Sports section article re Vick

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    Sports section article re Vick

    As a sports fan, I have noticed that the sports section of our local paper has included a number of worshipful reports about Michael Vick’s recent successes on the football field (and we aren’t even in Philadelphia). Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to find this article in today's paper, written by a senior sports columnist, reminding us of the dogs who suffered and continue to suffer as a result of Vick's actions – link here:  http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-plaschke-20101117,0,5163298.column.
    So many people have short memories.  If only his fans (especially the younger ones who are less likely to be set in their ways) who are helping Vick regain celebrity status could meet some of the dogs he so badly abused, their loving families coping with the aftermath, and the trainers at Best Friends who helped them on the road to recovery, or at least read this article.

     

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    I read the article you refer to when it was just written and Yahoo News had  link to it.  There are certainly many sides to take regarding Vick.  He paid the price society exacted of him.  Should the penalty for killing his dogs and torturing others have been more than was sentenced?  Did Vick serve enough of a penalty?  Who determines "how much is enough"?  Everyone has their own opinion.

    Dogs suffered because of what Michael Vick did to them.  They suffer still.  No question about it.  But if society wanted more of a penalty for what Vick did, then the court should have imposed it.  And no, I am no Michael Vick fan!  But we live in a society of rules.  Rules were violated.  Penalties were imposed.  Time was served.  If society didn't want Michael Vick to have the chance of returning to success in life, the court should have imposed a more harsh penalty. 

    If you don't like the rules that exist, work to change them.  The law is the law.  If people don't like the laws they have mutually decided upon, then people need to work to influence change.  

    I just think the penalties in this country for animal abuse are pathetic.  Fines are imposed and never paid.  And there are no penalties for that.  Jail time is not the norm.  When jail time is imposed, sentences seem to be arbitrarily reduced so the full sentence is hardly ever served.  I just don't think our society punishes people who abuse animals "enough".  I don't claim to know what "enough" is.  But we aren't there yet. 

    The truth is that people who love animals don't think Michael Vick paid enough of a penalty for what he did.  The unfortunate thing is that just as many people in our society don't care anything about animals.  They don't think animals "deserve" any standard of treatment.  So no behavior towards animals can violate their sensibilities.  And there you have it.  The laws that exist lean more towards lenient punishment of what is described as "abuse" or "neglect".  But unfortunately people can't agree on what constitutes "abuse" or "neglect". 

    The bottom line is that we have to change the existing laws.  I don't see any other alternative.  Unfortunately we can't go back in time and exact more punishment of people who have already be processed through the system.  So, yeah, Michael Vick gets to move on and live his life.  No one says you need to be cheering him on.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion of Vick.  Different opinions can make for some heated discussions.  People tend to be passionate about their beliefs.  I don't think there can ever be agreement in this country that Michael Vick served enough of a penalty.  But until enough people do agree to change the existing laws, animal abuse will be considered a minor offense.  As things go, Vick paid a bigger penalty than an awful lot of other animal abusers.  I think the time he served wasn't even for animal abuse but for laws regarding illegal traffic of money or something like that.  It is what it is.  Meanwhile, dogs he tortured continue to suffer.  We have to change the laws. 

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    I hope the laws are most stringent someday, but for now it does sting to hear people singing his praises. I just finished reading The Lost Dogs, about the dogs rescued from his property. It is a fantastic book and one I recommend to any dog lover. It was both heart wrenching and inspiring.
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