No Wonder

According to the PA SPCA (the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), dog fighting is on the rise in Philadelphia. This is not a surprise to those of us who see chewed up pit bulls on the street and other tell-tale signs of dog fighting -- even in much smaller cities like Lancaster -- and who know, from experience, that dog fighting is considered a standard "outlaw" activity by those who identify themselves as such. The banning of pit bulls by various municipalities around the country has only increased the novelty of these dogs being "used" for illegal purposes -- serving as intimidating guard dogs for drug dealers and gangs, and of course, for use in dog fighting.

Pit bulls, thanks to ignorance and a desire to take an easy position (banning them is easy -- extricating them from the hands of abusers and educating the public takes effort) have become the equivalent of rape victims, accused of inciting their attackers. They're vicious by nature, right? WRONG. Any dog that is habitually abused and purposely trained to fight will be aggressive. The fact, however, that many of Vick's dogs were successfully rehabbed and are now loving companion animals proves that the knee-jerk reaction of local officials was just that -- the reaction of jerks.

Adding to the "no wonder" aspect of this rise in dog fighting, especially in Philadelphia, is the fact that the poster boy for thugs everywhere, Michael Vick, was given a $1.6 million contract by the Philadelphia Eagles. This removed all doubt from other "outlaws'" minds that crime doesn't pay. Not only does it pay, it pays REALLY well. And shame? Forget about it. There's no shame in torturing and killing "man's best friend" - real men don't have any compassion, and even if they perform and support acts of cruelty that go beyond most people's imaginations, there's little or no penalty.

So, while the HSUS (the Humane Society of the US) embraces Vick's alleged "remorse" and is helping Vick peddle his story of being ashamed and rehabilitated (he's not -- or he would not have returned to public life), the PA SPCA has accurately nailed the reality of the situation. Nobody gave the dogs a second chance, and unless Vick donates a huge percentage of his salary to dog rescues, he's not making anything up to anybody. The PA SPCA is not falling for his "I'm so sorry" routine, and nobody else should, either.

Of course, groups the the PA SPCA are actually dealing with the dogs that become victims of the ignorance surrounding pit bulls, so they have much more of a stake in this whole issue. We urge voters everywhere to do two things:

(A) support the shelters and animal protection groups in your area either by donating money or supplies or volunteering to help care for the animals, and

(B) contact your local and state officials/legislators -- and JUDGES, who sadly are not taking the cases that come before them seriously -- and demand stiffer penalties for dog fighting. Only when people start spending some serious time in jail for this horrific "sport" will it lose its appeal.

And those of you living in cities where dog fighting exists, do your part to report the signs of dog fighting -- seeing injured dogs (with bite and scratch marks on their faces, heads, front legs, and hind quarters), finding dead dogs (in dumpsters, empty lots, alleys), seeing known criminals with pit bulls, seeing multiple pit bulls confined on someone's property, and observing a lot of people going in and out of homes where pit bulls have been seen. The report you give (which can be given anonymously) will allow police to break up a dog fighting "business," resulting in arrests, and at the very least, allowing the dogs to be confiscated and the sick thugs running the dog fights to lose some revenue.