neighbors who witnessed the attack.

. . .
After a brief investigation, officers discovered that the dog had run from the home and attacked the woman as she was walking, the release said. Police said a number of local residents used a cane and baseball bats to fight the dog off the woman until the owner could control it.

Police said the women suffered “a massive amount” of trauma to her lower left leg. She was treated and taken by Fire Department paramedics to an area hospital for serious injuries and later underwent surgery.

http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140414/branford-woman-93-severely-injured-in-pit-bull-attack
********************************************************************

Car strikes, kills Riverdale teen running from pit bull


A 17-year-old Riverdale boy who ran into traffic to escape a loose pit bull was killed early Saturday after a car struck him on Old National Highway.

About 1 a.m., Davon Jiggetts got off a bus on Old National Highway and Hillside Road, and the pit bull chased him, Det. Melissa Parker with the Fulton County Police Department said.

With the dog running behind him, Jiggetts dashed into traffic and was struck by a car. The teen and the pit bull were killed, Parker said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/car-strikes-kills-riverdale-teen-running-pit-bull/nfYZf/

[Enrique]

7. both those people were asking for it

look how they provoked the dog: the woman was walking, and the teen got off a bus. These people clearly don't know the correct way to behave around dogs.

[DrDan]

8. sadly, you are correct - normal activity around some dogs is lethal

[klook]

5. I know a pit bull who's one of the sweetest critters I ever met.

He's a lover, not a fighter, because he was taught to be that way.

[KurtNYC]

6. So they are saying that selective breeding doesn't work? Mendel and Darwin were wrong?

Dogs bred for herding can unlearn their herding instinct, beagles can stop howling, wolves can stop hunting, etc?

I love dogs, and have adopted rescues, but I have seen plenty of people do really stupid things because a bunch of cute FaceBook GIFs have convinced them that they are Cesar Milan and they buy into this idea that dogs which were selectively bred for a certain task can transcend instincts and genetics and turn into the canine version of Elmo.

In my experience, many people including dog owners, are not good at reading the body language of a dog or they just think that talking in a high voice and getting down in the dog's face will calm the dog. A friend had a small white dog that was rescued from dog fighting rings. It was a "bait dog" -- they use it to get the fighting dogs excited and then they pull it out of the ring and the pits fight it out. This dog was so traumatized that it became very aggressive (fear aggression) if you looked at it. Even from the corner of your eye, even from 15 feet away -- it freaked out. So my neighbor had a party and one guest after another leaned down and spoke in the high voice and two people got bit right in the face doing so. This thing was the size of a bichon but it was drawing blood. If it was the size and strength of something larger it probably would have been put down for the bites which were not its fault but the fault of people who see what they want to see and ignore reality.

To be clear, I believe almost any dog can do well with the right handling and training but adopting a large, strong dog that some guy spent millions to breed, selectively breeding one fighting dog with another, without the skills and attitude to handle it, is a recipe for disaster.

[AnneD]

9. In the early 1900's....

pit bulls were known as the nanny dogs as they were exceptionally good and protective of children. It is their very nature, this desire to please their human owners, that has gotten them in so much trouble. Drug dealers training dogs to guard their stash has hurt, as well as breeding for illegal dog fighting.

We are focusing on the wrong end of the leash. In about a month our home will welcome a rescued pit bull. He is a big marshmallow of a dog and is currently undergoing medical treatment. He is huge and looks intimidating but is shy around other dogs and cats. He is a real gentle giant. Why this dog was allowed to roam the streets I'll never know.

Any untrained or mistreated dog will attack. My daughter was terrorized by a neighbor's collie and we frequently had to carry sticks for protection, but a neighbor's pit mix would frequently come to our rescue and keep the dog away as we walked home.

[YarnAddict]

10. Good for you, Anne!

I've known some really great pits.

The problem is almost always with the owners. Pits are so strong that they need to be WELL trained. Not every person has it in him/her to be the pack alpha. In such a situation, the dog will step in to fill the void.

Our local shelter where I volunteer has a pit who has become a problem. He is a big boy, and around our Animal Welfare Manager, who knows, loves, and understands him, he is wonderful. However, he has been adopted twice, and returned. We had high hopes for the last situation, but it didn't work out. The man reported that he "terrified" his wife and son. The dog challenged them, and they backed down. Well, that just taught him that he could be in control. Because of the dog's size and strength, it was clearly a dangerous situation. Don't know what's going to happen to him.

[AnneD]

13. Thus our month long transition.....

He is a powerful dog and I need to have him leash trained. Hubby is a very beta person so I am arranging lessons for him (not the dog per se). I am a very alpha person and seldom have problems with dogs and have been a person that cats gravitate toward. I don't anticipate problems.

I can't have him tugging on the leash and wrenching my arm socket. I am having to rethink the car and get a larger kennel for him before I even pick him up.

He is 2-3 years so the puppy is almost out. I hope the adoption takes. The good news is that we tend to keep our pets for 15-20 years. He may be my last baby.

[YarnAddict]

14. Do you have other animals?

I've told this story before, so you may have read it . . .

We adopted the sweetest pittie in the world a couple of years ago. There had never been a problem with any people, including kids, or other animals. Before we adopted her, she needed ACL repair, so we paid for it, and after she had recuperated, we brought her home.

Everything was fine for a few months. She got along well with our other two dogs (black lab X, and possible kooikerhondje,) Her best friend was my son's dog, who is a very dominant coonhound/husky/whoknowswhat.

Shortly before Christmas 2012, the lab had a couple of seizures. Our vet put her on phenobarbitol, and she became a zombie for awhile. Trying to look at this through the dog's eyes, Sammie didn't act like a dog anymore, and she probably had a funny medicine-y smell. She didn't play anymore. This bothered our pittie, and she began to be very aggressive. We had to pull her off poor Sammie on multiple occasions, and even had to take her in to have a large wound on her shoulder stapled up. Emergency vet visit on New Year's Day. ($$$$$) On every one of these occasions, Sammie just stood there like she didn't even know how to react. Just a few days after the New Years incident she attacked again. She had a death grip on Sammie's ear. Fortunately, my younger son was home, and he grabbed her by the collar and got her off. Then the collar broke, and she went back at Sammie. He got her off again and put her in her kennel, but must not have latched it securely, and she suddenly burst out, and went back at Sammie again. This time my son caught her in mid-lunge and put her back in the kennel. We took her back to the shelter that afternoon.

She was adopted again. This time she lived with a chihuahua, and they got along fine. To my knowledge she hasn't had a single problem with another dog or person since.

We are dog people, and I had always taken it for granted that we would never have a problem with any dog. This taught me a few lessons that I needed to learn. I don't think I will ever again have a dog that I can't physically control. I will also be very careful and watchful of any medications and their effects, not only on the dog taking them, but of the other animals they are around! Probably most important, if we aren't around, we will kennel the dogs separately, unless we are positive they will be all right.

Good luck to you and your new dog!

[AnneD]

17. Sad thing that...

we lost a cat of 10 years (he was 10 when I got him) and a Westie of 15 years both in less than 8 days. We are currently pet less. I always kennel my babies when we are away from the house. They sleep anyway.

My friend is have a similar problem to yours with her rescue dogs. One has just started going after the other. She has come to the conclusion that she may have to split them up.

I am concerned with this dog's size and think he was a back yard breeder's dog due to his size and the fact he is not fixed. He had fresh scars on his muzzle. I don't want him falling into the wrong hands.

[YarnAddict]

18. I hope your friend can resolve this issue

before she has to give one of her dogs up for good. Since our experience I have heard so many horror stories.

A big, powerful dog like your new boy could have a horrible life without someone like you. And of course, the problem is only compounded by the ignorance surrounding the breed, and others like it.

[AnneD]

20. My friend is at her wits end...

they have even seen a pet psychologist.

[Corgigal]

11. Cesar has a show this friday

[LondonReign2]

12. I miss The Olive Garden

[Heidi]

19. Kick, kick, kick!!!