Hello everyone,
I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to talk about this week, and I feel like I am in a good enough place as a researcher to explore the history of a horrific subject that I didn’t want to touch. As everyone knows, Michael Vick was imprisoned because he was one of the outfitters of the Bad Newz Kennels Dog Fighting Ring. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, this group was responsible for training over 50 dogs to fight viciously to the death for a chance at winning a gambling purse for the owner. If these dogs performed “badly” at all, they were sadistically murdered in such ways as hanging, drowning, and electrocution. Some of these gambling pools totaled upwards of twenty-six thousand dollars. The ALDF points out that even though dog fighting is illegal in all fifty states, the exposure of Michael Vick and the Bad Newz Kennels put more media spotlight on an underground culture that has polluted many neighborhoods all over the country. This is a subject that keeps me awake at night, ever more confident in my passion to preserve this breed for all of these dogs that survived this horrific torture, and for those responsible owners that love them.
The headquarters of this operation was uncovered in April of 2007 when law enforcement raided a fifteen acre property owned by Vick in Surry County, Virginia. Because of a failed drug test and failure to admit his responsibility for the dog fighting on a polygraph, the judge in his case gave Vick a 23 month prison sentence to be served in Leavenworth, Kansas. Many of these dogs in similar instances are euthanized because they are deemed a danger to society, but there was much public appeal to save the animal victims of Michael Vick’s undeniable cruelty. Author Jim Gorant wrote a very important book about these pitties called The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption. According to this book, Vick was ordered to pay over a million dollars in restitution to the bullies that were seized from his farm. The ASPCA then went about evaluating each dog on a case by case basis, which led to forty-seven of the fifty-one animals seized being put into loving homes. I hope to talk in detail in a follow-up post about some of the surviving bullies and what their lives are like now.
Some of the practices of these kennels are truly disturbing, and I had to stop reading many times. There was one article in USA Today that I came across in my research written by Tom Weir, and he had interviewed several representatives within law enforcement that had been involved in fighting ring raids. The officers talked about walking into these places seeing atrocities such as blood over the walls of the fighting ring, dogs that actually had glass ground into their skin, and dogs with their teeth filed down to make them razor-sharp. The police have to move swiftly when they find out about these fights because most people don’t know the location until an hour or two before.
The first step into ending dog fighting is educating the community about what to look for. I have firsthand knowledge of this because a dog fighting ring was raided not far from where I found Finn in the rain, and I fully believe that this was where he came from. He was just fortunate enough to escape in time. How did the local police know to go in and raid the place? Someone had to notice something, and then follow through and report it. If you see a house with multiple dogs that appear to be undernourished and not socialized, report it immediately by calling your local law enforcement. I will provide a link to a PDF file that I found that will describe the signs in more detail, courtesy of the ASPCA and the Chicago Police Department. There is another PDF document that I found sponsored by the Humane Society that I will provide a link to as well. Together, as communities, we can play a major part in the end of dog fighting in America. Mr. Vick might have thought these dogs were just blood sport, but through their ordeal, their spirit has been proven again and again. Just like with any crime; if you see something, say something.
Pit Bull Pride 
Great post. I didn’t know a lot about dog fighting and the controversy surrounding Michael Vick–only that it happened. I am seriously disturbed. Thanks for writing such an informative article. You’re right, people need to know that things like this still happen every day.
Hey Christina!
Sorry it took a bit for my reply on this! I told several people when I was researching the Vick case, especially when I saw pictures of the conditions these dogs were kept in on that farm and the condition the animals were in when the rescue groups took custody, I had to stop a few times to maintain my focus. It was very hard, but I feel it is something more people need to be aware of. Thanks for all the help you have been giving me!
OMG Kaitlin, this post gave me the chills. I wasn’t allowed to have pets as a kid, so I was never really sympathetic toward them. Even hearing about the Michael Vick case wasn’t particularly moving for me. Of course, I didn’t really know the details until this post. Then, a year ago I got my cat, Louie. He almost ran away once, and I started balling like a baby. Now, I understand what animals and pets mean to families, so it really atrocious that human being use pit bulls for a blood sport. It’s really horrible. Thank you for educating me on this subject.
Hey Susette! Thanks for reading! I am glad that you liked the post. I didn’t know much about pitbulls much less the Michael Vick case until I adopted my pit bull mix, Finn about a year before this project started. It has been a whirlwind, but I am glad that I have all of this information now. It is just going to make me want to fight against breed banning even more.