The Legacy of Michael Vick?

Micah, dubbed "a drug lord's dream dog" by our veterinarian because of his impressive DNA, is now approximately seven months old. Strong, majestic, loyal, and trusting, his genetic heritage consists of three breeds. Fifty percent Rottweiler, twenty-five percent Doberman Pincer, and twenty-five percent Pit-Bull. If someone like Michael Vick had gotten his hands on Micah, or one of his four other litter-mates, it is entirely possible that this puppy would have become "bait" in a horrendous cycle of torture, known as a dogfighting ring. In the wrong hands, this loving angel of a pup could have become something entirely different. Something filled with desperation and anger and venom. And no one would have ever known that it is in Micah's nature to do nothing but love.
I do not ordinarily write about public figures or major news stories. I leave that to the other bloggers. My world is fairly small, and so I write about the things that directly affect me, my family or my wonderful readers. Most of the time I have a cat snuggled up on my lap, mischievous paws typing miscellaneous combinations of letters on the keyboard, or a dog snoozing securely by my side. I am that kind of person. I don't think I have been completely alone in a room since 1975. To me, our animals are the souls of our homes. And yet, there are individuals out there, like Michael Vick, who think that they can justify the abuse of these wonderful creatures by whining about their own messed up childhoods. After hearing about Michael Vick's reinstatement by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, I looked down at my puppy, Micah. And I felt remorse that somehow, the value of his life had been regretfully downgraded by society. Yes, I understand that Mr. Vick went to jail and served out most of his twenty-three month sentence, but what does all of that mean if he is then released from prison and accepted back into society, as if nothing ever happened? Shouldn't the NFL Commissioner and everyone else who thinks that Vick is such a worthy talent deserving of another chance, wait to see what he does to right his own wrongs? He went to prison. That was societies way of punishing Mr. Vick. An apology, more than likely composed by spin-doctors, worded in a way that should make us feel sorry for him, is just not enough. This man should be shunned, and shunned in a huge way. Talent in one area of someone's life should not excuse them from being a kind and decent and moral human being. Michael Vick is none of those things. He is a cold, heartless, vicious victim of his own circumstances, just like Micah would have been had Vick gotten ahold of him. The major difference is that Vick had a choice. But he decided to become everything that he, himself, disdained about his own upbringing.

Mr. Vick, if this seven month old puppy who was, incidentally, left to starve for the first few weeks of his life by some disgusting human beings much like yourself, can rise above his own start in life, why couldn't someone with the God-given talents that you seem to have, risen above his? I look at the photos of you that are being published in the newspapers and on the Internet. I have looked into your eyes, Mr. Vick. I can see who you are. I can see into your soul. Do you believe that you can really change what is imbedded in your soul?
If the wrongs that were done to us during our childhoods became the basis of how we live our lives, this world would be an even more ruthless place than it is now. It is about choice, Mr. Vick. It is about experiencing the bad, but choosing to live the good, anyway.

Micah has a wonderful life. And in spite of all of the Michael Vicks out there, he will live out his life with love and security and joy. My heart goes out to all of Vick's dogs who are still alive and are healing from the hell that he put them through. May God bless those who worked with or adopted them. Your love is what will heal these dogs.