Philly Eagles help launch "End Dog Fighting in Philly" campaign

3187 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by 5bassetbakery, Jan 23, 2011

murraysmom

Discussion Starter · Jan 21, 2011

Philly Dawg follow link and scroll down to Jan 20 article

Quote:

"Philadelphia, like many cities, is a hot-bed for street dogfighting. The PSPCA s receives an average of 60 dogfighting complaints a month. In 2009, the PSPCA investigated a total of 903 complaints of animal fighting across Pennsylvania
You can thank Michael Vick for Philadelphia's new anti-dogfighting program.
The official announcement comes later today, but End Dogfighting Philadelphia, is already helping young people in North Philadelphia find productive and fun alternatives to fighting their dogs.
The program will model after existing programs in Chicago and Atlanta, will target at-risk teens and young adults and their bully-breed dogs. The goal is to reach the very young people who may have been on their way to becoming dog fighters, like Vick, and instead provide them with education about how to properly care and train their animals.
We want to prevent kids from going into dog fighting which we've seen is connected to drug and gangaactivity. said Rebecca Glenn Dinwoodie, the program's coordinator. So far six young people are enrolled in the program. Glenn-Dinwoodie hopes to expand the program to include more classes with at least ten in each class.
Providing a funding boost, is the Eagles organization, which dedicated $500,000 to animal welfare initiatives after the team signed Vick in Aug, 2009"

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Soundtrack

· #2 · Jan 21, 2011

You can thank Michael Vick for Philadelphia's new anti-dogfighting program.

Yeah. And you can thank Michael Vick (and his apologists) for the fact that dogfighting has increased dramatically in Philly since he joined the Eagles. Now it's "cool" to own and fight pits, 'cause MV did it. Heck, even the president says he's a great guy, and Wayne Pacelle, head of HSUS, thinks he'd be a great dog owner.

Raid shows the horror of dogfighting | WHYY News and Information | WHYY

Animal fighting cases in 2009 tripled compared to the year before Vick joined the Eagles. It may be that Vick's signing contributed to increased reporting of the crime but the SPCA's George Bengal believes Vick made dogfighting cool for a lot of kids.
"There's no doubt in my mind especially the youth of today they look at Michael Vick as their idol and it sort of promotes them to follow in his footsteps," Bengal said.
Prosecutor Barbara Paul seconds that:
"Since the Michael Vick case, having a pitbull is now a status symbol for young people in the city and animal fighting to them is not considered a bad thing. So there's been more reporting and we have had some more cases to prosecute."

Mike Vick And Dogfighting's Rise In Philly

But the SPCA isn't so sure. In Philadelphia, the increase in vigilant citizens reporting dogfighting doesn't explain the threefold increase in investigations in a single year.

Reporting is up about 25 percent from previous years, [SPCA's Pennsylvania law enforcement director George] Bengal said, and the SPCA has devoted more officers to investigate animal fighting. But he said there also has been an increase in actual dogfighting.
This is a fad out here now," he said, adding that it's hard to break down exactly how many of the cases are new operations.

That's been the talking point for area animal rights groups ever since Vick signed.

By hiring Michael Vick, the Eagles brought clear attention to a very awful thing that's done to animals," said Tom Hickey Sr., founder of the Pennsylvania advocacy group DogPAC. "But also by hiring him, they also said it's OK to do this kind of stuff."

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Kirska

· #3 · Jan 21, 2011

I know a local rescuer here that adopted one of Vick's dogs from Best Friends. There's an article about them here: Jacquielynn Floyd Columns - News for Dallas, Texas - The Dallas Morning News He was a sports talk radio host and refuses to watch the NFL.

I recommend picking up "The Lost Dogs", a book that came out a few months back for anyone interested in this case. It's primarily about the rescue of his dogs. Also it's written by an editor at a sports magazine, Sports Illustrated I believe, so it's not just propaganda by a PETA member or something.

I don't think people take dogfighting that seriously because they don't realize the horrors that go on. It's not just dogs fighting. It's dogs being offered as live bait that they know won't defend themselves, often family pets. It's dogs being hanged by choke chains, drowned with their head in a bucket, or doused in water and electrocuted if they lose or refuse to fight. In a way it's like the puppy mill situation. The dogs you see are the lucky ones. The dogs you don't see are the ones that suffer the most.

The money they offer to organizations and the work he does now is great and all, but I think a greater statement and greater good would've been done by refusing to allow him to step back into the role model position of NFL player.

Anyway all that to say that I agree with Soundtrack. Not much he can do to make up for the damage done, though it's good they're trying.

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Soundtrack

· #4 · Jan 21, 2011

Yes, it's not so much the dogfighting, horrible as it is. You could maybe, MAYBE, excuse that as a "cultural thing" (as many folks have done). It's the way he killed those dogs (don't read if you're squeamish).
The Vicktims speak: What dead dogs tell us | PetConnection.com
That's not a "cultural thing", that's a severe personality disorder. The man is sick.

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murraysmom

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 21, 2011 (Edited)

Yes, I agree with both of you- I posted this not because I'm buying into how great the Eagles and Vick are for doing this,but as a news item for those interested in what's going on in Pennsylvania regarding dog issues.

As far as I'm concerned Vick's 'change of heart' is a sham based on his desire to be a celebrity and a millionaire. Anyone who tortured dogs and thought it was funny like he did is sick; and a few months in jail can't cure that kind of pathology.

Vicks does his anti-fighting programs because if he didn't he would lose his million dollar contract. The Eagles want a number one team and are cynics of the worst sort.

I used to be an Eagles fan; now I change the channel.

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gsally

· #6 · Jan 22, 2011

murraysmom said:
I used to be an Eagles fan; now I change the channel.

Thank goodness! More people should do this! Go one step further and turn the TV OFF!

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2hounds

· #7 · Jan 22, 2011

Before all this went down a coworker of mine had bought her sone one of those fathead things that go up on your wall...bc let's face it MV is a great football player. Well as soon as this went down she tore that $150 thing off the wall and threw it in the trash. I cannot watch MV the existence of him in the NFL boils my blood.

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Tuesday

· #8 · Jan 22, 2011

Murraysmom, I agree with everything you said.
I have a hard time accepting anyone that can wake up every morning for YEARS and decide that they are going to torture and kill. I don't think that people like that ever truly get "rehabilitated". I mean, many people that end up violently murdering humans have a past of torturing animals. It was such a good feeling to see Vick fail as a quarterback, unable to take his team to the playoffs.

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5bassetbakery

· #9 · Jan 23, 2011

Vick has a house here in Virginia a few blocks from where I live. When he got out of jail I use to see him driving his range rover around the neighborhood. If for one second anyone thinks that this guy has changed....is a fool! He put his own family dog in the ring guys! yes, the one wishing to have a family dog in the future in the past put his own family dog in the ring!!
This guy is nothing but trash. He will do and say anything to help himself. HIMSELF. That is all he is concerned about. We will see this guy mess up again before it's all said and done.

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