Professional athletes, role models and dogs
By Gina Spadafori
February 8, 2007
Yesterday USA Today had a puff piece on athletes who have saved shelter dogs. This, on the same day Sacramento Kings player Ron Artest had a dog taken from him for neglect.
Today, more on the problems dogging Artest:
When animal control officers showed up to take the Great Dane on Sunday, they were already familiar with Artest’s pets: Socks, Harley the pit bull, Biscuit the golden retriever, and a fourth dog the records did not name.
Before this week’s incident, officers had gone to the Artest home six times since July in response to callers’ complaints, documents from Placer County Animal Services show.
A July complaint stated: “Four dogs tied up not being fed for six wks. Aggressive when they get loose.” An August complaint said the dogs “are loose often,” and that their owner has been out of town for several months.
In October, a caller reported that a “loose pit bull” was in Artest’s front yard. In December, officers responded to a call that Socks had been struck by a car.
Of course, Artest isn’t the only athlete with dog problems. I’ve written before on the appeal of fighting dogs to other athletes:
There was recently a piece in ESPN, the Magazine about a kennel in Georgia that produces monster-sized pit bulls for NFL players. Sick. Sick. Sick. The HSUS says:
Recent years have seen an upward spike in dog fighting among professional athletes. Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson is facing prison time in Oklahoma for his alleged involvement in dog fighting. Former Dallas Cowboys lineman Nate Newton was once arrested at a dog fight. Former Oakland Raider Tyrone Wheatley even once bragged about having sold dogs for fighting.
A pox on all their houses. The last thing we need is even more “role models” showing young kids that it’s OK to neglect, abuse and even fight dogs.
Shame on these men.
One of the things I have lamented over many times is the lack of good role models. The animal world “experts” seems to also be celebrity driven also.
Today, when there are people earning a living saving people or their homes, working hard to make a difference in the lives of others, or volunteering their efforts for the betterment of all the media still focuses on the bad behavior of celebrities and the exploits of professional athletes…makes me cringe…never mind the inflated salaries…
Thanks for your passionate commentary on this issue. Suspension would be good, but perhaps the problem is testosterone poisoning and altering (to curb the human problem) might be better…do you think it would make people think twice?
Comment by Diana Guerrero — February 9, 2007 @ 9:05 am
[…] Here’s the rest. I’ve written about this issue before here and here, by the way. Having professional athletes embrace dog-fighting makes young men want to emulate them. And that just perpetuates a cycle of cruelty. Filed under: animals: pets, news — Gina Spadafori @ 10:33 am […]
Pingback by Pet Connection Blog » Pro athletes and dog-fighting: Setting the wrong example — May 5, 2007 @ 10:33 am