Amid the outcry about the appalling dogfighting operation of Michael Vick and his vile cronies (see Gwen Knapp's excellent column in the San Francisco Chronicle), let's not forget that there are 50-odd canine victims of this obscenity still alive, and unless something affirmative is done to save them they will almost certainly be killed, because hey, they're "unadoptable." Before all else, THEIR well-being must be ensured. They've already spent their whole lives in a sadistic Catch-22 where they were viciously killed if they were insufficiently vicious, and now they'll be killed across the board because they managed to evade that fate.
The two organizations who are doing the biggest grandstanding and money-soliciting around this issue are PETA and HSUS. PETA, let's just say, is not a group we support — not because of its positions on animal rights, which we do support vigorously, but because, in addition to advocating the extermination of all pit bulls, they're well known (and unapologetic) for taking animals from individuals and shelters with promises to get them loving homes and killing them, which came to light when the bodies of the pets they killed turned up in North Carolina dumpsters. (Somewhat inexplicably, the perps were found not guilty of animal cruelty and obtaining "property" under false pretenses, but convicted of... littering). In short, no one who's ever loved an animal should give them a dime. (The petakillsanimals site is clearly a front for something like the agribiz industry, Big Pharma, or other institutionalized animal abusers in whose side PETA is a big thorn, but it certainly brings out a lot of facts.)
The HSUS, on the other hand, does a lot of good work, even though most of it is in the area of advocacy rather than any hands-on work. But at present they are using the Vick incident as an occasion to pursue their anti-dogfighting campaign, which is certainly laudable but isn't going to do a thing for these dogs. To the contrary, its Web site says, with the crocodile tears usually deployed in such situations:
Q: Where are the dogs?
A: The 52 pit bulls seized from Vick's property are now being housed in shelters across Virginia, where they will stay until final disposition by a court.
Q: What will happen to them?
A: For now they are receiving the best care that humans can provide. Unfortunately, in the end, most will face the sad fate of confiscated fighting dogs: euthanasia.
Q: Why can't the dogs be adopted?
A: Fighting dogs have often been so programmed to kill other animals and to instill agression that they cannot be reliably rehabilitated. Many have lived impoverished lives of solitude with little socialization, which makes them poor — or impossible — candidates for adoption. These dogs frequently carry too many physical and emotional scars to be placed safely into the community. They are usually a severe risk to other animals.
Q: What can we do for these dogs?
A: We can mourn their fate by standing up against dogfighting, by breaking this ugly cycle and putting an end to dogfighting. We can try to ensure that this does not happen to more dogs.
... and, of course, give money to the HSUS's anti-dogfighting campaign.
That is not remotely good enough.
What needs to happen is for some reputable group to step up with a plan to care for these dogs and others like them without falling for the false dichotomy of "adoptable" and "unadoptable," or the false dichotomy that the only options for "unadoptable" dogs are death or life in a cage. If they can't be integrated into an existing "community," a secure community of their own must be created — at Michael Vick's expense.
However this shakes out, Michael Vick must be required to spend his ill-gotten money on a sanctuary where these dogs and other similar victims can, after being spayed, neutered, and receiving necessary medical treatment, live out their natural days in peace, being lovingly cared for by DECENT people. With grass, trees, and houses, with individual full-time live-in caregivers who are savvy and committed to protecting them and meeting their needs.
If it's in a rustic location behind a 20-foot fence, so be it. But these dogs can and must have a good life. The "adoptable" ones, who probably exist, should be adopted to knowledgeable and loving homes; the "unadoptable" ones must have a safe place to land and have a quality life. Anything less simply compounds the crimes against them, this time at the hands of people supposedly dedicated to helping animals.
Last year the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society — which, as many of us will recall, hosts the wildly popular Bay to Barkers Dog Walk every July — decided to do something for the kitties. An art show, someone suggested. With a cat theme. Let's call it Purr-casso...