Poor Michael

Well glory be, the Vick sentence has been passed and now we get to hear the wailing and teeth gnashing over what a raw deal his highness received. We get to listen to the football zealots who choose to minimize any athlete's actions for fear their entertainment dollar will be devalued. Then there are those whose logical capacity can't quite accommodate the concept of inherent value when it comes to creatures that don't walk upright on two legs. "Hell, it's just a damn dog for god sake. He didn't kill nobody!!"
Then there is the dreaded racial inequality rant. There are those that would dare to suggest that Michael Vick's ethnicity has bearing on the sentence he received. They might attribute the harshness of the sentence to those dumb asses of the caucasion persuasion, who concern themselves with such trivialities as sanctity of life, cruelty to the helpless, telling the truth under oath, interstate transport involving illegal activity, gambling, and ill gotten funds. Those misguided cornballs are somehow out of touch and naturally biased against an innocent brother trying to have some harmless fun. "There just dogs!! He wasn't selling crack!!"
To all this, I would humbly offer the opinion that selling a small yacht's worth of crack would be preferable to the actions of brother Michael and his band of merry men. And no, I am not a card carrying member of PETA either. However, I am thankful that all their (and other organization's) efforts to elevate the value of life in the eyes of the public. I am thankful that they have contributed to a reduction in those that would trivialize the value of a dog's life as well as the cruelty of persons that would exploit them.
Ultimately, however, it was not the cruelty against animals that led to the severity of Vick's sentence. It was his blatant disregard for, and violation of Federal law coupled with the failure to take responsibility for his actions (until indicted) that did him in. He's being shipped down the proverbial river for his crime rather than his cruelty. If the cruelty was to be adequately considered, he may have received more punishment. But many times, that's not up to the courts to punish. That's society's job and I hope the responsibility is not shirked. Especially, when one considers he didn't do what he did for the money. He just enjoyed the thrill of the kill. Nice guy huh?

Just dogs my ass.

The Rising Cost of Doggie Day Care

I read this morning that Michael Vick has agreed to put $928,000 in an escrow account for the care of his 48 dogs. My first reaction was holy crap! Where are they staying, the Ritz Carlton? I immediately started doing some math. Let’s see, 928,000 divided by 48 is 19,333 per dog for the rest of their lifespan. Again, seems pretty steep right? Well, maybe not. The average joe that adopts Fluffy can probably expect to shell out about 8,000 bucks for their dog over the pet's lifetime, if they’re lucky. This estimate assumes that the Fluffster doesn’t need expensive surgery, prolonged boarding, health insurance, or extensive training to break their nasty habit of eating anything within six feet of their personal space. From what I understand, the latter item is pretty pricey. I would venture to guess that all 48 of the Vick pups will need the super-sized sensitivity training course. Remember, Mikey killed all of the nice ones in the bunch.

There are many that would scoff at the idea of keeping these dogs alive, arguing the potential danger these animals impose; however, I’m not among that school of thought. Mike Vick is responsible for making these 48 dogs the aggressive, unpredictable killing machines they are (he’s the financier anyway) so he, in turn, should be responsible for their rehabilitation and care. If that entails, weekly visits to the day spa, weekend getaways to the French Riviera, or one on one with Dr. Phil, so be it. These innocent creatures just may be salvageable; however, I not so sure about old Bad Newz Mike.