Dogs Deserve Better to join Virginia Voters for
Animal Welfare rally at Michael Vick hearing
Founder to attend, condemns dog-fighting as 'worst form of cruelty imaginable'
Tipton, PA — July 25, 2007 — Dogs Deserve Better, a national nonprofit working to end the suffering endured by dogs kept chained or penned for life, announced today that the group will join the Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare in a rally at the Thursday court appearance for Michael Vick in Richmond, Virginia.
Tammy Grimes, founder of the organization, will make the trip to Richmond for the 3:00 p.m. rally. "This case is too crucial for those of us who fight for humane treatment for dogs to miss, and I implore all those who are in agreement to make the trip. Dog fighting takes our issue to the utmost levels of cruelty imaginable; not only are the dogs short-chained on thick logging chains to build their muscles and frustration, but they are then subjected to horrendous deaths for the enjoyment of sick individuals.
As a rescuer, I've seen my share of unintended dog fights, and I know many rescuers (including myself), who have been bitten trying to break up a fight between two dogs who take a dislike to one another. Those brief moments before you stop the struggle are absolutely terrifying—I cannot imagine actually WANTING dogs to fight, much less allowing it to continue to the death.
While in New Orleans after Katrina, a well-meaning individual put a pit covered in scars into the doggie play area...It took 7 people to pry the trained fighter off the old, shaggy dog; his screams filled the air for what seemed like hours. I will never forget the distress of all those in attendance, all those who cared enough about both dogs to put a stop to the attack.
I implore dog lovers the world over to help us finally end this intensely cruel practice."
Attendees to the rally are asked to meet at 9th and Bank Streets, and wear black business attire in remembrance of the fighting dogs of Surry County. Members of Virginia's General Assembly have been invited, and further information can be obtained from DDB/VVAW member Lisa Hetrick at lisa.compton@comcast.net.
Dogs Deserve Better (www.dogsdeservebetter.org) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization headquartered in Tipton, Pennsylvania, is the 2003 First Place Winner of the ASPCA Pet Protector Award, and currently has over 150 area reps in 38 states as well as in Canada and France.
1 comment:
Your site is wonderful. I am glad I found it.
If there is anything good about the Michael Vick story, it is that there is an emerging increased awareness about animal cruelty and animal fighting. There is so much anger about this issue. If we channel it into a positive direction, hopefully, something good can come of it. However...
I watched Vick's public apology with my little son who USED TO wear Michael Vick jerseys to school. It is disturbing to think a certain percentage of the population is honestly going to be swayed by Michael Vick's "enlightenment" carefully crafted by his overpaid attorneys. Call me a cynic, but I don't believe a man who has been allegedly torturing animals since childhood coincidentally has a religious epiphany as a result of getting caught and losing his job. I hope I am wrong.
I think it is a sad commentary that we, as a culture, are using the Vick story to compare "What's worse?" "What's worse", we ask, "carelessly fathering illegitimate children, or dogfighting?". "Dogfighting or gambling?" "Dogfighting or rape?" "Dogfighting or racism?" "Dogfighting or hateful nationalism?" "Dogfighting or (fill in the blank)....?" The comparisons to dogfighting have been endless.
Dogfighting is one more piece of evidence our country is in need of a spiritual transformation (please note I said spiritual and not necessarily religious). Animals are sentient beings - they feel pain, and they suffer, just like we do. They are not more important, or less important than human beings, but like human beings, they are important, too.
Dogfighting pits one dog against another until one of them dies. The survivor gets his flesh torn off, ears ripped off, eyes pulled out, etc., and the reward for being "a winner" is to writhe in pain until the next fight. Enough said. The pictures make my flesh crawl. The losers are tortured, beaten, starved, electrocuted or drowned. For what? Because these poor creatures were unlucky enough to be born a dog!
Every major faith teaches its followers to be responsible stewards of animals and the Earth. Please help us get the word out that caring for animals, just like caring for people, is an important part of just being a decent person and citizen. If we make this a priority, there will be no more dogfighting horror stories, and no more pointless comparisons of evils. Let us all rise, together, to be better people than we are today,
Chaplain Nancy Cronk
Founder, www.AnimalChaplains.com
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