more on the dogs rescued from vick...
A Roswell veterinarian believes he can rehabilitate at least some of Michael Vick's pit bulls that mainstream animal-rights advocates want put to death.
And he is not alone. Pit bull experts say the dogs are getting a bad rap.
"I work with Fulton and Cobb counties and we've take in injured pit bulls all the time and we've adopted a lot of them out to good homes," said the veterinarian, Michael Good, who heads up the Homeless Pets Foundation. "It is the nature of the breed to be very loving toward people. They are a very subservient breed. They are intelligent and they respond to man's affection."
Not everyone agrees.
Some animal-rights advocates are calling for authorities to kill the dogs seized on the Atlanta Falcons quarterback's Virginia property. A spokeswoman for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals called the dogs "ticking time bombs." Officials with the Humane Society of the United States said the animals should be put down. Last month, federal prosecutors filed court papers asking permission to condemn the 53 dogs seized in April.
Friendly temperaments
That makes sense to a lot of people — including the man who once examined the dogs and found them gentle toward people. Derrick Moore, the former animal-control officer in Surry County, Va., said the dogs allowed him to pet them when he inspected Vick's Bad Newz Kennels, which was licensed by the county. Moore said other pit bulls he seized a few years ago in a dogfighting investigation had similarly friendly temperaments but the county still put the dogs down.
"Every one of them, including the puppies, we put down," he said. "I wouldn't take a chance on adopting them out. I doubt they would hurt people but if one did bite somebody, and even if it didn't have anything to do with the way they were raised, you're still liable and people have their hands out [for money]."
But pit bull advocates said the government is indiscriminately condemning the same dogs it is prosecuting Vick for abusing.
"They say they rescue the dogs from dogfighters and then they kill them," said Diane Jessup, a nationally recognized expert on pit bulls in Washington state who trains dogs for law enforcement. "If they are just summarily killed, it sends a message that pit bulls are expendable, which is the same message that dogfighters are sending."
On Thursday, the save-the-pit bulls arguments carried the day — at least for now. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson ordered the U.S. Marshal service to "protect and maintain" the dogs recovered from Vick's property.
Pit bull groups have been maneuvering to get permission to evaluate and save at least some of Vick's dogs, said Donna Reynolds, executive director of Bad Rap, a California pit bull advocacy group.
"We expect to have an announcement next week," she said.
Evaluate, rehabilitate
Generally, even pit bulls that have been trained to fight have a good disposition toward people but are often a danger toward other dogs, experts say. Trainers, such as Good, Jessup and Reynolds, say they can easily identify a vicious pit bull that can't be rehabilitated. But they said Vick's dogs should be sent to organizations that will evaluate the dogs, rehabilitate the ones deemed salvageable and then screen potential owners to ensure the animals end up with the right people.
Good said he owns three pit bulls, once fighting dogs but now socialized, that have become great pets. Reynolds said she has a battle-scarred female she rescued and it doesn't attack other dogs on impulse. She keeps it out of potentially provocative situations.
"No matter what the public decides to think about Vick's dogs, I think we can learn a lot from this situation, if we can get past the stereotypes that they're ticking time bombs or fighting machines," Reynolds said. "As long as the dog is going to be well-behaved on the leash, it can go on walks. They don't have to go to the dog park. Dogs don't have to be friends."
Jessup said she was willing to evaluate Vick's dogs and retrain some for police work.
"I think it is easy to brush these dogs under the rug when there are groups out there who are willing to step up and help," she said. "If these were German shepherds, this wouldn't even be part of the discussion."
