The Case of Carter
When rehabilitation failsSome years ago, field workers for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) rescued an abandoned pit bull who had been chained to some cement blocks while the people who had used him in backyard fights moved out. Carter was just skin and bones by the time we got the call from a concerned neighbor, and the heavy chain around his neck weighed more than he did. His ears were shredded and he was covered with sores. Because we hoped to pursue cruelty and abandonment charges, a PETA staffer fostered Carter until the case could go to court.
Carter exemplified the forgiving nature of dogs. As he healed, his personality peeked out. He enjoyed backrubs and tolerated the treatments for his injuries with stoic dignity. He still flinched at raised voices, but as his case slogged on through the system, Carter continued to blossom. Until . . . the day he snapped.
While out on a walk, something triggered him. We’ll never know what exactly—a car horn, a frightening flashback—but the personable dog we had grown to love vanished in an instant. It was terrifying to watch all of Carter’s “progress” disappear in a flash as he viciously went after a man and his dog who were walking by. Thanks to the immediate response of our well-trained staffer, no one was injured. But our hearts were broken. It was clear that Carter was profoundly damaged and could never be made whole again.
Pit bulls are hands down the most abused breed of dog. Our field staff sees them every day, tied up with chains so heavy that they can barely lift their heads, penned ankle-deep in mud and feces with no protection from the elements, taunted and tormented into aggression, forced to fight and tortured if they won’t, used as cheap alarm systems, beaten, starved, and, in many cases, like Carter’s, just left to die. Those who make it to animal shelters are often scarred for life. And shelters are flooded with them—as of this writing, Petfinder.com lists more than 15,000 pit bulls looking for a home. Psychologically damaged pit bulls, through no fault of their own, need space, time, and resources that are already in short supply at animal shelters.
All dogs deserve good homes with devoted families that will responsibly care for and love them for life. Animal shelters in this country are overflowing with unwanted, homeless animals who do not require one minute or one dollar for their rehabilitation—they’re ready to go and literally dying to be placed into new homes. When appropriate homes can’t be found for them, they must either be killed to make room for yet more animals coming in or, at some facilities, warehoused for life in stacked cages or severely crowded pens like obsolete inventory. They become miserable, frustrated, depressed, and cage-crazed.
The notoriety of the Michael Vick case brought the ugly reality of dogfighting and the plight of pit bulls to the front pages. For that, we can take some small measure of solace. But the nearly one million dollars that Vick was rightly ordered to pay to “rehabilitate” the dogs used in his Bad Newz Kennels operation would have had a far greater impact had it been directed into efforts to address and try to end the widespread abuse of pit bulls in the United States.
Nearly three years after authorities raided Vick’s kennels, his dogs are either still homeless or dead. Almost two dozen of them are still confined to cages, day after day, deprived of companionship, mental stimulation, and the chance to run and play freely. They don’t know the joy and comfort of being part of a family, going on outings, getting handouts under the dinner table, and keeping watch over their loved ones—all the things that dogs crave and deserve, minimum requirements for a decent quality of life. It’s hard to imagine a crueler punishment for social pack animals than to keep them locked up, living as a name and number on a cage card. Even friendly dogs can quickly grow aggressive when they are allowed to interact and exercise for only a few minutes a day. What chance do former fighting dogs stand?
I have been working with pit bulls for going on two decades, and I adore them, which is why I do not want any of them spending the rest of their lives in solitary confinement anywhere, whether in someone’s backyard or in a pseudo-sanctuary. The facility that houses many of Vick’s dogs may be on a large piece of property, but their pens or runs are still just cages. Marketing dogs who can’t be placed in homes as “success stories” is not just disingenuous, it is a betrayal of the dogs and of the public, which has been led to believe that rehabilitation is possible. The American public is spared the reality that sheltering and animal-control professionals face every day: fighting dogs rarely get a happy ending. Dogs who have been bred, raised, and trained to kill other animals will always be a danger to our communities. If Vick’s dogs are still too unpredictable to be adopted as family companions, living forever behind cage bars isn’t a solution; it is a life sentence.
Incidentally, the people who so cruelly abandoned Carter to die alone were not charged or convicted. Authorities determined that they couldn’t prove that tying up a dog without food or water and leaving him to die was a “willful” act. And so our work continues.
ONLINE APRIL 16, 2010
On the Fate of Vick’s Dogs
PETA’s Daphna Nachminovitch is either hopelessly ill-informed or deliberately spreading disinformation. Her commentary on Colin Dayan’s “Dead Dogs” story alleges: “Nearly three years after authorities raided Vick’s kennels, his dogs are either still homeless or dead.”
This is just flat out untrue. Of the 48 pit bulls seized in the Michael Vick raid, one was euthanized due to irremediable aggression, 25 were quickly placed into loving homes through rescue organizations, and the 22 needing the most attention were placed in the care of Best Friends Animal Society for long-term care and rehabilitation.
Of those 22, five have been adopted by loving, doting families, three are in foster homes, six live in staff offices and spend their days with other dogs, several are great with cats and one specializes in learning new tricks. The two dogs that were Vick’s fighting champions are not good with other dogs but are great with people and are mobbed with attention by visitors and volunteers.
Clearly Ms. Nachminovitch was not one of the 30,000 visitors to tour or volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary last year or she would know that this is not a place where animals are “. . . deprived of companionship, mental stimulation, and the chance to run and play freely.” Quite the contrary in every regard.
Francis Battista,
Co-founder
Best Friends Animal Society
Your article details one dog. This dog could easily have been re-homed with an owner who was willing to work with the dog or simply avoid taking the dog out where the dog can get into trouble.
I have a dog aggressive Pit Bull Terrier. We go all over the place. Yes I am cautious, but I would never put her down because she dislikes other dogs.
So what. That doesn't mean she cannot live a happy life. It just means she doesn't like dogs. Just like I don't like Animal Right nut jobs. Doesn't mean I can't function in society and be a law abiding citizen.
I'm sick of hearing how "fighting dogs" cannot live happy lives because of their "training."
Funny, many centuries before PETA or the HSUS or any other extreme animal rights organization came to be Pit Bulls lived wonderfully long and peaceful lives with their owners.
Just because a dog is a fighting dog does not mean it deserves to die.
"Nearly three years after authorities raided Vick’s kennels, his dogs are either still homeless or dead." Actually, most of them are living in homes, and several are working as therapy dogs. But that shows the accuracy of any information put forth by PETA. They like attention, but the truth about animals doesn't interest them much.
It is unconscionable that PETA has chosen to mislead Boston Review readers to promote falsehoods and intolerance against animals. Once tortured by their abusers, the dogs are doubly abused by an organization who claims to care. As if to make Colin Dayan's point: "We see how cruelty thrives in the guise of compassion."
Shame on PETA for spreading such malicious falsehoods in a time when the dogs have given us such a compelling reason to re-evaluate our relationship and our responsibilities to companion animals.
Some current updates on Vick's dogs in their homes:
http://vickdogsblog.blogspot.com/
Washington Post photo essay:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/photo/galleries/vickdogs/
"It was clear that Carter was profoundly damaged and could never be made whole again."
What precisely is the expertise that allows Ms. Nachminovitch to come to this startlingly broad conclusion? How many dogs has she personally rehabilitated? I'm pretty sure you have to know what the savable ones look like before you can identify the unsavable ones, don't you?
Oh, that's right -- she works for PETA, the folks who kill dogs in order to save them.
Ugly.
however, none of this changes the fact that the author of this piece blatantly lied to support her point. considering the fact that PETA has an official position in favor of banning the pit bull "breed" (aka dogs of many breeds and mixes who look a certain way), of course this article is going to be read as a statement on breed bans as well as on no kill vs kill shelters. really, while it's sort of hard to pull a point out of the article, it seems to be about whether there should be automatic euthanization of fighting dogs more than either of the aforementioned issues.
and i'm sorry, but what pr company is out there planting positive stories about pit bulls, like the ones about the fates of the vick dogs, in the press? who's hiring someone to do that? whoever they are and however they are profiting from it, they need to find a new pr company, because the negative press about pits vastly outweighs the positive.
www.petakillsanimals.com
since 1998 PETA has KILLED over 23,000 animals... sickening..
The American dog with the highest incidence of bite incidents is not the Pit Bull, but the Golden Retriever. here in Texas, it's the chihuahua.
Just because an organization or media outlet writes or says something doesn't mean it's true. PETA does not care about companion animals--they love to euthanize and make no bones about it. They'll never see another thin dime from me.
It seems to me that the only people who should be making this assertion are people who believe that euthanasia (and death more generally) significantly harms an animal. If one holds this view then one should probably support no kill shelters (which need a ton of money) as well as become a vegan. If you believe further that the animals are being wronged by being euthanised then you may in fact be an "animal rights" supporter.
PETA as I understand it follows Peter Singer's view that animals are not harmed by being euthanized (lacking future interests they can not be deprived of those interests). Therefore, if the choice is between present suffering and death for an animal, Singer and PETA will prefer euthanizing these animals over keeping them in lives of deprivation and suffering.
I do not agree with their view of future harms, but the claim that PETA does not care about companion animals is either deliberately obtuse or ignorant.
If you disagree with this view you probably as I say are an "animal rights" supporter and so are far more radical than PETA. Tom Regan might be more your speed, who believes that animals have a right to life and therefore are wronged by being killed (for whatever purpose).
As for whether or not PETA lied about Vick. I can't say. I presume you have evidence that they asserted the falsehood deliberately rather than being mistaken. You may be right about this, but I don't see the evidence. I prefer to assume that they were mistaken, and either way it does not significantly affect their argument, in only undermines an example, there are plenty of other ways of making the same point. Perhaps, they are just sloppy. I'd hope that the author would have the decency to publish a clarification of this point.
I would think the Vick's agents and publicity people have a particular interest in positive stories being generated about his dogs. But, perhaps I'm being cynical.
Where does everyone think the 70,000 (I think that's the right number) animals each year in shelters go? To the farm with Grandma?
And lets remember that the Vick dogs had 20,000 dollars lavished on each of them to recover. That's the benefit I suppose of having your abuser be a rich celebrity, but it's not the case for most of the dogs that are probably coming into shelters. They come with no checks attached.
What's been done with Vick dogs looks fantastic and if we could just come up with a 1.4 billion or so a year we could provide such care for all abandoned animals.
And it seems that 4+ million of those stray animals are euthanized each year (HSUS numbers so maybe some will be skeptical). PETA has euthanized 23,000 in the last twelve years according to the "Center For Consumer Freedom." During that same time, perhaps 50 million strays were euthanized in the US. Yeah, sure, its PETA that's sickening not the rest of the country.
I believe there must be some mistake...I adopted a dog that was rescued from Michael Vick's dogfighting operation. She is most definitely not dead - earlier today I saw her run about the yard with her ball, gently sniff the cat, play with her canine sibling, chow down on dinner, snore during a quick nap and give me a zillion kisses. She is also not homeless - while it has been raining all day she has been in a warm cozy house, we ate dinner and I snuck her a bit of my tamale and now we are both cuddled up nice and cozy on my bed where we will sleep tonight.
Please check your facts before putting out such a false statement - a quick Google search could have easily pointed you to the happy endings and love being shown to these dogs.
Photographic evidence that this Vick dog is not dead or homeless: Meet Ginger http://bit.ly/a1C1Ip
You GO PETA! I'll support you for life, at least while you remain a 3-Star Charity on Charity Navigator.
are you really just going to ignore the fact that many of Vick's dogs are living wonderful lives in loving homes? why is this huge fact so easily overlooked? every dog is an individual, and should be treated as such. don't condemn a whole breed because of the actions of a few who weren't fortunate enough to have responsible owners.
Why do you interpret that as lacking in management somewhere???
I'm not overlooking anything....I trust PETA is making humane judgments in their decisions. Unless you've had personal experience with PETA, I will not accept hearsay from the haters. As a member of PETA, I have witnessed nothing but kindness and concern for animals. If you're getting info from CCF & Rick Berman, you have no credibility. Even his son hates him.
Shelters have to make decisions about which of the 7 million animals they take in are "adoptable." This is unfortunate, but it is the reality. Aggression is one of the reasonable criteria. In the absence of 20K (who of you is ponying up Vick money for all the dogs who need to be treated as individuals), rehabilitation is not always possible.
This seems like a fairly moderate point. But, I think some people just feel justified in knee-jerk reactions to anything coming from PETA, and others want to believe that the 4 million animals euthanized each year can be "treated as individuals." Though, for those of you who really do believe that animals have a right to be treated as individuals--you animal rightists--I would grant that this is not such a simple issue. But, I bet most of the people attacking PETA for not caring about animals, eat them--'nuff said in those cases.
The dogs didn`t need to be rehabilitated,they needed an opportunity to learn to be dogs.
Why doesn`t PeTA put their money(Is it Millions or Billions?) where their mouth is?
PeTA doesn`t run any Shelters that I`m aware of.
PeTA doesn`t provide any free or low Spay/Neuter Services.
PeTA doesn`t provide any Educational Resources to new Parents on how to incorporate dogs into homes with babies and young children.
There`s lots more that PeTA doesn`t do but I think most people are starting to get it.
The Vick dogs have already been addressed by the people who actually know the dogs abused by Vick.
PeTA is nothing but an Extreme Animal Rights group that doesn`t want you to have a pet in your home.
They lobby for laws that will exterminate pets.
That`s what Mandatory Spay/Neuter laws will eventually do.
Most people will spay/Neuter voluntarily if you remove Barriers,educate them and help them financially if needed.
Please stop donating to PeTA and give to your local Shelter.
Their political convictions will *always* trump their faux "concern" for the welfare of animals. Don't give them your money; send it to good, no-kill shelters and rescue organizations like Best Friends.
I have come to love this breed so much that I am right now working on fighting BSL.
To learn more about BSL visit this site
http://www.defendingdog.com/index.html
Educate yourself and then take actions innocent lives depend on this.
Chesapeake borders Norfolk the home of PETA.
PETA personnel need only to look out their back door to see rehabilitation works when done properly.
As for the Animal shelters in this country that are overflowing with unwanted, homeless animals who do not require one minute or one dollar for their rehabilitation. What a pipe dream Yes Shelters are overflowing but every rescued animal requires funds and rehabilitation. No animal loses everything it loves and understands without experiencing some measure of fear and mistrust. Each animal lucky enough to be adopted must get passed where it came from in order to move forward in it's new life.
A problem must present itself in order to find a solution.
Poor Carter that you could not have been saved from your so called rescuer.
I don't have a pitty, but that just because my husband and I are not that active. But we had the nastiest, meanest english bulldog that we rescued. She was an abandoned breeder bitch. We couldn't take her to dog parks and even on walks she would attack anything she saw. But, we knew how to handle her. She loved and trusted us and we gave her an environment where she flourished. She had other dog friends and cat friends because they lived with us and she was properly introduced.
It infuriates me that PETA would have put my beloved Olive down. It takes a lot of work and it's not for everyone to have a dog that is people and animal aggressive, so I well understand the difficulty in placing these types of dogs, but there are people like us that are willing to give the dog love and time w/o putting them in unsafe environments.
My girl died when she was 12 and I have the greatest stories about her. So do my friends & family even though they weren't her biggest fans and some were scared of her. She deserved ever day of love and happiness that we gave her and shame of PETA for thinking different. They have never received a penny from me and I constantly tell people to give their $$ to better organizations.
PETA, you are doing far more harm than good because you are such a prominent yet irresponsible media figure. It's tragic that when a person mentions "animal welfare" they think of the crazy, ineffectual PR stunts PETA pulls and lying articles like the above. I wish you would stop this stance which is driving people away from animal welfare. It's irresponsible just like the abuse we all want to end.
The Vick-tory dogs are happy and healthy, thanks to people who adopted them.
There is no greater PR against dogfighting than these dogs shown with their families.
This uneducated person's career at PETA should be euthanized.
It is the humane thing to do. I doubt she can be rehabilitated 'cuz you can't teach SMART!
(quote)'"PETA does not care about companion animals."
It seems to me that the only people who should be making this assertion are people who believe that euthanasia (and death more generally) significantly harms an animal." (quote)
well, um, yes, death generally does sort of significantly harm an animal. Kind of by definition, eh? Cause dead is kind of, well, final.
Most rescue organizations try to save animals. PETA does not.
They do in fact run ONE shelter: in which they kill 97% of the animals they take in. In kindness of course. Because they love animals. They especially love DEAD animals.
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2009/03/27/does-peta-kill-animals-absolutely-says-newkirk/
See: no more animals, no more animals being "exploited" by their human companions. That's the PETA vision.
I'll never think of my two bully breed dogs as monsters that aren't worth anybody's time or money, just on edge and ready to snap at any moment. At least dogs in no-kill shelters and sanctuaries are given a chance, PETA doesn't even give them that.
It is true that more money is being spent on the Vick pit bulls than would normally be spent on rescuing particular dogs. However, this is not a waste of money. Prototypes always cost more than subsequent models. The knowledge that Best Friends, BAD RAP, Our Pack, and others have developed from working with these dogs has already been used in saving dogs from later busts, such as the multi-state Midwestern fight bust in 2009. It will be used again and again. When you think of how many other dogs have been saved due to the dissemination of that knowledge and the publicity the Vick dogs got, $20,000 per dog is cheap.
Commenters Donna Reynolds, Ken Foster, and Francis Battista all work tirelessly to fix what's wrong in the world. The author could learn much about bravery and hard work from their shining examples.