Hmmmm, most pro football fans want Vick to get jail time. Does that mean the media and Vick defenders will quit saying that those of us who want justice for the dogs Vick abused and murdered are just a bunch of lefty PETA fanatics?
Thanks to USA Today for this update.
Care of pit bulls in Vick case being decided
By Gary Mihoces, USA TODAY
While the courts and animal experts decide the fates of about 50 pit bulls taken by investigators in the Michael Vick dogfighting case, Vick’s agreement to plead guilty says he must pay the “full amount” to evaluate and possibly put down the dogs.
“Such costs may include all costs associated with the care of the dogs including, if necessary, the long-term care and/or humane euthanasia of some or all of those animals as may be directed by the court,” the agreement says.
Vick signed a statement acknowledging he provided “most” of the money used to operate Bad Newz Kennels on property he formerly owned in Smithfield, Va.
Plea agreements signed by Vick’s three co-defendants do not include the same language about restitution for the evaluation and disposition of the dogs.
In July, the government filed a court action to take control of the dogs. Last week, a deadline passed for anybody to claim them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says the U.S. Department of Agriculture has asked the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to evaluate the dogs.
A San Francisco group called Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BAD RAP) is working with the ASPCA to determine whether some of the dogs may be candidates for adoption.
“After all they’ve been through, they certainly deserve a fair trial,” BAD RAP executive director Donna Reynolds says in the news release.
Meanwhile, as Vick awaits his Dec. 10 sentencing, golfer Tiger Woods has commented on Vick’s statement of apology after his plea.
“If you made that big a mistake, you’ve got to come out and just be contrite, be honest and just tell the public that ‘I was wrong,’ ” Woods told ESPN. “And I think waiting a long time got a lot of people polarized. I just think if he would have come out earlier he would’ve diffused a little more of it.”
Meanwhile, a woman who said she’d never heard of Vick before the dogfighting scandal paid $7,400 on eBay for 22 Vick football cards that had been slobbered on and chewed up by two Missouri dogs. Laura Norton-Dye, 40, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., has requested the money be donated to animal cruelty prevention organizations.
Poll says Vick should not play again:
Vick should not be allowed to play in the NFL again, most pro football fans said in a poll that underscored how far the celebrity quarterback’s star has fallen.
In addition, an overwhelming majority of fans want him to serve prison time now that he has pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting charge, according to the Gallup Poll released Wednesday. Few would want to him to play for their favorite team should he return to the sport. According to the survey, 58% said he should not be allowed to play in the NFL anymore and 86% said he should serve a prison sentence.
