Vick Dogs Get New Lease on Life

The Gag Order Has Been Lifted in the Michael Vick Case, and the Truth About the Rescue Finally Comes Out

The court imposed gag order is gone, and now we can see what has happened in the lives of the dogs that were so cruelly mistreated by Michael Vick and his dog fighting partners. One organization in particular, BadRap (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls) sprang into action immediately after news first broke on the Virginia fighting dog compound owned by former NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

In a highly secret undertaking, the folks at Badrap worked with other dog rescue groups and managed to insert themselves into the situation by convincing prosecutors and judges in the case to grant them access to the dogs for evaluation. That gave them the opportunity to work toward rehabilitation and finding them new homes.

Due to the efforts of Badrap and their partner organizations, 48 of the 49 dogs have been rescued and many are already en route to new homes, never to face-off in the fighting pits again.

Court imposed gag orders caused these groups to work under extraordinary restraints. They couldn't ask for donations to help in the effort or tell anyone not directly involved in the rescue efforts what they were doing, until now.

In the past, dogs found in these conditions have had little or no hope. Many local government animal agencies had policies which immediately condemned any dog used in fighting rings, especially "pit bull" breeds, to be euthanized. Under the assumption that dogs trained to be fighters were too difficult to rehabilitate, these animals are often put down without the benefit of an individual evaluation. Many argue that this practice avoids wasting training resources and kennel space on animals that create too much risk. Legal liability resulting from those perceived risks play a large role in many shelter's determination to euthanize as opposed to finding foster homes for these dogs.