Whatever happened to Michael Vick's dogs?

Danny Tse

NPR has an article that chronicled what happened to those dogs....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129989424&ft=1&f=1008&sc=YahooNews

indyhawg

very interesting.

messiah

I saw this on tv a few months back, hell it might have been a year ago. Back then they said that only a handful of the dogs would not be adoptable, but they would still be scarred for life. It's nice to see that sometimes evil can be reversed.

WilliamM2

With all the unwanted dogs in animal shelters across the country, this seems like an incredible waste of money. One million dollars to save some pit bulls bred for fighting? Why? I certainly wouldn't ever trust them around my family, or anyone else I cared for.

gtu2004

yea, $1 million is really pushing this. that could save many starved children who had already been scarred for life.

ryanjoachim

While that was an excessive amount of money, I agree with the idea behind it. It's stated in the article very well: for millions (billions?) of people, a dog is part of the family. We take them to the "doctor" if they're not feeling well, pay bills for them, feed them, let them sleep with us. They make us feel better when we're down, they help us when we're in trouble, and they're usually great with kids.

Humans should come first of course, but there's no reason we can't spend a reasonable amount of money on "mans best friend".

WilliamM2

I don't have a problem with them spending money on dogs. I just question whether or not it's wise to spend it on these dogs. They were never part of anyone's family, and dogs bred for fighting seem like a poor choice for a pet.

messiah

gtu2004 wrote: »

yea, $1 million is really pushing this. that could save many starved children who had already been scarred for life.

Yep, that's a lot of money, but at least it did something useful. What we could do is get rid of useless spending, like NASA. 18 billion dollars a year might help fill those kids bellies a bit better. But then we'd have to give up our spaceships (which blow up anyway), and stop traveling to uninhabitable planets just because we can.

wz2p7j

WilliamM2 wrote: »

They were never part of anyone's family

Poor dogs, not their choice. Probably just want a loving home like most dogs. We temporarily had a pit bull that was just a great little buddy

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Dogs bred for fighting seem like a poor choice for a pet.

Several breeds of pit bull were bred for fighting because of their strength. When properly socialized, they are great loving pets. The Vick dogs, as I recall, were all evaluated for aggression and only those that were judged OK were recommended for adoption.

Pit bulls are OK. Check out this 'lil feller:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/American_Pit_Bull_Terrier_-_Seated.jpg

Chris

messiah

WilliamM2 wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't ever trust them around my family, or anyone else I cared for.

Much like child molesters, rapists, and murderers, and yet some assclown decided that we need to let them live. The dogs were forced into fighting though, it wasn't by choice. I've adopted abused and neglected animals, and they seem to be the most appreciative.

faster100

These dogs, (pit bulls) are unpredictable at any time. The whole dog/pit lovers will say how great they are if raised correctly. However, they are known to just snap at any time. Reason people make a bigger deal over pits rather then all the other dogs who attack is the strength of these dogs. No pit bull will ever be near my family or children that's for sure.

ryanjoachim

faster100 wrote: »

These dogs, (pit bulls) are unpredictable at any time. The whole dog/pit lovers will say how great they are if raised correctly. However, they are known to just snap at any time. Reason people make a bigger deal over pits rather then all the other dogs who attack is the strength of these dogs. No pit bull will ever be near my family or children that's for sure.

Any dog can snap at any time. There is nothing different about a Pit Bull. Rotweilers were/are bred for fighting just as much as Pit Bulls, but I had one for 13 years as a kid and he was the most loving dog you could ever have.

Saying that "pit bulls are unpredictable at any time" is like saying "that black person is gonna rob that liquor store sometime, I just know it!".

Toxis

WilliamM2 wrote: »

I don't have a problem with them spending money on dogs. I just question whether or not it's wise to spend it on these dogs. They were never part of anyone's family, and dogs bred for fighting seem like a poor choice for a pet.

While I don't have kids, I have always heard how great it feels to know you have raised a child into a man/woman with great work ethics and a good set of morals. Well it's no different for animals except they grow and learn faster really. I know when I got my Rat Terrier at a year old and had zero training, he was a handful and there was no way I thought he was going to work out. Well we went through training and now we're trained as well as he is and he is literally the best dog I've ever known in 30 years of being on this earth. So why not these dogs? Because Vick and his friends (who all don't deserve the air they're breathing now) trained these dogs to be fighters the dogs can't get a good life now? Look at the picture where Hector is licking the guy's chin and tell me you don't want to play with that dog and show him the love he deserves. If you're too scared of that dog, you need to watch some Caesar Milan and see how dogs can and do change. That is rewarding. If it wasn't for my g/f and the cats, I would 100% get a pit or Rotty and make them just as good of a dog as my Terrier is now. Before I die, I will have a "powerful" breed just to show people that their reputations are not deserved as a whole.

wz2p7j

ryanjoachim wrote: »

Any dog can snap at any time. There is nothing different about a Pit Bull. Rotweilers were/are bred for fighting just as much as Pit Bulls, but I had one for 13 years as a kid and he was the most loving dog you could ever have.

Saying that "pit bulls are unpredictable at any time" is like saying "that black person is gonna rob that liquor store sometime, I just know it!".

That's a rather strong way of saying but I must add that I'm in agreement.

We sometimes have the tendency to apply stereotypes to our animal friends much as we have done to our fellow human beings in the past (or even now by some). Of course, stereotyping is wrong, and I think the same lesson applies to animals.

Chris

LeftCoast

As for unpredictable, I seem to remember that very few of Vick's dogs were considered beyond rehabilitation.
If any of you know what a therapy dog is, at least one of these "unpredictable" pit bulls became just that - a therapy dog.
As for the money spent to rehabilitate the dogs, who can judge? That's like someone who is not passionate about home electronics criticizing me for spending thousands of dollars on speakers when "there are starving children in the world".

pitdogg2

WilliamM2 wrote: »

With all the unwanted dogs in animal shelters across the country, this seems like an incredible waste of money. One million dollars to save some pit bulls bred for fighting? Why? I certainly wouldn't ever trust them around my family, or anyone else I cared for.

William let me clarify something many folks do not know. Pitbulls as well as several other breeds were bred for the pit. What I can educate you on is this. The old timers bred pitdoggs for the family as well as the pit they were NEVER EVER meant to be guard dogs. The old timer's SHOT ANY dog that showed aggression towards people they knew the power of these dogs. In fact for many many years you could not buy one of these dogs because they were afraid that once they did sell them people would just breed them indiscriminately. AND THEY DID! This is why we have they trouble we have with the breed today. TV and other glory seekers have spread very bad information on this breed. If the old timers fought all dogs to the death like TV and others have said there would of been a scarcity of the breed. Dogs were matched for breeding purposes the best males and females were bred. There are many rules one of them is this. Before the match the other guy would wash your dog and you would wash his. This was to make sure that no poison or other substance was on the dog so the match was fair. Now see where this would be a problem if the dogs were people mean. I have been to many of the old timers yards and walked through the yard and could pet any of the dogs these dogs had NEVER EVER seen me before but i was their new best friend.
Sorry to ramble
Ivan

pitdogg2

ryanjoachim wrote: »

Any dog can snap at any time. There is nothing different about a Pit Bull. Rotweilers were/are bred for fighting just as much as Pit Bulls, but I had one for 13 years as a kid and he was the most loving dog you could ever have.

Saying that "pit bulls are unpredictable at any time" is like saying "that black person is gonna rob that liquor store sometime, I just know it!".

Sorry but Rotweilers are a herding dog just like German Shepards and that is what they were bred for. That is why they are used in packs. You will not find anywhere where PitDogs were used in packs for hunting or herding. Even now people who hunt wild hogs use tracking dogs and they keep the bulldog on a leash until they can let it go on the cornered pig. Sometimes though the bulldog will be so amped that it will grab the first dog it sees that is why most times they remove the other hounds before they let the bulldog go.

LeftCoast

I think what ryanjoachim was trying to say is in regards to size. I have little dogs. There have been rare occasions where one thing or another has happened, and one got momentarily aggressive. No harm done, a coule pf superficial injuries like a scratch or they broke skin.
If that happens with a bigger dog, regardless of breed, there will be alot more damage.
I hear you when you talk about breeding. It's why retrievers will fetch the ball over and over and over again.
But if a pit bull can be turned from a fighting dog into a therapy dog, there is something to be said for the human ability and skill to train a dog. Remember: Human connection to canine goes back further than written language, much less documented history.
Pits bred for fighting? Sure, I'll give you that....but it's probably a pits indomitable will that is bred into the dog....not aggression. ABUSE is what creates the aggressive dog.
Abuse a German Shepherd, and believe me, he's not going to be thinking about cattle. He's gonna want to bite the nearest thing he can get his mouth on.

j allen

I think a lot of the issue with pits comes down to people owning dogs that aren't appropriate for them. Regardless of training, any dog is still, at some point in it's makeup, a wild animal. I personally won't be a parent to any dog that I can't tackle and restrain if I have to in some sort of situation.

That said, I used to have an American Staffordshire Terrier (close relative of a American Pit Bull Terrier, but slightly smaller) who I never had any problems with. The only time he ever displayed any aggression was when a roommate was drunk and tried to swing on my fiancee, and I would think it would be hard to fault a dog for protecting his parents...

ryanjoachim

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Sorry but Rotweilers are a herding dog just like German Shepards and that is what they were bred for. That is why they are used in packs. You will not find anywhere where PitDogs were used in packs for hunting or herding. Even now people who hunt wild hogs use tracking dogs and they keep the bulldog on a leash until they can let it go on the cornered pig. Sometimes though the bulldog will be so amped that it will grab the first dog it sees that is why most times they remove the other hounds before they let the bulldog go.

You're right about their breeding. I was meaning that they were also popular in pit fighting back in the early 19th-20th centuries. They were bred to be protectors and herders, but with the wrong owners they were pushed into being fighting dogs.

AsSiMiLaTeD

messiah wrote: »

What we could do is get rid of useless spending, like NASA. 18 billion dollars a year might help fill those kids bellies a bit better. But then we'd have to give up our spaceships (which blow up anyway), and stop traveling to uninhabitable planets just because we can.

NASA is worthless???

To give up on something like space exploration because of something like money is very short-sighted IMO.

"Imagine if Christopher Columbus had come back from the New World and no one returned in his footsteps." - Apollo 13

WilliamM2

You guys seem to be missing the point. I'm not talking about pits being bred for fighting. What I am saying is that these particular dogs have already been TRAINED FOR FIGHTING. I wouldn't trust them ever again. I'm sure we'll read about one of them attacking a person, or another dog eventually, just a matter of time.

dorokusai

I'd love to adopt one but agree with William, they're simply unpredictable. It's like having a Lynx for a pet cat...at some point, you just never know. It's great that some have been re-introduced into society and I applaud the effort but it doesn't mean they are kid friendly....or even people friendly in the long term. Even humans aren't fixed after rehabilitation.

The only Pit Bull breeds I've been in close contact with have been sweethearts...but they grew up friendly.

steveinaz

From the story it looks like Vick had to put up the $1 mil for the animal rehab, placement. I don't have a problem with that.

messiah

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

NASA is worthless???

To give up on something like space exploration because of something like money is very short-sighted IMO.

"Imagine if Christopher Columbus had come back from the New World and no one returned in his footsteps." - Apollo 13

Yep, worthless. Comparing the two is like comparing an apple to a volkswagon. You can waste a bunch of money on silly stuff (like sending monkeys into space), or spend it to fix the planet we actually live on.

What would you pick?

A: you spend 18 billion dollars a year floating around a solar system that can't sustain life

B: you spend 18 billion dollars a year fixing the damage we have done to our own planet

you pick

Ps. There's no place like home

AsSiMiLaTeD

C: both

ryanjoachim

AsSiMiLaTeD wrote: »

C: both

Win!

faster100

ryanjoachim wrote: »

Any dog can snap at any time. There is nothing different about a Pit Bull. Rotweilers were/are bred for fighting just as much as Pit Bulls, but I had one for 13 years as a kid and he was the most loving dog you could ever have.

Saying that "pit bulls are unpredictable at any time" is like saying "that black person is gonna rob that liquor store sometime, I just know it!".

Nothing different about a pit? Like i said in my post, Very strong, locking jaw, unpredictable, puts them in a different catagory. sure rots can be unpredictable too. But generally speaking and like Doro said "doesn't mean they are kid friendly....or even people friendly in the long term.

ryanjoachim

faster100 wrote: »

Nothing different about a pit? Like i said in my post, Very strong, locking jaw, unpredictable, puts them in a different catagory. sure rots can be unpredictable too. But generally speaking and like Doro said "doesn't mean they are kid friendly....or even people friendly in the long term.

There is nothing inherently wrong with Pit Bulls as a breed. That's just a stereotype. THESE dogs fit that bill because of their previous training and treatment, but I would never tack that on to "all pit bulls".

BIZILL

maybe a different animal, but the case where that chimp/monkey or whatever did to that one woman.... well, i won't leave any animals that powerful around my kids. not a chimp, nor a canine. but all you "protectors" of the breed out there, have at it. and have at it around your kids.

FTGV

LeftCoast wrote: »

As for the money spent to rehabilitate the dogs, who can judge?

It's a lot of money to spend on a bunch of mutts but it was Vick's money.