The official word is that Michael Vick is now rehabbed. Officially. And whether you believe it or not, it’s been officially declared “Official,” so it’s apparently accepted far and wide and is not for us to question. He’s even getting Hero Awards (I’m not makin’ this up) and Keys to Cities, as well as Comeback Player of the Year Awards. Further proof that it must be true.
Vick is rehabbed.
Take his word for it, Oprah.
And the dogs? Well, the ones that lived? They’re rehabbed too. Or inching toward rehabbed. Or crawling on their bellies one clawmark at a time toward rehab. Which is mighty impressive, coming from a life of mistrust of humans, chains, pens, and a fight for their very survival. I am in awe of the rescuers who took these dogs on and refused to let them die just because.
I know “You Rock” is overused and therefore lame, so I’ll say a simple Thank You.
But what about the property where these dogs lived, breathed, fought, and died? What about the community that was left with the collective shame and guilt, still figuring out how to clean up the mess of a crime they didn’t commit?
Haven’t we healed enough from our emotional scars to rebuild the remaining piece of this three-pronged puzzle?
The property in Surry County, Virginia that formerly housed Bad Newz Kennels has lain vacant since Vick dumped it in 2007. Seems there were lots of curious onlookers, but no serious buyers.
The 15-acre property was waiting to be healed, and that’s something that doesn’t come without time and love. The property where this occurred was no more guilty of a crime than the community, but it too paid the price of the stigma that has remained in the wake of the violence.
Enter Dogs Deserve Better, an award-winning 9-year old nonprofit organization working to free chained and penned dogs, who has dreamed of a Rehab Center for Chained and Penned Dogs for years. We had started seeking ground to purchase in the Charlottesville, Virginia area when it came to our attention that this particular piece of property was still sitting vacant a mere two hours away.
The opportunity to take something so dark and turn it to light beckoned.
Wouldn’t that be the best tribute to those who died there, who fought there? Wouldn’t the community prefer that someone turned it from Bad Newz to Good Newz instead of bulldozing it and pretending nothing ever happened?
I visited the property to see for myself and felt oddly at home. I thought I would be creeped out by the sheds and the kennels in the acre where the dogs lived and died, but I wasn’t. Instead I felt like the dogs were reaching out to me, saying “Oh, thank God, you’ve finally come.” I wanted to wrap my arms around them and never let them go.
Figuratively speaking, of course—I do know they’re dead.
Just as humans have preserved other spots around the world in the wake of heinous happenings, (think Auschwitz, or battlefields like Gettysburg) these dogs need and deserve to be memorialized. Just as other spots around the world have both honored the memory of the fallen and used the tragedy as a learning tool for future generations, so this spot has similar value—as a source of closure for those in pain, a source of comfort to those who want to reach out, and a source of education for our children who must learn to do better.
Were I one of Vick’s dogs and had a choice between the area where I lived being bulldozed and forgotten or memorialized and rebirthed, I would choose the second option any day of the week.
We’ve been told by members of the local community that we are welcome. They want to feel hope and pride again, they want to feel something positive rather than fighting the negativity that was brought by the Bad Newz Kennels.
Dogs Deserve Better has a dream, a purpose. We dream that one day EVERY dog will live inside as part of his/her family. EVERY dog will be treasured, valued, loved, and nurtured. When we pull a dog off a chain—from a solitary existence of sadness, boredom, fear, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, and pain—we bring light to dark.
When we fight an abuse case or work toward better laws, we bring light to dark.
When we stand firm in the knowledge that chaining or penning a dog for life can no longer be accepted and must end, we bring light to dark.
The Good Newz Rehab Center for Chained and Penned Dogs will be a place where our dreams can come true. Where we can continue bringing light to dark, creating an environment that safely and lovingly trains dogs to live inside the home with the family.
Where visitors are welcome and can come to memorialize those who were lost and rejoice with those who are found. Where they can play with rescued dogs and be a support system for those working the everyday trenches of animal abuse.
If you believe in this rebirth, believe that dogs do deserve detter, donate to the Center Fund today. We need an additional $490,000 by March 20th to get off the ground, and a grand total of $3 million to make our Center Dream a reality.
Our time grows short.
Support Dogs Deserve Better today. Because they do deserve better, and we ARE giving them better—one dog, one life at a time.
To donate, visit: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/ddbcenter.html
Mail to: P. O. Box 23, Tipton, PA 16684 • Or call: 814.941.7447
Tamira Ci Thayne, founder and CEO, Dogs Deserve Better
Awards won by Dogs Deserve Better:
• First place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Voice for Chained Dogs
• First place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Rescue Organization Saving Dogs
• Second Place, 2010 Animal Dog Magazine Animal Organization Website
• Founder and CEO Tamira Ci Thayne, Second place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Individual Saving/Adopting Dogs
• Second place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Animal Welfare Lobbyist
• Third place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Role Model-Philanthropist
• Third place, 2010 American Dog Magazine Humanitarian Awards, Animal Advocate for Dogs.
• Dog's Life, "Breaking the Chains that Bind" Article about Dogs Deserve Better in December 2007 Dog's Life Magazine, Honorable Mention HSUS Genesis Awards
• February 2008 • Founder Tamira Thayne,
IDA Guardian of the Month
• September 2007 • ePhilanthropy Award Finalist, 2nd Place People's Choice Award
• December 2006 • Founder Tamira Thayne, 2nd Place, Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award
• 2003, First Place, ASPCA/Chase Pet Protector Award
3 comments:
I was telling friends about what DDB was doing with Bad Newz Kennels. They all knew Vick, but none knew of DDB. Seriously, I was in tears when I told them of how DDB was transforming Bad Newz to Good Newz and even the non-dog lovers understood the significance.
Tamira Ci Thayne and DDB, I understand small minds may not see it, but those of us with big dreams of rescuing chained & penned dogs; we understand the monetary as well as the heartfelt support it will take to change the world for many of these dogs by supporting this center. Please count me in! xxoo, Dawn
If this is a rehab, where are the dogs that are supposed to being helped.....
Shelby, I don't know, why don't you come down and see for yourself before you sit there and spout off your nastiness?
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