The rise and fall of Michael Vick's dog fighting club

Most of you are aware of Michael Vick and his recent conviction of operating a dog fighting and gambling operation in Virginia. To those of us that are NFL fans this is an unbelievable story. Vick was one of the best of our current crop of quarterbacks, and arguably was one of the most exciting quarterbacks of all time. He was not only just an NFL quality quarterback, he was one of the greatest running quarterbacks in history. He baffled defenses because if not contained, he was just as capable as running the ball for a touchdown, as passing.

Before the discovery of his dog fighting operation, Michael Vick had recently signed a 10 year contract worth $130 million dollars, plus many millions more in endorsements - all of that is gone...it's hard to believe. He has been sentenced to 23 months in jail and it may be difficult for him to physically or mentally ever get back to the level required of an NFL quarterback. It's hard for us to believe how anyone with the world in his hands, could be so stupid, and it's something most of us will never understand.

Dog fighting is a vicious sport. Michael Vick not only supported it financially, but provided the facility, the dogs, the training of the dogs, and also participated in the gambling involved - betting which dog would kill the other. He also participated in the killing of the dogs that were "losers" in the dog fights. After his sentence and incarceration, there are still more than 45 dogs that were rescued when the dog fighting operation was busted. All were pit bulls. All of these dogs will undergo retraining, and all are expected to be eventually put into a good home and to live their lives as dogs are supposed to, being "man's best friend".

But this blog has recently found out that the "alpha dog", the leader of this pack of killer dogs, was not even a pit bull, but a charismatic leader of what would almost be called a "cult"...kind of the Jim Jones or David Koresh of the dog family - he convinced these pit bulls that they were killers. Animal experts have determined that this "alpha dog" cannot be rehabilitated and should be euthanized. We were recently able to visit with this dog and confront him with the fact that he was the leader of this operation. This seemingly "gentle" dog admitted his mistakes and is asking for clemency, just as Michael Vick did. He vows to change his life and wants to reenter society, just as Micheal Vick does. I for one think we should give him one more chance -- he may be the leader of "killers", but has sworn to change. I am posting his picture, not because you need to see what a killer looks like , but hopefully you will show some compassion and give this canine "Atilla the Hun" one more chance.