Michael Vick’s Property Could Become Animal Sanctuary

by Jake Richardson Feb 9, 2011 

A group called Dogs Deserve Better is trying to raise $600,000 by March 20 to purchase Michael Vick’s old Surry County home.  If they successfully purchase Vick’s former property, they will acquire multiple acres of land with sheds and kennels.

Dogs Deserve Better is a national non-profit focused on taking care of abandoned and abused dogs, and freeing them from chains. They say chaining dogs can result in attacks on children and adults because such dogs are often unsocialized and act territorial. The organization’s founder spent 52 days chained to a doghouse to raise awareness about the cruelty of chaining.

On their website, the group states how they wish to use Michael Vick’s property: “There are 15 acres where we will build a state of the art dog caretaking facility and train these neglected, unsocialized dogs to live inside as part of the family.”

For about six years Vick financed a dogfighting ring and was involved in torturing and killing dogs. Eventually he was convicted of being involved in an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. For this felony he was sentenced to 23 months in prison. After being released from jail he returned to pro football and was chosen for the Pro Bowl. Since his imprisonment, he has volunteered his time to warn others about becoming involved in such bad behavior.

Some people think Vick’s talent in football makes his behavior acceptable. An article in Time magazine stated, “Vick exited prison and worked harder than ever, transforming himself into a better quarterback than he was before his punishment. No matter what you think of Vick personally, that’s an act of atonement.” Achievements in sports, however, are not an atonement for personal transgression.

One thing Mr. Vick could do to keep moving himself in the right direction is to make a large donation to the Dogs Deserve Better project and help convert his previous residency into a sanctuary for animals. Mr. Vick and his associates invested very large sums of money and effort in committing violence against animals, so making a large donation to take care of animals would help make up for the harm he has done in the past.

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