Jacque Johnson, Ray's adoptive mom, explains, "The day Ray came home was one of the happiest of my life. He enjoyed meeting new people, something that is difficult for me. But his insistence on being social meant I had to learn to talk to strangers. He helped teach me that some things are just not important. Just spending time together is all we really needed to be happy. Though Vicktory dog Lance has crossed the Rainbow Bridge, his adoptive family and Best Friends Animal Sanctuary caregivers and others celebrate his life and the happiness he shared with all who were fortunate enough to be part of his journey.
Lance the Vicktory dog has crossed a huge milestone: he passed his Canine Good Citizen test! This is a multi-part test during which a dog must show that he can handle real-life scenarios and stressful situations well. Lance has now been cleared to be adopted by the couple who applied to adopt him several years ago.
What would you sacrifice for true love? What big changes would you be willing to make in your life? Jacque and Kevin Johnson faced these questions six months ago when they fell for Ray, one of the Vicktory dogs the dogs rescued from NFL player Michael Vick's dogfighting ring.
Georgia, one of the most well-known and loved of the dogs that Best Friends took in from the Michael Vick dogfighting case, lost her battle with kidney failure yesterday. To honor her, we'd like to share words from some of the people who knew her best. Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee signs House Bill into law that prohibits breed-discriminatory legislation. Handsome Dan, a pit bull terrier rescued in the Michael Vick dog fighting bust, inspired the bill by showing that dogs should be assessed on an individual basis, which keeps communities safer than discriminating against an entire breed.
It goes without saying that the Vicktory dogs the dogs rescued from NFL player Michael Vick's dog-fighting ring have endured some dark days. But, for seven-year-old Ray, things have just gotten a whole lot brighter. He's following in the footsteps of Layla, the Vicktory dog who spent some time with the folks in Parrot Garden, passed her Canine Good Citizen CGC test, and "graduated" into a six-month foster-to-adopt situation in February of this year.
Vicktory dog Layla recently passed her Canine Good Citizen test and became eligible for adoption. As luck would have it, a certified dog trainer who was scheduled to do an internship at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary fell in love with Layla and vice versa.
Layla is now in a home, in a foster-to-adopt situation. Former Michael Vick dog Layla passes her Canine Good Citizen test, which is a court-ordered requirement for all of the Vicktory dogs before they can be adopted into a family.
Layla had severe fear issues as a result of coming from an abusive dog fighting situation that Best Friends trainers and staff worked with her to overcome, employing some innovative tactics. Since arriving at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the dogs who were forced to fight as part of Michael Vick's dog fighting ring have come a long way.
Read an update on the pit bull terriers who have shown that all dogs, despite the abuse they have suffered, deserve a chance at healing, and to be the loving animals they were meant to be. Dawn Staley fulfills promise, shares South Carolina championship net with Black coaches. South Carolina Gamecocks. Baylor's Oklahoma test, Purdue's upset chances at Ohio State and more to watch in Week 11's biggest games.
Florida State Seminoles. NBA experts: Which early-season surprises are here to stay? Charlotte Hornets. LeBron James among the stars boarding the Paolo Banchero hype train. Duke Blue Devils. Cam Newton gives Carolina Panthers hope, even if he's no longer 'Superman'.
How J. Arizona Cardinals. Battle of the Leagues final: Premier League or Ligue 1 to win it all? En-Nesryi to Man City? January moves that could fix what's wrong at Europe's biggest clubs.
Under the sentencing guidelines for this crime, most first time offenders would have received no jail time. However, Chuck Rosenberg, the U. Co-conspirator Tony Taylor was not included in this recommendation since he was the first to plead guilty and assist in the investigation.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for December 10, The NFL suspended Vick indefinitely without pay. After he is freed from prison, he could be reinstated. Five months after the initial investigation, a Surry County grand jury brought two charges against Vick:. Peace, Phillips and Taylor were charged with promoting dogfighting.
Taylor was also charged with three counts of unlawful torture and killing of dogs, and Peace was charged with one count. Each is a felony charge with a maximum 5 year prison term. The grand jury declined to bring eight possible additional counts of animal cruelty against the s. The following is an excerpt from a news article describing the charges :.
A team of animal behavior experts selected by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals analyzed the 49 seized dogs and then recommended whether they were suitable either to be adopted by families, trained as police dogs, placed in a sanctuary, or should be euthanized. Only one dog was recommended for euthanasia because of extreme aggression. The others were deemed suitable to go to sanctuaries or foster homes for socialization training.
Even after pleading guilty to the federal charges, Vick had not admitted to hands-on participation in the killing of poorly performing dogs. An FBI agent questioned Vick for five hours and gave him a polygraph test that indicated he was lying. Vick finally admitted to killing two dogs. According to Assistant U. I dropped the dog. The U. District Court appointed Rebecca J. Per her recommendation, the dogs were eventually dispersed to eight rescue organizations for adoption, rehabilitation or lifetime care in sanctuaries, where they have been neutered.
Writer Jim Gorant described the assessment of the dogs:. Fewer than a dozen of the dogs were hardened fighters. Two had to be put down—one was excessively violent and the other was suffering from an irreparable injury. Another group seemed to be dogs of relatively friendly normal temperament who simply had never been socialized.
Vick had also lied to investigators about testing positive for marijuana in September, a violation of the terms of his release on bail. A probation officer, who did not believe Vick had accepted responsibility, recommended an enhanced sentencing range of between 18 months and two years in prison. District Judge Henry E. Vick is scheduled to be released from federal prison July 20, Peace, Phillips and Taylor all pled guilty to the same charge earlier in the year.
Taste test concluded, she shoots over to the side door, pushes down the handle with her snout and disappears into the side yard. I never had another dog here who figured out how to do that. Berenice pulls it open and in comes Zippy, ears up, tail wagging. Eliana, meanwhile, has pulled a spiral-bound notebook from her book bag. It's late November, and she wants to read a Thanksgiving essay she wrote at school. As her little voice takes hold of the room, Zippy curls into a circle beside her.
The last lines of the story go like this: "Zippy is one of a kind. I named her Zippy because she is really fast. I don't want any of my dogs to be adopted. After being taken from the Moonlight Road property, Vick's dogs were dispersed to six animal-control facilities in Virginia. Conditions differed slightly from place to place, but for the most part each dog was kept alone in a cage for months at a time. They were often forced to relieve themselves where they stood, and they weren't let out even while their cages were being cleaned; attendants simply hosed down the floors with the dogs inside.
They were given so little attention because workers assumed they were dangerous and would be put down after Vick's trial. The common belief is that any money and time spent caring for dogs saved from fight rings would be better devoted to the millions of dogs already sitting in shelters, about half of which are destroyed each year.
What the pit bulls had going for them was the same thing that had once seemed to doom them: Michael Vick. They were, in a sense, celebrities, and there was a massive public outcry to help them. Letters and e-mails poured in to the offices of Judge Henry E. Hudson and of Mike Gill, assistant U. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Gill had worked on several animal-related cases and still had ties to the rescue community. He reached out to, among others, Zawistowski.
Could the ASPCA put together a team to evaluate the animals and determine if any of them could be saved? Around the same time Donna Reynolds, the executive director and cofounder, along with her husband, Tim Racer, of BAD RAP, sent Gill a seven-page proposal suggesting a dog-by-dog evaluation to see if any could be spared.
The couple, who have placed more than pit bulls in new homes during the last 10 years, knew it was a long shot. It's faster and easier to judge the entire barrel as rotten.
On Aug. District Court in Richmond, and Judge Hudson accepted a plea agreement in which the former quarterback admitted that he had been involved in dogfighting and had personally participated in killing animals. On Sept. It quickly agreed on a protocol for testing the dogs that would show their level of socialization and aggressiveness.
Among other things, the dogs were presented with people, toys, food and other dogs. Their reactions and their overall demeanor were evaluated. In those three days the team assessed 49 dogs at six sites. It didn't help that the assessors had no idea what to expect. Besides their time at Bad Newz, the dogs had spent four months locked up in shelters with minimal attention. That alone could push many dogs over the brink. So what they found in the pens caught them off guard.
No more than a dozen were seasoned fighters, and few showed a desire to harm anything. Many of the dogs had all but shut down. They cowered in the corners of their kennels or stood hunched with their heads lowered, their tails between their legs and their feet shifting nervously.
Some didn't want to come out. As far as they knew bad things happened when people came. Bad things happened when they were led out of their cages. One dog was so scared that even the confines of her kennel offered her no comfort.
Shelter workers used a blanket to construct a little tent inside her cage that she could duck under. Remembering that dog, McMillan says, "Jasmine broke my heart. Jonny Justice likes to lie in a splash of sunlight that stretches across the floor of the living room in the San Francisco split-level of Cris Cohen.
Head lolling back, eyes closed, legs sticking up in the air, he lets the rays warm his pink belly. Comfy as this is, Jonny doesn't have long to linger. He's on a tight schedule. He's up every day at 6 a. After that it's back home for a handful of food, some grooming, a quick scratch-down and then into his dog bed with a few toys and food puzzles.
At lunchtime he's back out for a quick trip to the yard, some play time and a little lounging in the sun, followed by a return to the kennel until around Then it's another long walk -- an hour this time -- dinner, a game of fetch in the yard, quiet time and sleep. After the ASPCA-led evaluations, the dogs were put into one of four categories: euthanize; sanctuary 2 needs lifetime care given by trained professionals, with little chance for adoption ; sanctuary 1 needs a controlled environment, with a greater possibility of adoption ; and foster must live with experienced dog owners for a minimum of six months, and after further evaluation adoption is likely.
Rebecca Huss, a professor at the Valparaiso Ind.
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