Why I am Thankful for the Michael Vick Saga

On the eve of the day that Michael Vick was released from his prison term and is now home serving the rest of his sentence in house arrest, I wanted to reflect on what he has done--albeit not intentionally--to help pit bulls across the nation. I know it sounds odd ... a pittie advocate like me almost grateful for this horrible case of abuse and to this misguided man who lost everything (and he had ALOT to lose) for the crimes he and his cronies perpetrated toward his canine victims.

However, when one looks at the big national picture regarding dogfighting and how it is handled in our legal system, no other case has catapulted the atrocities of dogfighting to the public arena in this way and no other case has done more to show that the victims of these crimes deserve a second chance at life instead of what was and is usually recommended for them -- a "humane" death. Pit bulls are now regarded with more compassion and understanding, and that is something that no other dogfighting bust has ever accomplished. As we all know, there are many of these busts nationwide each year, with a few here in Dona Ana County as well--for both cockfighting and dogfighting.

In reality, Michael Vick paid a much higher price than the average dogfighter pays in our justice system. It is because of his celebrity that such a bright and harsh light was upon him. As most of us know, he is not the first nor the last who will use and abuse this powerful yet loving dog breed. Most of those busted for these crimes get away with a slap on the wrist (as we have seen here), and most of their victims meet the fate of death after all the anguish and fear they have endured most of their lives.

There is talk out of HSUS that Michael Vick may go to work for them in their campaign against dogfighting. I hope this does happen for several reasons. First of all, I genuinely believe that all former criminals deserve a second chance at life and to redeem themselves after they have paid their debt to society. Michael Vick is no different and isn't more of a monster than anyone else who has committed this crime. I also think that, even if Vick is not genuine in his feelings toward wanting to help dogs, his ability to get the message to the public is a powerful one. He can speak to those youth who are caught up in this lifestyle in a much more meaningful way than you or I can do so.

Another thing I often point out, which does not necessarily earn me any popularity points among my peers, is that even some of those who work in animal welfare are prejudiced against this dog breed and fear these dogs. I can't help but wonder about the irony, too, of an animal-welfare and justice system that calls for the systematic death of the victims of the crimes it fights so hard against. Imagine if we did this for the human victims of crimes? These dog victims are "saved" from their abusers to often suffer more in intense confinement after their supposed salvation and then meet their demise when all is said and done. That is something we need to question and raise our voices against, too.

As Michael Vick goes to work for the HSUS, I hope he and all of us will openly challenge this big, powerful, rich animal group to use some of its vast resources to do more than just lead busts against dogfighters and call for harsher penalties and laws. The HSUS needs to do more than launch educational campaigns to convince the people of this nation that dogfighting is nothing more than a human-constructed world of carnage and cruelty. Although I agree with all of these messages and efforts, where I diverge with groups like the HSUS is that they then walk away from the very victims that they alone have the most power and resources to redeem and rescue.

I hope we can convince HSUS, PETA, and others to monetarily and vocally support the animal groups in this nation that are poised and ready to help the actual victims of each of these crimes (BAD RAP, Best Friends, Villalobos Rescue Center, etc.). The Michael Vick dogs have proven that most of the dogs from these cases are savable and deserve as much of a second chance as any other homeless dog. For an update on the ones that ended up at Best Friends, all of which were deemed the most challenging to rehabilitate, see this recent story: Boon to the Breed.

As we reach a point in this nation where more and more homeless animals are saved, we need to ask ourselves what is the way forward for the humane movement. To me, it is in saving and advocating for all the underdogs and undercats of this society. After all, it was not that long ago we were killing 24+ million homeless animals a year. Now, that number is down to about 3 to 4 million. Of these, about a million are pit bulls and bully mixes. Another large quantity are feral cats. These are the underdogs we should be targeting most for our efforts.

After all, it's easy to save a cute and cuddly animal; there is no want of homes for these types. The ones we need to save now and speak up for are those that are most marginalized.

At right is a picture from the recently-released DVD documentary about some of the Vick dogs called Vicktory to the Underdog. I encourage everyone who can to order this film and watch it. It is about both human and canine underdogs, and it is a story of success and triumph over all that ails us.

I sincerely wish Michael Vick a better future -- one that is not riddled with the suffering of innocent dogs forced to do something that is more unnatural to them than any of us realize. I hope he can also reach some of the people out there that continue to participate in this sorry excuse of a "sport".

Addressing TNR Comments

One person keeps making comments on this blog about being confused about how TNR works and that no one has told him/her who is responsible for what. Here's my attempt to answer these comments briefly, but for more detail about how TNR works, why it works, and why it is the best option for also protecting public health, please visit Alley Cat Allies.

The main point to remember and that those who argue against TNR seem to forget is that our outdated catch and kill method is the only other approach that has been used and has miserably failed for decades and decades. We know it has failed because feral cat populations have grown steadily instead of diminished, and these cats that are not managed by colony caretakers are not vaccinated, not fixed, and cause more issues for humans and other animals than those who are managed.

Anonymous said...

"No one can ever tell me how and who will be sure all the cats in a TNR program are vaccinated for rabies. Who will keep all of these records and who will be liable if a cat does happen to bite someone. And now with the fact that we have bats that are positive in the area and two unvaccinated cats had to be euthanized because they came into contact with the bat. It was ordered by the State health department. And how about other feline diseases that can spread rapidly. Who will have all the records of each cat if they are vaccinated."

All the cats in managed cat colonies are trapped, fixed, vaccinated and released back into their colony. In rare cases, cats can be relocated to a new territory via barn cat and similar programs (check out http://www.barncats.org/).

Colony caretakers/feral cat groups are the ones who keep records on the cats and are responsible for them. Look to the NMSU program here in our community; they keep a database and are tracking each and every cat. TNR caretakers also provide feeding stations and dispute resolution when cats become a problem for anyone. By feeding and caring for the cats, it is less likely the cats will be out hunting or disturbing people.

Usually, TNR programs do a very good job of catching all of the cats in a colony, and this is why these programs work. With most cats in the colony fixed, vaccinated, and released, that makes it so that other cats are kept out of the colony. It stabilizes that colony and its population. When some or all cats in a colony or territory are caught and killed, it only makes it so that more cats move in and multiply that much faster. That's why there's now an estimated 60-80 million feral cat population in our country--that's above the 80 million in homes!

TNR is the only solution that has worked to reduce the population of feral, abandoned, unwanted cats. These managed colonies are much safer than the alternative for other cats and humans. Now, all the cats in our community that are loose are not vaccinated, not taken care of, etc.

As the cat populations in colonies begin to diminish over time, they naturally die off. The other plus is that most feral/wild cats do not come into contact at all with humans. You'd have to be looking for trouble to get attacked by a feral cat. They hide and do not bother anyone except for their natural prey, so TNR also helps address this issue by providing food to hungry loose cats, which then saves more of their prey.

To me, this answers your comments, Anonymous, that you say no one can answer. This also addresses the recent case of the rabid bat and the cats that "might" have come into contact with the bat that were killed. If those cats had been vaccinated even once in their lives, the chances of them being infected would have been extremely rare.

Also remember that the last time there was an incident in this nation of a domestic cat involved in a human rabies incident was back in 1975. As we know, wild animals still have issues with rabies, but our domestic animals are pretty well-protected these days because of our emphasis on vaccination for the past few decades.

Next post: I'll summarize my favorite workshop at The No Kill Conference 2009, "How to Overcome Internal Obstacles to Success".