They're good dogs Brent
September 18, 2019 12:39 PM   Subscribe

Twelve years ago, 47 dogs were rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation and allowed to live. They've enriched the lives of countless humans and altered the course of animal welfare. (SL Washington Post, includes pictures of 47 good dogs.) posted by RedOrGreen (30 comments total) 36 users marked this as a favorite
 
Why did I click on this link at work?? Now I have to fix my mascara before I go teach!

Just kidding. Thank you for posting this. It's the sort of thing that restores my faith in humans. (Not Michael Vick, the ones who rescued the dogs and gave them good homes.)
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:49 PM on September 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


I can't even begin to tell you how much I needed to read this today. Thank you.
posted by jzb at 12:53 PM on September 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


They are great dogs, everyone.
posted by Melismata at 12:55 PM on September 18, 2019 [10 favorites]


i will cry right now and no one can stop me
posted by poffin boffin at 1:00 PM on September 18, 2019 [11 favorites]


TEDDLES
posted by poffin boffin at 1:00 PM on September 18, 2019 [6 favorites]


The story itself is wonderful, but the slideshow of all the dogs is transcendent.
Whenever Mel entered a new environment, he found a safe space. Before he died, Mel lived with two dogs and four cats, one 20. Hunter joked that he had "three big dogs, two pit bulls, one from the most infamous dogfighting ring in history, and the house is run by an old cat.”
posted by sallybrown at 1:02 PM on September 18, 2019 [16 favorites]


How can I read this without the paywall?
posted by Ideefixe at 1:21 PM on September 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


Sorry, I hadn't actually thought of that. Maybe this link has useful ideas?
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:31 PM on September 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


The link worked for me if I opened it in an Incognito/Private window.

Definitely cried on public transit reading this. I would like to know more about the rehabilitation methods used.
posted by Anonymous at 1:57 PM on September 18, 2019


Put URL in outline.com
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:04 PM on September 18, 2019


BADRAP, an Oakland-based organization, emerged as an early voice advocating for the dogs. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and the Humane Society of the United States thought they should be killed, in keeping with their long-standing belief that the emotional trauma such dogs had suffered would be too much to overcome. Of the 51 dogs listed in court documents, just one needed to be euthanized for behavioral reasons. One, named Rose, was euthanized for medical reasons, and two died in care.
Attitudes at the Humane Society have since changed.
posted by ZeusHumms at 2:05 PM on September 18, 2019 [7 favorites]


Outline.com is a good trick usually for Washington Post articles, but here it doesn't work well (no photos). If you have a browser you rarely use (say Edge or IE), just open it there.
posted by General Malaise at 2:11 PM on September 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


The arch nemesis article is great bc vox finds every Br__t name to call Brandt. Brœnt even. Brint. Bründt. It’s fantastically silly but just like... there. Also the dog is cute and has a pineapple house.
posted by affectionateborg at 2:57 PM on September 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


This was a beautiful article and thank you for posting it. Also, if I ever needed any other reasons to dislike PETA this quote would set me firmly in the Fuck PETA camp.
PETA’s stance “remains firmly the same as it was in 2007,” Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said in a statement, adding that dogs from these situations can be “unpredictable” and a danger to other animals and humans.

To say that those dogs were better off euthanized rather than loved and placed inn an environment where they were safe, well, that’s just monstrous.
posted by teleri025 at 5:08 PM on September 18, 2019 [13 favorites]


I'm just going to assume that everyone else was also talking to each of their pictures, right?
(In shmoopy dog voice, obviously)
posted by BigHeartedGuy at 7:24 PM on September 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


Those poor dogs. Glad for the ones that found peace, sad for the ones who never did...

Sucks we live longer than our dog friends.
posted by Windopaene at 10:04 PM on September 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


Sucks we live longer than our dog friends.

OTOH, we spare them the misery of watching us grow old and die from them.
posted by Harald74 at 12:33 AM on September 19, 2019 [4 favorites]


Those beautiful, beautiful dogs. <3 <3 <3
posted by minsies at 5:35 AM on September 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


To say that those dogs were better off euthanized rather than loved and placed inn an environment where they were safe, well, that’s just monstrous.

Especially now that we have the high profile example of the rescued dogs in this story.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:30 AM on September 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


This made me cry. Thank you for posting.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:35 AM on September 19, 2019


Why are we such a cruel species? What the fuck is wrong with people?
posted by elkevelvet at 12:33 PM on September 19, 2019 [3 favorites]


Same as every other species whose members sometimes act like this: Selfishness. Cowardliness.

We operate at a different scale than most creatures, and with less excuse, but we're not the only species who hurts beings for fun.

Also, hearty send to the insanity of the PETA. They've always been and always will be fanatics dedicated to destroying and harming animals.
posted by Ahniya at 11:55 PM on September 19, 2019 [1 favorite]


Why are we such a cruel species? What the fuck is wrong with people?

If I might address this, there is more right than wrong. Look at the people in this thread! That should lift your heart greatly! Remember: the worst cases are typically those that make the news. And yes, there are countless less-bad-but-still-awful cases out there, but there's also a lot of good people too, who you rarely hear about.

So, try not to be too far down on human-kind. We've come a long way, and we've got a ways to go yet, but there is reason to hope, provided we don't destroy the environment that is.
posted by JHarris at 6:46 AM on September 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


Also, if I ever needed any other reasons to dislike PETA this quote would set me firmly in the Fuck PETA camp.

Also, hearty send to the insanity of the PETA. They've always been and always will be fanatics dedicated to destroying and harming animals.


Hi, I work for PETA. I've worked for PETA since before the Vick case. It breaks my heart that stories like this still reliably bring out demonstrably false hate for the work we do. Reading someone call me an insane fanatic dedicated to destroying and harming animals is pretty much an occurrence that I no longer pay attention to. But I guess if a drive by like that is what you need to feel good about the thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dogs who don't get a feel good story built on the celebrity of the case that brought them out of carnage... I suppose we all take what we can get.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 6:42 PM on September 21, 2019 [4 favorites]


For an organization that euthanizes 72% of the animals surrendered to its facilities for rehoming, PETA certainly gets pretty high and mighty about other orgs' dog rescue animal welfare decisions. PETA calling for the euthanization of these specific dogs rather than rehabilitating them is pretty on-brand, I'd say.

Look, if you're going to be highly invested in your org, that's on you. But there are real and valid reasons to see PETA's track record in the field of animal welfare heavily criticized. If you're going to sigh about the animals in rescue who aren't in high-profile cases because your outfit does so much good, maybe you can explain why PETA's kill rates are so much higher than other rescue organizations rehoming those everyday cats and dogs.
posted by sciatrix at 7:49 PM on September 21, 2019 [6 favorites]


As I understand it, PETA's thoughts on pets is that ideally, animals should not be kept as pets, and domestic animals that already exist should be cared for while the species is allowed to go extinct. This is a perfectly reasonable vegan viewpoint, but wildly out of step with the majority of people and organizations working with domestic animals.

It's not really surprising to me that they would follow that through to some strange conclusions about when and how to place an animal in a home.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 1:41 PM on September 22, 2019 [2 favorites]


You'd think, but that "domestic animals that already exist should be cared for" rider seems awfully convenient, given that PETA actively opposes no-kill shelters and consistently advocates legislation that restricts pit bulls in particular... including extremely restrictive laws that mandate the euthanasia of any pit bull found in the province, such as in Ontario or Scotland. These laws have resulted in a number of pet mixed breed dogs who resemble pit bulls being pulled from homes and forcibly euthanized despite a lack of any known behavioral problem, as well as all animals that resemble pit bulls in rescue situations being euthanized regardless of suitability for a pet home.

PETA's priorities do not and have never reflected caring for existing domestic animals if they think they can escape the PR backlash for killing them themselves. Wildly out of step is putting it very mildly.
posted by sciatrix at 4:14 PM on September 22, 2019 [4 favorites]


It's always so charming when a random PETA person drops in to go #NotAllPETA, sling some mud, and then fail to respond when people start citing hard facts about the many, many ways PETA actively works to thwart progress in the field of animal welfare.

Claiming that the PETA thinks that domestic animals should be cared for is completely, demonstrably false. It's simply a flat-out lie. The PETA not only lobbies for pro-death laws, they also oppose animal welfare efforts from helpful non-profits. There is no way to claim with a straight face that they believe people and animals should co-exist in the same household.
posted by Ahniya at 4:26 PM on September 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


PETA's track record in the field of animal welfare heavily criticized

Well, sure. PETA is explicitly not an animal welfare org, they're an animal rights org that believes animal welfare is fundamentally incompatible with animal rights, because the former does not see animals as on equal footing with humans. As a rhetorical point I think that is clearly right, you can't have a discussion about humane ways to raise human children for meat, for example, so animal welfare does in fact have a wildly different premise.

I'm much more on the animal welfare side of the issue, so I don't really agree with their goals/tactics, but judging them on their support of something they don't agree with doesn't really make sense. They never claim to be in support of animal welfare.
posted by thefoxgod at 8:30 PM on September 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


NPR: What Happened To The Dogs In Michael Vick's Dogfighting Operation
NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Washington Post reporter Emily Giambalvo, who tracked down what happened to the 47 dogs who were rescued from Michael Vick's dogfighting operation 12 years ago.
posted by ZeusHumms at 9:56 PM on September 26, 2019 [2 favorites]


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