Michael Vick – Killer and Torturer – Makes Millions As His dogs Live in Fear
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Give me a bullet and give me a gun and Michael Vick would soon be long gone. Read this story:
Richard Hunter has a new member of his household. That’s him, quivering in the corner. Shaking uncontrollably. Convulsing. The 4-year-old is scared shitless.
“He lives in fear,” Hunter says of his new best friend, Mel. “You would too if you’d been beating and traumatized your whole life.”
Michael Vick is out of prison and back in the NFL. But the dogs he tortured – the ones he didn’t kill, that is – will never escape his dark shadow.
“Mel’s come a long way. We can pet him. He sleeps in bed with us,” Hunter says. “But he’s scarred for life. He’s never barked. Never made a noise. There are times when he’s just terrified.”
Hunter, who for years hosted a talk show on various Dallas radio stations and these days produces a daily podcast at www.richardhuntershow.com, was outraged by the gruesome details of Vick’s dog-fighting ring. He ranted about how Vick should never be allowed to play in the NFL again.
“Prison or not, I didn’t think this guy would play another down,” Hunter says. “I never thought the American public would stand for this. In our small way, we wanted to make our statement.”
Hunter and his wife, who live in Dallas, have a 13-year-old Terrier named Pumpkin. But after reading the details of Vick’s own trial testimony about how the dogs were treated – hooked up to a car battery and electrocuted, teeth yanked out so they couldn’t bite handlers during sessions on a rape stand, hanging, drowning, thrown for sport -the couple decided to adopt one of the battered and beleagured Pit Bulls.
That 18-month journey started when they contacted Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah
Initially told no dog was adoption-ready, nine months later the couple underwent a federal background check. That was followed by a home visit from a case worker, then a visit – via car, on their own dime – to Utah where they lived in a cabin for a week and introduced themselves and Pumpkin to Mel.
Finally approved by the society and the judge who sent Vick to jail, Hunter had Mel hand-delivered by a case worker and a trainer in September. The trainer stayed in a Dallas hotel and visited Mel in his new home every day for a week before leaving.
“Shy is an understatement,” Hunter says of Mel. “Remember, he was used as a ‘bait’ dog.”
That means, essentially, that Mel was a canine piñata, beaten daily by Vick and his cronies to kill his fighting spirit. Once “de-fanged” of his will, Mel was thrown into a pit with prized fighting dogs who practiced their aggression on the hapless, defenseless – and, even worse, muzzled – bait dog.
“To consider what he went through, his resiliency is amazing,” Hunter says. “For the first couple years of this dog’s life every time he saw a human being [he thought] something terrible was about to happen to him.”
Give the assist to Pumpkin. The two dogs hit it off, with the elder sensing the fear in his new introvert friend.
When a stranger enters Hunter’s house, Mel freaks out. He grabs his monkey security blanket, slowly backs up into the corner and quivers. In front of him, standing as guard, is Pumpkin. And since Mel can’t – or won’t – use vocal communication, it’s Pumpkin who barks for him, often waking Hunter late at night to find Mel at the back door needing a bathroom break.
“While Vick is pure evil, this dog is so good despite having suffered through such hell that he’s truly changed my life,” Hunter says. “I can’t support a league that allows Vick to play in it.
“At the same time, Mel has enriched our lives beyond our wildest dreams.”
Many thanks to the Dallas Observer for this story….
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For one, Pumpkin sounds like and amazing dog. Standing up and even barking for her new friend in need. My heart breaks and is full of love for Mel, to go through so much and still be sweet as pie. I pray that his body and heart continue to heal. The dogs that Michael Vick murdered and tortured deserve the millions of dollars for their care and their lives not Vick. He deserves a more severe punishment.
And this man will now go on to make millions?
Whar a piece of faeces. Really, I do not mean that as a similie.
To me, all Vick is and all he will ever be is faeces.
Jacob I couldn’t agree more. Thanks for stopping by.
Mike you might bare me out here, If someone is capable of this with animals, it’s a short step to doing things like that to humans. Vick should have to shovel shit as the only job he should have. Why are we rewarding this sub human.
I agree Tim.
As an animal lover, this is another heart-wrenching story. 🙁
Oh my goodness. Dear gods. Yeah, like 4D says… I can’t believe they let him back onto a playing field. Or out of jail. Dogs (domesticated animals) offer us something we desperately need to experience: unconditional love. Forgiveness.
I suggest MMA offer a substantial sum for someone to ‘hit’ the bastard.
No need to do that 4D. I have no qualms about killing dirt bags like this….
I did a post over at the Swash Zone called Meet Charlie about my newest addition. I also referenced to the just signed NC Susie’s Law which now makes it a felony to torture animals so stiffer sentences can be meted out.
It is named after Susie, a pit bull puppy who was beaten and burned by her owner who subsequently received probation. The outrage was deafening in the state of North Carolina so not all Southern states are so dark and backward.
Even though there are dog fights here still, they are not tolerated or ignored.
There is no kind of human being that can participate in or get pleasure from the torture of an animal – they are purely evil and need to be eliminated, perhaps hanging from their own tree devices.
I agree. The torture and killing of animals is a short step from doing the same to people. Barbaric and unconscionable.
It’s a very good post,Anne. I was happy to read Susie is still a very loving animal despite her suffering.
Thanks Oso, I think it is a testament to the superior spirit of animals that they can suffer such abuse and still remain loving beings.
Their tormentors? Let’s kill them as soon as we can – they have no business living and breathing.
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I’m not defending Vick in any way shape or form, but disgracefully, dog fighting has been a way of life for many people in the south for years and since the rise of the gangs in the last 30 years, fueled by drug money and NFL money in Vick’s case, it became entertainment for ignorant people loaded with cash.
Here in Georgia there is also the barbaric practice of deer hunting with dogs, chasing the deer until it is exhausted. Perfectly legal.
The way we treat our animals is a reflection on the society we live in.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Georgia is truly the heart of darkness. They have very few laws here that protect animals. For many creatures hunting seasons is all year long. You can see them with their cages in the back of their pick ’em ups, parked alongside the road, while the dogs that were in those cages are out running down deer. Yes. This is truly the heart of darkness for more reasons than I can count.
And slavery was a way of life for hundreds of years; that doesn’t make it acceptable. I’m sure plenty of southerners don’t engage in sadistic torture.
I like where the first sentence is going but feel it would be too quick and merciful for that lowlife piece of shit.
A person that would do such a thing is evil, pure and simple. The quicker that pollution is removed from the planet, the better.
Oh man.I should just be glad for this small bit of good news, that this guy is finally getting some care and love. And I am glad. But the contempt for the type of dirtbag who did this, the contempt for the sports fans and the apologists for dirtbags like him who think Vick deserves a second chance for fame and fortune-it almost overcomes the good feelings.