Does HE deserve a Second Chance?

Does Michael Vick deserve a second chance?  This is a very hot topic with just about everyone stepping in to voice their opinion and I will add one more to the fray. As far as the law is concerned, he has paid his debt to society.   He served 23 months in jail for federal racketeering.  He plead not guilty on animal cruelty and that was washed away in a plea agreement.  So, no, I don’t think he recognizes or feels sorry for killing those dogs.  He is sorry he threw away his career; he is sorry he got caught and he is sorry that he was found guilty. Let’s not forget how vigorously he blamed others for what happened and for leading him astray while declaring his innocence.  One would think from reading the letter to the judge and listening to his constant denials the he had no ability to think for himself. No ability to understand right from wrong or know that he was breaking the law and not only that, he was causing willful and cruel destruction of life.

Michael Vick was one of the highest paid players in the NFL and he threw it all away. He was the golden boy with a golden life and when he was caught, he lied and denied for as long as he could until the evidence piling up became overwhelming and all of his co conspirators turned on him.

After mere months in jail, he has been reinstated to the NFL and has found a a team to support him.  While he should be employable as I hope all people can find gainful employment, returning him without penalty to a multimillion dollar career where he serves as a role model for young children is a mistake. A horrible and tragic mistake. He is not role model material and while there are quite a few criminals and miscreants in the NFL, it is disappointing none the less.

I don’t know many felons (outside of the NFL) that are allowed to return to multimillion dollar careers.  Most individuals who are found guilty of a felony have to spend a long time atoning for their sins.  They become pariah’s in the community.  They find it difficult to pick up where they left off and few people are willing to give a second chance for fear they will fall back into the same old pattern.  That is not inappropriate in this situation.  As far as the law is concerned, he has paid his dues but as far as his moral culpability and his deficiency in character, that requires a lifetime of atoning.  For those who think Michael Vick is being singled out, that is simply not the case. I believe that all thugs, criminals, and drug dealers should be expelled from the NFL.

I watched the interview on 60 minutes and I was not impressed.  He stated his commitment to working with the HSUS and using his influence to stop cruelty.  However, he did not truly accept responsibility for his actions.  His statements were clear.....  "I was disgusted, you know, because of what I let happen to those animals” he said. "I could've put a stop to it. I could've walked away from it. I could've shut the whole operation down."  All the while with a slight smile on his face and compassionless/expressionless eyes.

What Vick does not acknowledge and has never acknowledged, either in his letter to the judge prior to incarceration or his 60 Minutes Interview post release, is how he participated in these crimes.  In both instances he skirts responsibility citing that he should not have let it happen, not that he actively took part.  He didn’t just fund the operation from the sidelines.  He didn’t let it happen as a spectator or silent partner - he was an active participant.  He was physically involved in the electrocution, drowning, beating and hanging of dogs that didn’t make his team.  Electrocution by car battery while drowning in a swimming pool is a cruel and horrible death and does not happen quickly. He stood and watched while his dog struggled to get out of the pool while it was fighting to live. To truly atone for his behavior he needs to acknowledge his participation in these crimes. He needs to take ownership of what he did, he should say to the public that he physically slammed a dog into the ground until it was broken and dead and for that he is truly sorry.  And he should mean it.

I watched this interview more than once hoping that I could come up with some defense for him, hoping that I missed one spark of true emotion or apology but I didn’t. When he was asked when he truly realized what he had done was wrong and Vick responded with:

“The first day I walked into prison and they slammed that door, I knew the magnitude of the decisions that I made..." and, "What I did, being away from my family, letting so many people down, letting myself down, not being out on the football field, being in a prison bed, in a prison bunk, writing letters home. That wasn't my life. That wasn't the way that things were supposed to be."

It is all about him and what he is sorry he lost. Over and over he has acknowledged it was wrong but only in relation to what it took away from him, not the lives that were broken and lost.  He ‘now’ knows it was wrong but we’re not sure he understands why it was wrong.  I am not sure he truly grasps the horror that most people felt when they heard or read about how he and his friends killed dogs with their bare hands.  How much pain and terror those animals must have felt being killed by their owners after suffering abuse at their hands.  We are not sure he grasps that at all or really understands pain and suffering.  A dog’s capacity to love at times seems much greater than ours and their forgiveness is extraordinary.  The animals have probably forgiven him where we continue to debate…

There is one clip in the interview where it shows him speaking to children and encouraging them to love their animals - whatever animals they own. That appears to be the extent of his message.  He does not offer why. He does not offer that we should love and care for them because animals have the ability love and they feel and suffer when we are cruel.  And that life is valuable and should be cherished. That kindness is a gift.

If my opinion were solicited, I provide a resounding “NO”.  The American public does not need this kind of role model.  And as a spokes person for animal cruelty - a louder “NO”.  He does not speak for OUR breed and he should not be considered a positive influence. His decisions were not merely mistakes, they were a series of horrible decisions and a lifestyle of cruelty and suffering.  Six years of running a dog fighting operation  and systematically torturing and killing those dogs that didn’t fight hard enough or die in the pit is not simply a mistake.  A mistake is forgetting to mail a letter, not beating an animal to death. This is not simply one mistake but a long string of horrible decisions that potentially cite an inability to empathize with suffering, a lack of compassion and an outright disdain for life.  We have all read the few pieces of transcripts and evidence that was posted on the internet that explained in detail how the dogs were killed.  Pages and pages of documentation of terrible things that were done and done repeatedly if the dog didn’t die right away.  There is surely more that we were not privy.

He is not capable of spreading a compassionate message. He is not able to explain why we should care for our pets and treat them with kindness because he is not able to understand compassion for animals and kindness.  Certainly not while he himself does not understand and continues to skirt the responsibility of his actions. He has a deficiency in character that can not be fixed and certainly wasn’t fixed by 23 months in prison.  And will not be fixed as he is restored to his former glory without consequence.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the 
way its animals are treated." Mahatma Gandhi”

It's been a week

It's been a week since we took Rex and he's settling in nicely.  I haven't heard the first word about Linus but I really don't expect to hear about him. It's been a relief since he's been gone.  I feel bad for the little dog but after living with me a month, there was still no trust and no security. I hope that now he has a fenced area where he doesn't have to approach or interact, he will have more success. I hope he is more at ease now. I am also hoping that this person will end up keeping him and incorporating Linus into his doggie rehab programs. Linus is dog friendly and unassuming with other pets. He should fit in nicely to a multi pet home. And since this guy was interested in adopting a pit bull - perhaps Linus will fit that bill.  I have my hopes.

The Dog Swap

Well, the other rescue came through. Their deal was for our rescue to consider a dog in the local shelter and then that dog's advocate (who couldn't take him home due to cat aggression) would take Linus and "rehabilitate" him.  We loved the other dog and he's up on our pages as Rex. A fat headed young American Bully whose owner is in jail and not getting out anytime soon. He's a super chunk but has a great temperament and good with other dogs.  But he is really really young so that could change.

So after we pulled Rex, I got the call about Linus. I honestly think all of the dancing around regarding meeting up this week was to make sure we took Rex. Now I totally understand that some rescues can be wary of the turn and burn but we are not like that.  We already had an idea we would like Rex (pre a prelim eval on tues) or we never would have agreed to the swap.  

Yesterday afternoon I took Linus to his new foster home. Carried him through his house and put him in the backyard.  As predicted, the new foster home was not able to pet Linus as he retreated to the back of the yard.  He did manage to get his fingers sniffed as he made a close pass when playing with the other dogs.  It's going to be a long haul for Linus if he can ever make the bridge ( I am not confident). Either way, he's safe in a secure fence and does not need to worry about meeting anyone new.

I wonder still about the impact a potential placement will have on the breed and will always hope for the best.  I am not sure at all that Linus should not have been humanely euthanized and that may be what happens in the future - at least he will have some happiness in a yard before that happens.  The lesson here though is that when pulling a dog, make sure your expectations are clear from the starting gate and two organizations collaborating on the same dog may have different opinions in the end. If you feel your goals may not be in complete alignment - it is best to make sure that there are no shared custody arrangements.

Sad and reflective

It's been sad dealing with Linus. He may get a stay of euthanasia though in that the rescue that originally pulled him may take him back. We never transferred him officially so he technically still belongs to them.  They've made a bargain for us to look at another dog in the shelter and if we take that dog (all of the if's there) then they will take Linus.  Honestly, not sure how I feel about that but it's not up to me.  Linus has had a sad hard life and while I certainly feel bad for him and hope he can be successful somewhere - I can't help but worry about the impact an adoption could have on the breed. I truly don't feel he is a good example at this time.  He certainly could prove me wrong and blossom.  I probably wouldn't feel so conflicted if he was a different breed of dog. His behavior seems almost typical of a used up hound dog. You know, one of the ones you find on the side of the road in eastern NC that have all but given up the hunt.  Wary and nervous, they don't want to make friends but they are so alone they don't have a choice but to trust you just a little.

It's been a tough month and I've been sick with a summer cold twice already.  Which is why it's 12:43 in the morning and I haven't gone to bed yet. I'm all hopped up on cold medicine and can't lay down without choking on my own spit.  Too many dogs, too many animals really, not enough time in the day and I wish to hell I could find a house that I want to buy.  I do think it will seriously reduce my stress to have Linus safely in another place and out of my frame of worry.  Out of sight, out of mind and hope for the best.

Changes are in store for work as my manager put in her notice to move to a different department.  That will make life interesting to say the least.

Linus bit me

Linus bit me yesterday, not the first time but this is the first time that he really meant it and really tried to hurt me.  He broke the skin and I have a bruise. It's not bad, just the back of my hand where he managed to pull up some skin and pinch really hard to get me to let go of his foot.  I was retrying a behavior he did from the other week....when I thought he had something stuck in his pad and looked at his foot. That day he closed his mouth over my hand and bit down, hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to break the skin or make me let go.  I was trying it again but going to use the "uhuh" words to see if he accepted correction.  Well, half of the time he does and half of the time he will bite the hell out of me.  Seems like when he's had enough and feels he needs to pull away, a panic reaction sets in and he can't control himself and other times when he's more relaxed (and there can be just minutes in between) he tolerates it.  But tolerates not without some pulling and a definite head and shoulder turn away from me to let me know he's really uncomfortable.

Sadly, this brings and end to the Rosebud diaries since I am not going to personally keep this dog and I don't have endless resources to rehabilitate him.  Now that he has bitten he is no longer able to be rehomed.  I know that would come as a surprise to some as many rescue groups give biting dogs a second chance.  Because of his breed, the liability associated with biting and the sheer numbers of homeless dogs, we don't feel it is the right choice to take the chance that he wont' bite again.  We know that once he has bitten, he is more likely to do it again.  My concern all along was once he started to gain confidence that he would potentially become a fear biter.  He just seemed to have been too roughly treated and probably had a more delicate temperament to begin with.  I do think there's been a head injury in his past because of the way he holds it and because of the way he searches for fallen food as if he can't see it. He makes wide strange sweeping motions with his head because he can't locate what he's looking for on the ground.