The Aftermath of Michael Vick: Life through the Eyes of a Dog Traumatized at the Hands of the Convicted Animal Abuser Michael Vick

What a great story. Written from the experience of one of the pit bulls that Michael Vick was planning to have mauled in his sick dog fighting ring. As was typical of how Vick treated dogs, this dog Frodo was five months old and, like all puppies, chained outside exposed to the elements. Michael Vick has a large disrespect for life, and this proves it.

Frodo was one of the lucky ones. He was found alive and nursed to health by BAD RAP (Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit bulls). As this article states, BAD RAP is a group that “…takes troubled rescue dogs and places them in loving homes. There, they can learn to become family-friendly.” They hope to offer “…a response to the "difficult issues facing this misunderstood breed."

Here are some excerpts from the story below:

“Whatever happens, Frodo won't care much. He was five months old when cops raided the Vick property. The puppies there were chained to a partially buried car axle, left largely exposed to the elements. Frodo was taken to a shelter where he lived for seven months with little human contact.”

“He now cuddles up to Ramirez and loves to eat treats from her hand. But it's no wonder that Frodo is generally shy around people and jumpy whenever he hears an unfamiliar sound.
‘Anything mechanical, the sound bothers him,’ said Ramirez, an information analyst at Kaiser Permanente. "We have ceiling fans at our house and he would become fixated on them, looking up at them with apprehension. If I opened a cabinet, he would shy away. Or popcorn in the microwave. I don't know, maybe the popcorn equates to gunshots for him. I don't think he witnessed any of the fights. But I'm sure he heard them."

“Ramirez at first calmed Frodo the way she would treat a frightened infant, by wrapping him tightly in blankets and gently petting him in her arms for 45 minutes straight, if necessary. In the back of her head, Ramirez wonders if Vick has ever done any of this stuff — for any dog, ever. The public apologies made by the Philadelphia quarterback haven't impressed her much.”

Article:

Purdy: The aftermath of Michael Vick

http://www.mercurynews.com/raiders-headlines/ci_13556373?nclick_check=1

By Mark Purdy

Mercury News Columnist
Posted: 10/13/2009 09:54:29 PM PDT
Updated: 10/14/2009 03:51:28 AM PDT

Frodo won't be at the Raiders' game Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles. He will be way too busy.

Probably playing with other dogs.

"To him, dogs equal good," said Kim Ramirez, who adopted Frodo several months ago. "Humans equal scary."

Frodo is a pit bull. He really doesn't know much about football. But he knows Philadelphia's backup quarterback, Michael Vick. They once had a very personal relationship.

Unfortunately.

Vick was convicted two years ago of financing and participating in a dogfighting ring. He served prison time. This is his first regular-season road game since being reinstated by the NFL three weeks ago. But what of the dogs left behind at his grotesque kennel operation in Virginia? After spending several months in shelters, most found foster homes. A dozen of the dogs have ended up in the Bay Area.

Frodo is one of them. He came to Ramirez's home through a local non-profit organization called BAD RAP, which stands for Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit bulls. Basically, the group takes troubled rescue dogs and places them in loving homes. There, they can learn to become family-friendly.

Ramirez understands that people can be skeptical about that. But that's why BAD RAP exists. The group was founded (quoting here from the Web site) as a response to the "difficult issues facing this misunderstood breed."

And for sure, the Michael Vick case definitely qualifies as a difficult issue. Crowds in Philadelphia have been largely supportive of his comeback. But what about this weekend? How will he fare with the public here in the animal-rights-intensive Bay Area?

Donna Reynolds, BAD RAP's executive director, said she will have an announcement today about the group's plans for Vick's visit to Oakland. She has been in touch with the Eagles, so the plan potentially involves the team — and maybe even Vick.

Whatever happens, Frodo won't care much. He was five months old when cops raided the Vick property. The puppies there were chained to a partially buried car axle, left largely exposed to the elements. Frodo was taken to a shelter where he lived for seven months with little human contact.

That's where BAD RAP co-founder Tim Race, met and named him. Race flew to Virginia and assessed which of the Vick dogs might best travel back to the Bay Area for adoption. A certain dark-coated dog reminded him of a Hobbit character from "Lord of the Rings."

Hence, Frodo. He now cuddles up to Ramirez and loves to eat treats from her hand. But it's no wonder that Frodo is generally shy around people and jumpy whenever he hears an unfamiliar sound.

"Anything mechanical, the sound bothers him," said Ramirez, an information analyst at Kaiser Permanente. "We have ceiling fans at our house and he would become fixated on them, looking up at them with apprehension. If I opened a cabinet, he would shy away. Or popcorn in the microwave. I don't know, maybe the popcorn equates to gunshots for him. I don't think he witnessed any of the fights. But I'm sure he heard them."

Ramirez at first calmed Frodo the way she would treat a frightened infant, by wrapping him tightly in blankets and gently petting him in her arms for 45 minutes straight, if necessary. In the back of her head, Ramirez wonders if Vick has ever done any of this stuff — for any dog, ever. The public apologies made by the Philadelphia quarterback haven't impressed her much.

"It's not about what you say, it's about what you actually do," Ramirez said. "Just because he's done the time for what he did, that doesn't mean everything's all right now. The damage done to these dogs will last the rest of their lives."

Martina McClay is just as skeptical. She has adopted another Vick dog, Leo, through her Our Pack rescue operation in Los Gatos. She has trained Leo to be a "therapy dog" who visits elder care facilities and cancer clinics to cheer up patients. McClay watched Vick's interview on "60 Minutes" and rolled her eyes.

"I just didn't see the remorse," McClay said. "Maybe he is remorseful and he's just not good at communicating it. But it looked very rehearsed to me. You know, like a sock puppet? He just says he made bad choices and what happened was bad. I haven't heard him say a word about the dogs. What should he do to show he has changed? Why ask us? I think the NFL should answer these questions, not us."

She has a point. It would be a fine thing in our world if, when athletes commit crimes beyond the pale, fans stopped buying tickets to watch and cheer them. But it's not going to happen, at least not in the country's most popular sports league. Eleven years ago in St. Louis, a defensive tackle named Leonard Little was convicted of manslaughter for killing a woman while driving drunk. He returned to the NFL. He is being cheered every Sunday. So is Vick.

Just not by Frodo.