A pitbull that once belonged to Michael Vick and used for dogfighting has a new gig!

Leo is now a therapy dog at both the Camino Infusion Center where he brings comfort to to patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment, and he’s also working at Alternative Placement Academy in San Jose, where the young men seem to identify with the dog’s hard-luck background.

“He is wonderful, and all the patients love Leo,” said Paula Reed, the Infusion Center’s oncology director. “They really love his eyes and gentleness.”

Leo was rescued along with 50 other pitbulls when Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia was raided last year. Michael Vick, the now-former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, is currently serving 23 months in federal prison for his roll in the illegal dogfighting ring which resulted in abused, neglected and dead dogs.

Leo ended up in the care of Marthina McClay, president of Our Pack, an advocacy group for pit bulls. After five weeks of intense instruction, supervision and acclimation he began his new career.

“The difference that he’s had with our patients has been incredible — the smiles on their faces, the joy when they see him,” said Reed of the cancer center. “Leo is a survivor and our patients are survivors, and I think they can relate to each other.”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have something in my eye.

Post from: Blisstree

Michael Vick Dog Gets A Second Chance

22 of the pit bulls seized from Michael Vick’s compound last year have been given a second chance at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. Animals that were forced to fight in the illegal dogfighting ring are, probably for the first time, learning to trust people and live out the rest of their lives in peace. The 25 other dogs were split up between seven other facilities.

Most of the dogs are scarred, a few mutilated (this poor girl had all her teeth removed, probably so she couldn’t attack during forced breeding), and some emotionally needy, but slowly and surely they are being rehabilitated with patience and lots of love. The majority of the dogs will stay at the facility for 6-12 months before being reevaluated for adoption.

The Humane Society of the United States and PETA recommended that the dogs be euthanized immediately, but many animal rescue organizations urged the prosecutors to let the dogs live, and the government gave the go ahead after Vick agreed to pay $928,073 for their continuing care and evaluation. The dogs were then split up between eight rescue facilities, were spayed and neutered, and are in the process of being rehabilitated and evaluated. Only one dog from the group had to be put down after displaying aggression against people, and another is not adoptable and by court order will remain in Best Friends’ care for the duration of his life.

Vick, once the highest-paid player in the N.F.L., is serving a 23-month sentence in a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, for bankrolling his Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation and helping execute dogs that were not good fighters. Dogs were electrocuted, hanged, drowned, shot or slammed to the ground, according to court records. Two mass graves with the remains of eight pit bulls were found on Vick’s property in rural Virginia.

[image: new york times]

Post from: Blisstree

Michael Vick’s Dogs Find Kindness