"As odd as it may seem, Michael Vick may be the best thing that every happened to the pit bull. You know, he gave the forum to discuss this and make it possible to get the message out there that these dogs are not what they've been made out to be in the headlines, that they really are just sort of dogs" (Gorant, NPR; 2010).

The Case Background:

In the Summer of 2007, Atlanta Falcons’ quarterback, Michael Vick was charged with felony charges of operating a dog fighting ring that he allegedly participated in the fighting, training of said fighting dogs and brutally executing the dogs. The courts filed both civil and criminal cases against him. In Rebecca J. Huss’s, the special master of the dogs, report, Vick was charged in civil matters on July 2, 2007. “Approximately fifty-three pit bulldogs [making sixty-six dogs in total] … were seized by the Surry County’s Sheriff’s Department of Virginia in April 2007 from Bad Newz Kennels” (Huss 3). The actions taking place at Bad Newz Kennel were in violation of the Animal Welfare Act Amendments of 1976.

The Criminal charges against Vick and his co-defendants were filed in the courts on July 17, 2007. The sole count was “Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture” (Huss 4). The criminal indictment was eighteen pages long on this sole charge. At this time, the maximum sentence that could have resulted was a year but because it was violating a “general conspiracy provision”, Vick could have been five years.

On August 24, 2007, Vick pled guilty to “conspiring to travel in interstate commerce in aid of unlawful activities and sponsoring a dog in an animal fighting venture” (Huss 5). He also admitted to helping kill six to eight of the dogs by drowning or hanging. He also agreed to pay for the cost of the dogs in deposition in the civil action. He was to forfeit all rights of the seized pit bulldogs. Vick was required to pay $928, 073.04 for the care of the dogs. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison on December 10, 2007. After which he would be on supervised release for three years.

On October 15, 2007, “the United States District court for the Eastern District of Virginia appointed [Rebecca J. Huss] as guardian/special master to recommend the final disposition of the forfeited dogs” (Huss 11). Huss had the help of Tim racer of the Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (“BAD RAP”). At the beginning of her appointment, the dogs were strung out in six different shelters. It was important to personally evaluate each dog and talk with each of the caretakers.

Many believe that through this instance as horrible as it is, Michael Vick has been the best thing that could have ever happened to "pit bulls".

These photos appeared in the Sunday, August 15, 2010, periodical "Parade". The article covers the case and a few of the more highlighted success stories. The cover shot is of formally "Jonny Rotten", like the punk rock band member of the Sex Pistols, renamed afterward "Jonny Justice". He is one many of Michael Vick's pit bulls from the Bad Newz Kennel that was rescued and was turned into a therapy dog who works with children. These types of stories are important because the public aren't aware that "pitbulls" are capable of doing anything except killing. These rehabilitation stories show how resilient that dogs are, even if they came out of a dog fighting ring, and euthanization isn't always the answer where as the media tends to operate on the idea of "give us a happy ending and we write a new disaster story" (Glassner xi). The media's portrayal of what happened to these dogs after they were seized wasn't widely shared because it wasn't a disasterous ending. The dogs seized from 1915 Moonlight Road consisted of "Pit bull Terriers", Rotweillers, Presa Canarios, and Beagles. [Yes, Beagles]. Just like Jonny, they weren't all euthanized. The few that had to be euthanized before being considered for adoption were three "pit bulls": One female that was so emotionally and physically damaged from being over bred that it was impossible to handle; One male; and a second female months into the investigation when the foster noticed a lump on her abdomen. They put her to sleep to end her suffering. Necropsy revealed that the growth wasn't a tumor, but it was an injury sustained perhaps right before the seisure of the dogs. Upon examining the injury, it appeared to be the perfect size if someone had kicked her.

These images weren't portrayed to the American public, not after a decade of creating a fearful and threatening image of "pit bulls".

It wouldn't sell copies.