Whatever happened to Michael Vick's dogs?

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was indicted last year by a federal grand jury in relation to the dogfighting investigation that took place at his Virginia residence.

When Vick's home was first raided in the spring of 2007, dozens of malnourished animals were discovered; later raids turned up buried remains of several pit bulls. It was suggested that dogs that wouldn't fight -- or lost their fights -- were shot, drowned, electrocuted, strangled or hanged.

So what happened to the dogs that didn't die? A federal judge involved in the case ordered each dog (that's one of them pictured) to be evaluated individually. And he "ordered Vick to pony up close to $1 million to pay for the lifelong care of those that could be saved." The Washington Post reports:

Of the 49 pit bulls animal behavior experts evaluated in the fall, only one was deemed too vicious to warrant saving and was euthanized. (Another was euthanized because it was sick and in pain.)

...Of the 47 surviving dogs, 25 were placed directly in foster homes, and a handful have been or are being adopted. Twenty-two were deemed potentially aggressive toward other dogs and were sent to an animal sanctuary in Utah. Some, after intensive retraining, are expected to move on to foster care and eventual adoption.

Pit bulls seem to end up in a great many headlines that involve animal attacks, so how can it be that some experts believe some of these animals can eventually be placed with people, possibly people with families? Post writer Brigid Schulte has some of the answers.

-- Alice Short

Photo: Douglas C. Pizac / Associated Press

Comments

[Jennifer]

The WaPo article linked to here was great. Our rescued pit bull mix is the gentlest dog I've ever owned; we are the envy of our landlord, friends and neighbors. Dogs are animals and people should always exercise caution when meeting a new dog for the first time. But expecting certain behaviors from certain breeds is no different from expecting certain behaviors from people based on race or gender.

[J in Pasadena]

My guess is that someone will be mauled by one of Vick's fearsome beasts in the next few years and then start asking, "Why?"

[delilah]

i agree. i have a pit-mix and she has probably one of the biggest hearts and 10x more personality than most dogs i have met. she is incredibly smart too.
i always tell people, when they are shocked at how loving my Sweet Pea is, that it is the parenting and affection that you give that really helps, very much like humans.

i hope those dogs get a ton of love wherever they go and awesome that Vic has to pay.

[Julian]

There is pervasive denial in those who continue to defend pit bulls as good family dogs who are only aggressive due to poor dog ownership. Behaviors in dogs are breed specific. Herding dogs herd, retrievers retrieve, and dogs bred to be aggressive will act aggressively towards other animals. Yes, irresponsible dog ownership does play a part in the intimidation and violence witnessed in pits, but there are also pits from good families that have become increasingly aggressive when a new family member has been introduced. I personally know of two different families who would be considered by all to be nurturing, responsible dog owners who had to have their cherished family pits put down due to aggression towards humans (one, a new wife, the other, a new baby). A civilized society does not need "pets" that are a potential threat to humans. There are too many other breeds, who don't have the fighting gene bred into them, available for adoption. It will be interesting to see how the pit bull apologists in this article react when their great "family dogs" show aggression toward another dog or child.

[tony]

dogs like these bring a lot of unknowns into the equation of expected behavior. based on the amount of time and effort put into evaluating them they probably have a good chance at recovery. i'd never trust any of them as i would a dog i raised myself from puppy-hood - that's for sure. but that's not to say they can't be good dogs. all dogs are good until people get a hold of them!

[tufflove]

Interesting that comments from people who actually rescue and train pits are not being approved by whoever is moderating but the ignorant "they'll maul someone" crap is.

Scared of pits much, Alice Short?

[Matthew Edward Ward]

I think Michael Vick was wrong for hurting those dogs

[Matthew Edward Ward]

Michael Vick Shouldn't play football