Who's in the Dog House?

Anger, shock, disgust and sadness are some of the things I felt last night when I read that Michael Vick was signed to the Philadelphia Eagles.

I'm all for second chances, but so far, Michael Vick hasn't walked the walk. I read Wayne Parcel's blog about how he met with Vick on more than one occasion since his departure from prison with great interest. So far, I'm not impressed. Maybe Vick (and I leave out "mister" intentionally) is genuinely contrite for having been involved with a dog fighting ring. Maybe he is just sorry that he got caught.

I wanted to vomit when word first broke of the activities at Bad Newz Kennels, and I am a person that is not a pit bull fan. Certain breeds of dogs immediately strike fear into me and pit bulls are one of them. But hearing about Georgia, the dog who had her teeth surgically removed, theoretically to make her more breedable, made my heart weep. Cherry, the dog who couldn't walk on a leash, probably because he never went for a normal dog walk, broke my heart.

I wanted to adopt a pit bull. Specifically, I wanted to adopt a "Vick" pit pull.

Needless to say my mother was not happy.

I'm glad to hear that with the exception of the two dogs who were euthanized, most of Vick's victims are living in safe environments. They are now able to be dogs, not fighting machines.

Vick and his co-conspirators went through the justice system, and did their time as the law stipulates. But does that mean that Vick gets to make seven figures in the NFL? In my mind, I think not. At least without doing some hard time working with the very creatures he victimized.

I think it's ironic that he's been signed to a team in the same city as Chase Utley, one of the heroes of the 2008 World Series. He and his wife Jenn are well known in Philadelphia as animal lovers, and paid the veterinary bills of a puppy who was beaten and tortured by her former owners. I read today that Jenn Utley was protesting outside of the press conference announcing Vick's signing with the Eagles. I wanted to give her a virtual high-five.

I really hope that Vick makes amends - and not with his words. I hope he reaches out to Mr. and Mrs. Utley and actively works to improve the lot of animals in the city of Philadelphia. I guess what I want is for Vick to lead by example. I want him to see the reality of dog fighting. Make him comfort an abused animal, who doesn't know how to communicate their fear, their pain.

I hope I'm not disappointed in Vick, or in Eagles Coach Andy Reid, Quarterback Donovan McNabb (who vouched for Vick) and Tony Dungee.