Getting A Break

(Not sure if this had been posted yet, I didn't see anything on it)

Vick's Pit Bulls Sitting Pretty At Utah Sanctuary

Twenty-two of the pit bulls seized from suspended NFL quarterback Michael Vick's dogfighting operation are sniffing the dry desert air, getting to know human kindness and gobbling treats at a Utah animal sanctuary.

Each dog has its own pen inside an octagonal housing unit and an outdoor run. They're being fed "canine caviar" -- a special dog-food formulation. They're chewing rubber bones. They can wrestle rubber toys filled with doggie treats.

"We're walking these guys and touching them more," said Patty Hegwood, director of animal care for the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, about 260 miles south of Salt Lake City.

"This is red cliffs and rocks and desert as oppose to Virginia, which is green and humid. So they have lots of noses up in the air, taking in all the different smells. Some are a little pensive. They're trying to figure out where they are, basically. They're looking at us like, 'Who the heck are you?"'

The dogs landed Wednesday after an 8-hour flight in a chartered twin-prop from Richmond, Va. Other shelters are taking another 25 dogs from Vick's 15-acre country estate in southeastern Virginia.

"It's the end of a long grind for these guys," Best Friends spokesman John Polis said.

"Our fondest hope is that they get adopted, but we have to be very conservative because these dogs come from a rough background," he said.

Caretakers are keeping the pit bulls separated from some 600 other dogs at a 3,000-acre sanctuary that leases another 30,000 acres of federal land for grazing animals.

Best Friends has 400 employees.

Helping the pit bulls adjust to a new social life will be difficult, but their handlers will observe the animals for at least six months and work to correct any behavior problems, Polis said.

Polis said the sanctuary euthanizes dogs only for medical reasons.

A court order prevents the sanctuary from discussing any of the dogs' conditions until a man linked with the dogfighting operation is sentenced Jan. 25, Polis said.

Vick is serving a 23-month prison sentence for a dogfighting conspiracy.

The Best Friends sanctuary will appear in a new National Geographic channel series called "Dog Town" that starts Friday.

 

I havent seen this. Thanks for posting RHI.

 

NP. Glad to see someone is doing something other than euthing all of em.

 

i am 2. they never should have been taking anyways. tha hole vick thing is jacked up. thay need to let his azz out and leave tha man alone. give his dawgs back.

 

Personally, I'm not glad. Those dogs will spend the rest of their lives in solitary confinement in kennels all the while the "rescuers" enjoy a nice lump sum they were paid for taking them in. I don't believe for one second that these dogs will be adopted out....there will be more excuses than ever heard before.

 

I'm not sure about a lump sum for people taking dogs, one should hope that either they get the chance to go to a well educated owner, or stay their life out there, as far as i know the center is pretty good. JMO. If they are HA then, by all means no dog should be allowed to move on into a home. I'm staying optimistic about it, but everyone knows there aren't such things as fairy tale endings for most dogs, APBT or otherwise in a situation like that; one can only hope. So, Mia, I do see where you're coming from on it.

 

What makes you think they'll never be adopted? That rescue group does a great job placing animals. It's basically a very large no kill shelter. As to solitary confinement, what do you think they had at Vick's setup? And I've never heard of an outfit like that "enjoying" money, at least not unless they are eating the dog food themselves.

 

You're right - he needs to get his dawgs back. I think he needs a little more practice at hangin' em - maybe he'll get it right this time and not have to drown em too.:rolleyes:

 

Here's a link to a vid about that place:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx5R8wG1bx8

Looks pretty good to me. Those dogs got lucky.

 

Does anyone have contact info for the "shelter"? Flooding them with letters and e-mails might encourage them to find these animals good homes.