I suppose another question is, are we still going to be discussing if pit bulls are dangerous or not into the 2010s?

After the seizure of more than 60 dogs following the raid on Vick’s property by local Virginia law enforcement officers, The HSUS initially provided several thousand dollars in financial assistance to Surry County for the animals’ treatment and care. We sought funds to help defray the anticipated costs of sheltering 52 pit bulls among these dogs for an indefinite interval. After a federal grand jury indicted Vick and three others, the costs of caring for them became a federal responsibility. We’ve offered to provide continuing assistance, but the federal government has decided to shoulder the burden on its own from this point forward.

All donations made to our appeals related to this case will be used exclusively for our campaign against dogfighting and cruelty. For 10 years, The HSUS has spearheaded national efforts to end this heinous activity. During this time, our investigators have worked with local law enforcement officials in some 100 major organized dogfight ring cases, providing expertise and assistance, testifying in trials, and caring for thousands of dogs maimed in the fighting pits. We have also helped to shepherd to passage nearly all of the current state and federal laws related to animal fighting. The HSUS has been the undisputed national leader in battling dogfighting and other forms of organized animal combat.

“Thursday’s Show
Secret Subculture
Inside the world of illegal dog fighting! See the secret subculture
exposed by NFL star Michael Vick’s arrest. Paula Zahn brings the story
‘Out in the Open,’ Thursday, 8 p.m. ET” (5pm PT)

Check it out if you have the stomach for it. Most importantly, please
thank Paula Zahn for the coverage. It is vital that the major media
learn that viewers care deeply about animal cruelty. Paula Zahn takes
comments at http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?11

Ofcourse I agree with you. Your excellent blog got me thinking though about Vick.
That incredible social irresponsible SI issue. Vick growing up in a public housing development where dog eats dog(no pun intented). Acquiring so much money at a very young age. He reminds me of a young ruined pit bull puppy that possibly could be rehabilitated. There are so much things he could do right now to salvage his career/reputation. Not doing anything will finish him off.
The “saved” Vick pit bulls should be in the care of this breed various rescue groups ofcourse. They are the experts and will make the right decision.
All the various animal advocate groups though have their good and bad points. None will ever be perfect to everybody’s liking.
My favorite is Alley Cat Allies and my local Paws of PA cat rescue group. They are close to perfect IMO.

Hec, Emily herself owns a dog that from a fight past, adopted from Spindetop Refuge in TX.

The HSUS and PETA will have you believe that all of Vick’s dogs are ruined. Well, maybe they are. But who decides? Do we take their word for it and go back to our lives assuming that both those orgs have the dogs best interests in mind?

Pacelle is indicating that any pit bull that’s from a shady past is a killing machine. This, from the Tucker Carlson transcript:

“If you go to shelters, local humane societies, animal control agencies and urban communities, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles; the shelters are full of pit bulls because they‘ve been turned into these machines”

Do you agree? I don’t. And I sure hope I’m not alone.

while I agree with a lot of what you say, keep in mind, Bad Rap pulls ambassadors of the breed. The dogs at Vick’s place prob had very little if any socialization and not much knowledge behind the breedings aside from making a ‘tough’ dog. One of the issues that ‘bothered’ me in the indictment was their buying record.

I’ve seen litters where at a very young age they were far from ‘cold’. these are not dogs that can just go into the system. most systems aren’t able to handle them, nor are most adopters. keep in mind, they were breeding for one purpose only, and their cull practice was far from humane. While I think pits have a great bounce back ability, and I know they need to be able to be handled by their handlers, that doesn’t mean Vick does. And the volume of dogs seized does pose a problem as they aren’t dogs (no matter how human sweet they are) that you can ‘just’ adopt out.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the past few days defending pits and their traits on various forums where folks have wanted to have the dogs attack Vick. Technically, the dogs wouldn’t (shouldn’t), but who knows with the way folks are exploiting the breed these days . . .