Thoughts on Michael Vick

I'm still processing and the dogs are still healing (those who survived) but Michael Vick is now out of prison.

Part of me hates him and will always hate him and thinks he deserves nothing.

Part of me does see the merit in The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) having Vick work with them to reach youth who might become involved in dog fighting. Oddly enough my boyfriend brought up that possibility when I was horrified at the idea of PETA collaborating with Vick. I have other issues with PETA though (n.b. they're not really into rescuing pets--they wanted all the dogs put down without evaluation).

Then there's the part of me that has always believed that a man can change if he so wants and that we need to allow for the possibility of change and also forgive past sins.

I don't know how to forgive someone for being so hateful toward animals. Bad Rap had this video from CNN:


and you can see what a sweet dog Jhumpa is.

I guess if her new mom can support Vick having his own second chance, I can, too.

I'll support him working with HSUS as long as he acts sincere and doesn't treat it just like a PR stunt. I will not support the NFL hiring him back. Part of why he will be effective with those kids is because they will see that dog fighting does not fit into a high rolling lifestyle. That, instead, dog fighting leads to losing your dreams, going to jail, and spending the rest of your life trying to atone for your evil.

Because yes, I still believe what that man did was pure evil.

Friday Pick Me Up

I do not advocate animals as replacements for people. However, I do think animals are a blessing and help us deal when we miss people, the same way human friends can help us.

Well, before my boyfriend flew off to spend six months teaching in the Holy Lands, there was a day I was having a bad time at work--nothing was going well and I was so frustrated and upset. Jarrod's response was to go over to my apartment (he lived in the other side of my building and had a key for feeding Toby) and take a video of Toby being well, Tobycute. That is the video I believe I uploaded. He actually took two but would kill me if I showed the other one where you hear him encouraging Toby to "talk" to me and meow for the camera.

The videos made me smile and I saved them to my computer because everyone needs a pick me up every now and then.

Well, today I was feeling tired and I missed my boyfriend more than usual. I had read upsetting news on Bad Rap about a man in MI pushing for pit bulls to be banned and made the mistake of reading the comments on the newspaper articles (both about the Michigan man and another about an awesome rescued pittie who had just passed away in the Bay area). Comments on newspaper articles always depress me. When Cleveland helped out feral cats (which totally does help resident people, too) all sorts of ignorant and nasty comments were posted in response to the article. Same thing here. On the one about the great pit bull, people wrote in with the same awful bull about pitties. I'm a bleeding-heart sort of girl and not even having the person I wanted most around to give me a hug when I felt down just sucked.

Then I remembered this video. I went, watched, and smiled. I'm headed to the shelter tonight to walk and hug the pitties there. The video reminds me that while I don't do a lot, I do provide a loving home for the kitties I can and also, importantly, that other people are doing what they can to improve the world and make it a happier place. Even if that's just videotaping their girlfriend's cat when she's having a bad day. It's little, but it's something nice that one person did for another. Humanity has a lot of faults but if we all keep trying to do little nice things when we can, those will build up and we won't have awful comments bogging down newspaper articles and ignorant people calling for the destruction of a breed.

So if you need a smile, watch the video, see my cute Tobias, and go do something nice for someone else. No matter how small the acts, they matter and they do add up.

Have You Heard the Good News?

Nick has a very strong potential adopter!! She wants to fill out the paperwork, pay, and pick him up next week so that she can buy all the supplies and be around the house for his first few days. I'm super excited for my Nikolai. I'll miss him, but I'm so glad he got a home.

(Yes, this was a post title that's been in my head since I noticed that Nik cannot help beelining for my cross necklace, I know it's probably just that it's shiny and hanging, but seriously, he was originally "Saint" Nick...I think he's some form Eastern Orthodox)

In other good news, ESPN is starting their series on fight dogs tonight. I won't be able to watch because I'll be at family dinner, but BadRap said it should be available online soon. Sports Illustrated had a wonderful article in December/January about how wonderfully the dogs who survived the bust are doing. Hopefully E-60 (the show) will help more people see how amazing this breed is in general, and also help push the idea that just because a dog was a fight dog doesn't mean he needs to be put down without evaluation (*cough* PETA wanting to euthanize all the dogs from the bust *cough*). HSUS recently changed their position to one in favor of evaluation and I'm excited for positive publicity to help more of the population see how great these dogs can be. Dogs really are individuals and just like some people can bounce back, so can some dogs.

If you get a chance to watch ESPN, I hope you enjoy the show. If not, say something nice about pitties to someone. They need people on their side.

Not So Capital in the Capital

DC's city council is considering a bill that would ban pit bulls. Not only are these bills an ineffective waste of money (as Baltimore County demonstrated), these bills hurt people, shelters, and dogs.

They hurt the people who love their pit bulls and know what great dogs they are. They hurt the kids who grow up fearing a wonderful dog because their government tellsthem it's okay to be prejudiced without any acknolwedgment of facts. They hurt the people who are still going to get bit because biting is not about breed, but about temperment, training, and the situation.

They hurt the shelters who end up taking in all the pit bulls who are banned as people try to keep them from being destroyed. The hurt the shelters desperately trying to adopt out wonderful dogs without interference of the worst sort from our goverment.

They hurt the dogs who are American Pit Bull Terriers and are wonderful, loving, and loyal companions. They hurt the dogs who look like but aren't American Pit Bull Terriers but will be confused for such. They hurt the other dogs who need space in the shelters. They hurt the dogs who love to play with American Pit Bull Terriers. They hurt the pits who will now be bred illegally without socialization or proper medical care. Outlawing something doesn't eliminate it, it just makes it dangerous and illegal.

The bill has been assigned to the Health Committee and the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. Here are two links to both committees which contain contact information for the members:
Public Safety
Health

Please contact the members and tell them not to support B 18--0052. Shelters in the DC area do not support this bill and neither should you.


Breed specific legislation has been shown time and again to do nothing to curb bite incidents. It pushes breeders underground and prevents healthy socialization of pit bulls. DC City Council just passed a great aggression act that just needs time to take affect. Don't sit by and let DC make a great mistake. We're the nation's capital, let's stand against prejudice and profiling. Dogs are individuals and deserve to be judged as such.

Please take action before more dogs and people get hurt by fear turned into law.

North Carolina Potential Tragedy

While I join in the applause for shutting down another pit bull fighting ring, I am appalled at the judge's decision to ignore the rescue groups offering to take in and rehabilitate these dogs.

Bad Rap has a great write up of the events and is how I first heard about it http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/updates-news-release.html

I'm a little speechless. I knew HSUS had bad pit policies and I had hoped I could ignore them because my local humane society is awesome about pits. This is just wrong.

Whether you like pit bulls as a breed or whether you think that fighting dogs can be rescued, there are puppies involved. Puppies who are little and haven't even been in a fighting ring. And because of fear and prejudice they are going to be destroyed.

The short story:
A fighting ring in North Carolina was broken up. The dogs were collected. Only one shows signs of having ever been in a fight. The one good aspect of the Michael Vick case was public proof that fighting pit bulls can be rehabilitated. Rescue groups have offered to take these dogs. There are recently born puppies.
The judge still decided to have them all destroyed and taken to the landfill because it's cheaper.

Bad Rap and other organizations are asking for people to call, email, and fax the following to try and halt the destruction of these animals. They had no representation at that case. It was not justice in the least, it was not even a fair case.

Please contact:

Mike Inscore - Mayor mayor@wilkesboronorthcarolina.com
http://www.north-wilkesboro.com/
Email: townhall@north-wilkesboro.com

Wilkes County Board of Commissioners: 110 North StreetWilksboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-651-7346
Fax: 336-651-7568

Wilkes County Attorney: Tony TriplettVannoy, Colvard, Triplett & Vannoy
922 C Street P.O. Box 1388
North Wilkesboro, NC 28659
Phone: 336-667-7201
Fax: 336-838-7250
E-mail: ttriplett@vannoylaw.com

District Attorney Tom Horner
500 Courthouse Drive Suite 2022
Wilkesboro, NC 28697
Phone: 336-667-6361 or 667-2994
Fax: 336 667-7999

I Call Bull

The Washington Post is running an article from AP which presents ignorant views.

I'm sorry that Ms. Sedler's daughter wasn't raised to know better than to peer over people's fences. I do think the owner of the dog should have trained the dog better or put a sign to not trespass. However, Jacquline Sedler shows ignorance when she states a false reason for why pit bulls were bred. Please, before you speak out on anything, do some research and train your own daughter. She was in the wrong. Don't go pushing to punish an entire breed. Pushing your city council to ban a particular breed of dogs won't erase your daughter's scar.

The Story of Missy

Earlier this week you met Missy, the pit bull who changed my mind. Here's the story of how I came to love pit bulls.

During the volunteer training for my shelter, they talked about pit bulls and asked who knew what about pit bulls. No one wanted to raise their hand and say that they had heard and bought what we had all heard and that I at least had bought, so one guy stood up to say that his brother had trained pit bulls, they were actually very sweet but really energetic and just needed good training in large quantities. He also brought up that they had been Victorian nursery dogs which the staff person confirmed. (This was the first time I had heard this claim. Since then I have heard and read it many other places—most recently in a Sports Illustrated cover story.) What I had heard was that they were used for fighting and were naturally aggressive, mean dogs. While I felt awful that they were used for fighting, I didn't really think much beyond that.

A few weeks into my volunteering at the shelter, I felt a pro at walking dogs, brushing cats, and taking pets up to the socialization room. The staff liked me and knew that I felt I was there to get work done, not just hang out with animals (though that was my favorite part of the socialization room). One evening there were only four dogs to walk. One was a pit bull.

I didn't want to say I was scared of pit bulls, especially when she didn't really jump much higher than the others and did look kind of cute with her black and white coat, so I took out other dogs first and hoped the other dog-walking volunteer that night would take the pit bull. After my second walk I came back to find that the only dog waiting to be taken out was the pit bull and the other volunteer had already left for the night. Swallowing my fear, looking the black and white pup in her sparkling eyes, I grabbed a leash and approached her cage door.

I was on my butt within seconds. Missy had jumped and licked me so much that I fell to the floor in surprise. Instead of running off, she stayed and kept licking me—somehow this dog was just that happy that I was going to take her for a walk. At that, I just had to laugh at this feisty girl. Part of me was still worried about how she would be on the leash, but at least I was pretty sure she wasn't about to attack me on purpose. I got her leash on and headed outside into the warm spring evening.

Missy pulled. A lot. Apparently pit bulls do have a lot of energy and need long walks or runs. Leisurely fifteen minute strolls were just not using up enough energy for this dog. I broke into a jog whenever I got Missy to stop pulling for even a moment, breaking into a walk every other block (it had been over six months since I had jogged regularly). After fifteen minutes of this, I sat down on the grass and she lied down beside me, rolled onto her back, and wriggled with obvious doggie delight. Eventually I got up and walked back to the shelter with her, won over to a pit bull's personality.

I began to take Missy for runs every time I was at the shelter. I walked her over a mile to an outdoor shopping and civic district where I knew she would meet lots of people. She still pulled a lot, but she seemed to be getting better with each long run. Missy was the first dog I handled at an adoption event.

Sh was also the first dog to ever ride in my car. After finding that she did not fit on the tiny ledge behind the back seat of my Corolla, she cleaned my car by finding a week old PBJ sandwich and wolfing it down in pleasure.

The day that Missy was adopted was one of my happiest. It was the first time I felt like I had helped an animal get adopted. She helped me, too. Knowing Missy not only got me back in shape, gave me confidence with every other dog who seemed too energetic, but won me over to her breed.

One of my favorite aspects of interacting with the public now is telling them how great pit bulls are. We have so many in shelters. One county near us won't allow any pit bulls. Another requires a special permit and mountains of paperwork. Multiple states are considering breed specific legislation aimed at keeping out pit bulls. The pit bull PR problem continues: even today the Washington Post mistakenly said that the pit bull reputation is “well deserved.” There is hope. Salon had a lovely post regarding one author's love for his sweetheart of a pit bull. The pit bull featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated is a loveable dog, rehabilitated from a horrible situation.

I genuinely believe that if more people learn about pit bulls and if more legislators meet these dogs, the discriminatory laws will be taken off the books and all communities will be allowed to love pit bulls. Dog fighting is an awful crime, but making the dogs illegal only hurts the canines, it doesn't solve the problem. Humane education and greater security in all areas of a town—not just those with fancy homes—is how we'll stop dog fighting. Let's let everyone love a pit bull if they want to, without worrying what county he lives in.

Five Confessions

I have a few confessions:

1. I used to be scared of cats. My friend Ted remembers me asking why his cat was making a weird noise and sounding like a motor. He had to explain that she was purring.

2. As a result of #1, I used to be in favor of declawing. In my defense, I didn't know anything about it. I was ignorant. I still feel guilt and shame when I remember actually saying out loud that I didn't understand why Toby and his "sister" weren't declawed. In my defense, I had never lived with one cat, let alone two (yes, I got Toby from an old roommate when she didn't want him). Thankfully I never actively tried to get any cats declawed. It still makes me turn red.

3. Until I met Missy, I bought into pitbull's bad PR.

4. After bruising my tailbone and hitting the back of my head, I became terrified of large horses for awhile. Admittedly, I still have to remind myself not to tense up when the horse is particularly tall.

5. I'm not good with reptiles and bugs really just freak me out.

Why did I post these? Partially to show that even an "animal lover" can have anti-animal characteristics. More importantly, because it's proof, albeit anecdotal, that information and experience can change a person's mind. Living with Toby started my journey toward being a "cat lady," volunteering at the shelter taught me about declawing and all the ways to help a destructive cat without maiming him for life, and meeting Missy made me fall in love with pit bulls. I now adore cats, hate declawing, and consider pit bulls my favorite breed of dog.

Maybe in the future I'll get to know a snake up close and personal and he'll change my mind.