Where have the vicktory dogs gone?

Of the 49 “Pit Bulls” seized from Michael Vick’s property in 2007, only one was deemed too vicious to rehabilitate by animal behavior specialists and there for euthanized. Leo, a fawn colored “Pit Bull” has not only recovered from his dark past but has become a certified therapy dog thanks to the dedication of his foster owner Marthina McClay, founder of Our Pack “Pit Bull” rescue. Gracie, another lucky survivor lives in Richmond, Va. She currently shares her house with multiple dogs and even a cat as part of her new pack. The only thing she fights for now is hugs and kisses. Hector will always have his battle scars to remind us of what he has endured, but a lot has changed for him after being adopted. Now he looks forward to competing in national flying disc competitions in Minnesota. 26 others were placed directly in foster homes, and many have already been or are being adopted.

22 of the Vicktory Dogs were deemed potentially aggressive toward other dogs and were sent to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. Best Friends is currently one of the largest “no-kill” shelters in the United States. Some of the dogs that arrived at the sanctuary suffered from serious psychological and emotional trauma, similar to what you see in abused children. Many of them had been forced to fight to the death, like gladiators. When Shadow arrived at Best Friends, he was perhaps the most withdrawn dog in the bunch. Everything terrified him, but after some intense TLC Shadow came to realize that the people around him were there to help. Soon he began to trust humans and developed into a completely different dog

Another star rising to fame and fortune not as a fighter, but as a “kitchen assistant” for his caregiver is Curly. This black and white “Pit Bull” earned his job by watching very closely as meals were being prepared. As long as Curly is on the job you can be assured that no food will ever hit the floor and you can always count on a clean workstation. Other dogs, like Shadow and Curly, are expected to move on to foster care and eventually adoption into experienced homes after training. Ultimately their goal is to get all of the dogs adopted but realistically, some will live out their lives in the beautiful, stress-free environment of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. To read more updates on the Vicktory dogs please visit: www.bestfriends.org/vickdogs/

Many people are wondering how these “Pit Bulls” have improved so dramatically after being subjected to years of abuse and neglect. It has been assumed even by many respected rescue organizations and even animal experts that dogs used for dog-fighting are incapable of ever becoming pets. Veterinarian Frank McMillan, said “We’ve assumed all pits are the same, and we’ve never let this many fighting dogs live long enough to find out. There are hardly ever studies, because these animals don’t survive.” Hopefully the amazing stories of these 48 dogs will be enough to influence a change in the negative image that currently plagues the “Pit Bull”. Click here for Vicktory Dogs Q & A http://news.bestfriends.org/index.cfm?page=news&mode=entry&entry=C7CE9083-19B9-B9D5-9DBCEF4815A35C17

-Victoria Spinella

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 2:07 pm and is filed under Michael Vick. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.