The Vicktory Dogs:
Bill Brinkman stood on Michael Vick's property on April 25, 2007 in a complete panic. He had 66 dogs that needed to be placed. 51 of the 66 were pit bulls - and others consisted of beagles and hunting dogs.
Where were these dogs supposed to go? Who would feed them? And pay for their much needed vet care? On top of that, arranging transportation, finding enough portable crates, and list went on and on.
The fifteen dogs that were not considered "fighting dogs" or of the pit bull type were taken to foster homes and adopted. The pit bulls, on the other hand, were evidence in an investigation - and therefore "property" of the Surry County officials. Previously - following the (countrywide) "destroy all evidence" policy - all fighting dogs were euthanized after the cases were closed.
Thirty minutes away from Vick's property, a spokesman at PETA's headquarters stated: "These dogs are ticking time bombs. Rehabilitating fighting dogs is not in the cards. It's widely accepted that euthanasia is the most humane thing for them." The president and chief officers of the US Humane Society publicly stated that Vick dogs were "the most viciously trained fighting dogs in the country," and highly encouraged the authorities to move forward with euthanizing them.
From April to October, the 51 pit bulls were "warehoused as evidence" at Sussex County, Surry County, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Virginia Beach, and Hopewell animal shelters. They were not allowed to be socialized with anyone or any dog, and had to be handled by multiple staff at a time, for safety precautions.
Two of the pit bulls in Surry County were found mysteriously dead outside their kennels. "No official word of the incidents or explanation for them was ever released." Theories were that they somehow both got out, fought, and died - or that staff/intruders were fighting them during off hours.
On July 2, Mike Gill (federal prosecutor) filed a forfeiture of ownership to Surry County requesting that the federal government take responsibility of the 49 dogs. The Animal Welfare Act allowed such transfer - and stated that the defendant would be responsible to pay for the upkeep of all animals.
Once the transfer was approved, the fate of the 49 dogs rested in Mike Gill's hands - a fellow dog lover. He didn't necessarily agree with PETA and others who believed that they should be immediately euthanized. Due to Vick's NFL career, the spotlight was on this case, and the dogs resulting in thousands of people fighting for animals rights. In early July, Melinda (forensic veternarian) got Mike in touch with Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, the ASPCA's top behavior expert, universally known as Dr. Z.
After discussing the Vick dogs over the phone, Dr. Z said that there was some chance a few (approximately 3-5) of the 49 dogs could be rehabilitated, but he wouldn't know unless he could evaluate them face-to-face. He suggested putting together a panel of experts to individually evaluate each dog. Around the same time, in California, Donna Reynolds was mailing her nine page letter to Mike Gill pleading him to consider individually evaluating the pit bulls before putting them down. Donna Reynolds and Tim Racer were owners of BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls), an extremely well known and successful rescue that trained and rehomed exclusively pit bulls.
Mike Gill read Donna's letter and passed it on to Dr. Z who had heard of BAD RAP and its success.
On September 3rd, Donna, Tim, and Dr. Z, along with six other animal behaviorists (Ph.D.s) traveled to Virginia to evaluate the Vick Dogs. In previous meetings they set up a evaluation test and agreed that saving just five dogs would be considered a major success.
The evaluations consisted of:
- Approaching the dog
- Petting the dog
- Playing with a toy/sharing with a human
- Food aggression/removing the bowl while they were eating
- Giving the dog a rawhide or pigs ear and taking it back after a couple of minutes
- Presenting the dog with a stuffed animal dog
- Presenting the dog with a live dog, one of each gender.
- Presenting the dog with a doll that resembled a child
- The blow test - lightly blowing on the dog's face. Most pit bulls love this and are affectionate afterwards. A neutral or negative reaction could indicate a dog that was less people friendly
- Push test - starting out gently and playfully pushing the dog. Building up to a point in which he was receiving a good shove, pushing him back a few feet to see how he reacts
Once the evaluations started, the team was shocked to find out that the dogs were absolutely not aggressive. If anything, they were non-responsive to the people, dolls, and toys. Most needed to be carried, as they were too scared to even walk, and almost half of them "pancaked" flat on the ground out of fear. One dog was so stressed when Tim walked into his kennel that he vomited.
Another remained pancaked on the ground throughout all of the tests showing
absolutely zero interest in food, bones, rawhides, pigears or toys. "But when the examiners brought out the
child size doll, the dog grew visibly interested. Slowly but surely, she army-
crawled across the concrete floor to reach the doll. When she got there, she sniffed the doll and her tail wagged with glee."
One of 49 pit bulls was so frightened and damaged from her awful past, Tim couldn't even get close to her kennel without her snapping in his direction.
On October 1, 2007, #49 (from Part One) who had been forcibly bred to the point that she'd turned violent was given a lethal injection. Within minutes, her suffering ended, and she was finally at peace. Donna Reynolds was later on quoted saying that her one regret throughout this entire case was not naming her or giving her one day out of the kennel to run free.
At the end of evaluations, what they found were SO far from anything but the "most viciously trained dogs in the country." Instead, they encountered dogs with a broad spectrum of temperaments. They each had different personalities and different fears. They were simply dogs.
Twenty two dogs were ready for foster homes, 18 dogs were put in the "sanctuary one" category, and seven dogs (Lucas and Jane included) were placed in "sanctuary two."
"Sanctuary One" meant that upon getting adopted, they needed to pass the Canine Good Citizen test within a year of being in their new home. "Sanctuary Two" meant they needed to pass the Canine Good Citizen test prior to adoption.
The Canine Good Citizen test is nationally accredited and generally phase one of service dog training. In order to pass the test, dogs had to complete all of the following:
Following placing the dogs in different categories, Dr. Z suggested to the government that they hire a person to oversee the process of rescuing the dogs, devising a formal application, screening applicants, and over seeing the actual disbursement of dogs.
Rebecca Huss was an expert in animal law, and had worked with several rescue groups. After Dr. Z suggested she be hired and officially getting offered the position, Rebecca Huss was officially named guardian/special master of the 48 remaining pit bulls on Oct 18. The first thing she did? Gave each and everyone of the dogs something most never had before: a name.
One dog, Rose (a friendly and fun loving white dog) had a suspicious tumor protruding from her abdomen. Eventually, the tumor starting to "ooze" and Rose stopped eating and drinking completely. A vet examined her and stated that with her condition, the tumor no longer operable and suggested euthanasia. Despite her fun, loving and sweet nature, Rose was in fact seriously suffering.
Shes spent her last day out of the kennel, without a sight of a chainlink, and was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her.
Following Rose passing, the vet learned it was not a tumor. The muscles that formed the wall around her abdomen had torn and her uterus had been lodged in the opening.
On October 18th, thirteen of the dogs roadtripped with Donna Reynolds to California as official foster dogs of BAD RAP rescue. Three dogs were placed in foster homes on the East coast, and 11 dogs were sent to the newly renovated $4 million Washington Animal Rescue League -- complete with skylights, waterfalls, and heated floors for each kennel.
Nicole Rattay, a BAD RAP volunteer moved to Southern Virginia for the four weeks leading up to the court date that would determine whether or not the dogs would be rehabilitated, or put down. She spent each day with each dog who remained in the state shelters, and was amazed to learn that none of them knew how to play with toys. As time went on, they learned to love Kongs, plush toys, and even learned basic commands.
"...Tim Racer approached a large dog with deep scars across his chest. A big guy - he sat at the gate of his kennel, his tail beating a steady rhythm on the floor... Racer spoke in a flowing singsong voice and put his fingers against the chain-link. The scarred dog sniffed and licked his finger. Race lightly blew in the dog's face, and the dog vacuumed up the scent. He pressed his snout against the gate and tried to lick Racer's face...While all of the dogs pleasantly surprised the evaluation team, some did also raise flags. Lucas and Jane were Vick's champion fighters and during their individual evaluations, they showed some aggression. Lucas had aggression toward other dogs:
...Racer and the others examined the network of deep scars that crisscrossed his chest and front legs. They knew so little about him: what he'd seen and done, where he'd been... But considering where he had come from it was a safe bet that he had been through some serious battles. But for whatever reason ,the remnants were strictly physical. Emotionally and psychologically, he had remained unscarred.... If he was still alive he must have been successful in the pit... It was mindboggling. He clearly had to have been a serious fighter, but here he was now, playful and gentle as a poodle. He liked people and he liked other dogs...
...[later on] when they showed him the baby doll, he approached it slowly and sniffed it up and down. His tail wagged, he raised his head and licked it. Right on the face."
as the test dog approached, Lucas simply turned around and looked at him. Something about his stare or the way he held his body told the test dog everything he needed to know. The test dog stopped in his tracks, turned and went back into the building."
Jane, whose face was a map way of scars and whose mouth permanently hung open from where her jaw had been broken but never set, had a bad reaction to the food test. Latching onto the fake hand and shaking it ferociously..."
One of 49 pit bulls was so frightened and damaged from her awful past, Tim couldn't even get close to her kennel without her snapping in his direction.
"Known as Sussex #2621, the black female had been overbred to the point that she simply lost her mind. Her body sagged and swayed and she growled through missing teeth at everything around her. She wanted to attack anything and anyone that came near, out of her own fear and protection. No testing was necessary."
On October 1, 2007, #49 (from Part One) who had been forcibly bred to the point that she'd turned violent was given a lethal injection. Within minutes, her suffering ended, and she was finally at peace. Donna Reynolds was later on quoted saying that her one regret throughout this entire case was not naming her or giving her one day out of the kennel to run free.
At the end of evaluations, what they found were SO far from anything but the "most viciously trained dogs in the country." Instead, they encountered dogs with a broad spectrum of temperaments. They each had different personalities and different fears. They were simply dogs.
Twenty two dogs were ready for foster homes, 18 dogs were put in the "sanctuary one" category, and seven dogs (Lucas and Jane included) were placed in "sanctuary two."
"Sanctuary One" meant that upon getting adopted, they needed to pass the Canine Good Citizen test within a year of being in their new home. "Sanctuary Two" meant they needed to pass the Canine Good Citizen test prior to adoption.
The Canine Good Citizen test is nationally accredited and generally phase one of service dog training. In order to pass the test, dogs had to complete all of the following:
- Accepting a friendly stranger.
- Sitting politely for petting.
- Allowing basic grooming procedures.
- Walking on a loose lead.
- Walking through a crowd.
- Sitting and lying down on command and staying in place.
- Coming when called.
- Reacting appropriately to another dog.
- Reacting appropriately to distractions.
- Calmly enduring supervised separation from the owner.
Following placing the dogs in different categories, Dr. Z suggested to the government that they hire a person to oversee the process of rescuing the dogs, devising a formal application, screening applicants, and over seeing the actual disbursement of dogs.
Rebecca Huss was an expert in animal law, and had worked with several rescue groups. After Dr. Z suggested she be hired and officially getting offered the position, Rebecca Huss was officially named guardian/special master of the 48 remaining pit bulls on Oct 18. The first thing she did? Gave each and everyone of the dogs something most never had before: a name.
One dog, Rose (a friendly and fun loving white dog) had a suspicious tumor protruding from her abdomen. Eventually, the tumor starting to "ooze" and Rose stopped eating and drinking completely. A vet examined her and stated that with her condition, the tumor no longer operable and suggested euthanasia. Despite her fun, loving and sweet nature, Rose was in fact seriously suffering.
Shes spent her last day out of the kennel, without a sight of a chainlink, and was surrounded by people who loved and cared for her.
Following Rose passing, the vet learned it was not a tumor. The muscles that formed the wall around her abdomen had torn and her uterus had been lodged in the opening.
"There was no way to tell for certain what caused the tear, but if the vet had to guess she would have said it was a human foot. Someone, somewhere kicked Rose, and her insides were spilling out ever since. In effect, she had been killed before she was saved."
On October 18th, thirteen of the dogs roadtripped with Donna Reynolds to California as official foster dogs of BAD RAP rescue. Three dogs were placed in foster homes on the East coast, and 11 dogs were sent to the newly renovated $4 million Washington Animal Rescue League -- complete with skylights, waterfalls, and heated floors for each kennel.
Nicole Rattay, a BAD RAP volunteer moved to Southern Virginia for the four weeks leading up to the court date that would determine whether or not the dogs would be rehabilitated, or put down. She spent each day with each dog who remained in the state shelters, and was amazed to learn that none of them knew how to play with toys. As time went on, they learned to love Kongs, plush toys, and even learned basic commands.
On December 4th, the courts officially approved the motion to keep all 47 previous fighting dogs alive, and give them a second chance. It was the first time in US history where previous fighting dogs were treated, not as evidence, but as victims.
Several rescues applied to take the Vick dogs. In order to qualify they had to meet rigorous government requirements: indemnifying the United State government against any future liability, having an insurance policy of at least a million dollars in liability coverage, and a proven ability to care for dogs of this nature.
By the end of 2007, 21 of the 25 "sanctuary one and/or two" dogs found a home, love, and freedom at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary - the country's largest no killer rescue/shelter. Two of the sanctuary one dogs went to Recycled Love Rescue, and one other to BAD RAP (totaling 14 dogs with BAD RAP) .
Georgia:
Georgia struggled with issues of anger and fear. She didn't trust anyone and would not look a single person at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in the eye. But after several months of the Best Friends staff sitting in the same kennel and singing to her, spoiling her with plush toys (her favorite!), and loving her more than anyone ever had before, the Best Friends staff earned trust from Georgia, and she starting to show her true loving personality. She loved giving kisses, chewing on fake bones and carrying around her giant stuffed animal (that was nearly half her size). And due to her frequent hobby of standing on top of her crate, the staff built her a dog house with a flat roof.
Covered in countless scars, with a crooked jaw, permanent dangling tongue, and loving demeanor, she won over every person's heart. She was so popular and loved that she was introduced on The Ellen Show and Larry King Live showing America the real side of the Vick dogs. She proved to millions how sweet and forgiving they were.
Eventually, Georgia earned her Canine Good Citizen certificate and was immediately adopted.
Far too soon, on December 2, 2013, Georgia passed away from kidney complications (that were caused from her previous life of fighting and abuse).
A Best Friends Staff member stated:
Georgia:
"A quick survey of Georgia, previously known as Jane - Vick's champion fighter - a caramel-colored pit bull mix with cropped ears and soulful brown eyes, offers a road map to the difficult lives the Vick dogs had to endure. Her tongue juts from the left side of her mouth because her jaw, once broken, healed at an awkward angle. Her tail zigzags.
Scars from puncture wounds on her face, legs and torso reveal that she was a fighter. Her misshapen, dangling teats show that she might have been such a successful, vicious competitor that she was forcibly bred, her new handlers suspect, again and again.
But there is one haunting sign that Georgia might have endured the most abuse of any of the 47 surviving pit bulls seized last April from the property of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, Michael Vick.
Georgia has no teeth. All 42 of them were pried from her mouth, most likely to make certain she could not harm male dogs during forced breeding."
"Her caregivers here at the Best Friends Animal Society sanctuary, the new home for 22 of Mr. Vick’s former dogs, are less concerned with her physical wounds than her emotional ones. They wonder why she barks incessantly at her doghouse and what makes her roll her toys so obsessively that her nose is rubbed raw."
Georgia struggled with issues of anger and fear. She didn't trust anyone and would not look a single person at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in the eye. But after several months of the Best Friends staff sitting in the same kennel and singing to her, spoiling her with plush toys (her favorite!), and loving her more than anyone ever had before, the Best Friends staff earned trust from Georgia, and she starting to show her true loving personality. She loved giving kisses, chewing on fake bones and carrying around her giant stuffed animal (that was nearly half her size). And due to her frequent hobby of standing on top of her crate, the staff built her a dog house with a flat roof.
Covered in countless scars, with a crooked jaw, permanent dangling tongue, and loving demeanor, she won over every person's heart. She was so popular and loved that she was introduced on The Ellen Show and Larry King Live showing America the real side of the Vick dogs. She proved to millions how sweet and forgiving they were.
Eventually, Georgia earned her Canine Good Citizen certificate and was immediately adopted.
Far too soon, on December 2, 2013, Georgia passed away from kidney complications (that were caused from her previous life of fighting and abuse).
“To all who loved Georgia,” Amy writes, “I’m so sorry and sad to report that our girl, Georgia has left us. I kept hoping that she would be able to turn things around one last time with her strong will to live, but it was her time to go and she let me know she was ready.”
“She died peacefully with me by her side with the help of a wonderful home vet,” Amy continues. Best Friends Kathy Moore told me early on that Georgia would continue to get sweeter and she was so right — she couldn’t have been any sweeter to me trying to give me kisses up until the very end.”
A Best Friends Staff member stated:
“I’ll always remember her pink collar and beautiful smile,” wrote Castle. “As with all the Vicktory dogs, she exuded a bright light and love that was very special. I am heartbroken today to know that light is gone from the Earth. However, I’m forever thankful for Georgia’s contributions to the future pit bulls. She has truly left a mark on the world.”
After Michael Vick was resigned by the NFL and President Barack Obama called the team to congratulate and thank them for giving Vick a "second chance", a surprise delivery from BAD RAP an unknown sender arrived at the White House addressed to Mr. President: 300 copies of Jim Gorant's The Lost Dogs.
Like Georgia, almost of all of Vicktory dogs went on to pass their Canine Good Citizen test and were adopted. Unfortunately, also like Georgia, several since then, have passed away from health complications caused from their previous life of fighting and abuse.
Of the 47 pit bulls, several became therapy dogs, opened their own rescues (with the help of their human parents), became champions in advanced agility competitions, and attending regularly scheduled, cross country, Vicktory dog playdates.
Simply put, The Vicktory dogs proved to America that pit bulls, even the victims of dog fighting operations, are truly like any other dog: loving and forgiving.
Vicktory dog, Ray's adoptive father was asked his opinion on Michael Vick.
He answered:
I understand the anger some people feel towards the man who bankrolled Bad Newz Kennels and who is once again playing football, making tons of money. But frankly, I never even think about that. I know Ray doesn't. He lives totally in the moment, enjoying the good things happening in his life now. I take my cue from him. We only have so much time left to spend together, and we are going to enjoy every second of it.
Ray died, unexpectedly, in May of 2015
So, out of SO MUCH LOVE AND RESPECT for the 51 dogs (four of which didn't survive), the nine victims who were found buried on Vick's property, and countless others who lived and died at 1915 Moonlight Road: I am going to try to be even half as forgiving as this wonderful breed. Never again will I speak or even think of Michael Vick, or the heinous things he did in Surry County from 2002-2007.
Instead, like Ray, I will focus on living in the moment, enjoying the good things happening in our lives, and enjoy every second.
Meet the Vicktory Dogs:
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