I'd almost but not quite forgotten about the dates for the Gund Top Dog Contest. I did not enter Elka, though I did vote for Desmond!
The winner, though, isn't Desmond (sorry buddy). The winner does make me smile, though! He's Johnny Justice, one of the dogs rescued from Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels. I read about the Vick dogs in Jim Gorant's book The Lost Dogs, and am always happy to see positive things about them in the news.
Johnny Justice is a beautiful (handsome, sorry) boy! He now lives in his forever home in California, as discussed ni the Parade article Can You Teach a Bad Dog New Tricks?
April 25 was the five year anniversary for the rescue of 51 dogs from Bad Rap kennels, the property in Virginia owned by Michael Vick. Considering the man in question is already back playing football, I'd guess a lot of people find his debt to society paid.
About a year ago, on April 24, I reviewed Jim Gorant's book The Lost Dogs. Frankly, the case still makes me feel ill. That Vick has another multimillion dollar contract makes me ill. That he doesn't seem to be sorry for what he does, but rather sorry that he got caught...well, enough about him.
Because so many of those dogs have been successful. They're therapy dogs. They have their Canine Good Citizen titles. They're in happy homes, with families who love them. Apparently they're referred to by some as Vicktory Dogs, and I like it. It shows what can be accomplished with care and consideration.
As I've said before, I can't in good conscience speak out against breed prejudices that target the Doberman without giving pit bull prejudice the time of day. Dogs are dogs. These dogs are pit bulls, these dogs were bred for fighting, these dogs were raised in horrible isolated conditions where the people they interacted with were not kind. Today, these dogs are successful in home settings. These dogs interact with other dogs. Dogs are individuals. These dogs were individually given a chance, and I'm very glad, because it sets the precedent.
