See what I did there?
Replaced Forgiven with Furgiven?
Had to work too hard on my end for that one.
Unless you got it to begin with, in which case, you and I are pun master besties.
----Disclaimer----
I felt this post needed to be written by a hard core animal lover and big hearted sports fan that is not an over the top, only sees one side of the story, PETA spokesperson.
I'm not sure just yet what will come of this, but if it gets out of hand, I'll take the post down!
As all great athletes, celebs, politicians, reality television people and Real Housewives do...
Michael Vick wrote a book.
Just a brief background: Michael Vick is was an outstanding quarterback. He was a star at Virginia Tech then went on to play QB for the Atlanta Falcons for six seasons.
Then dog shit hit the fan.
Vick plead guilty in court to directly participating in dog fights, overseeing gambling on the fights, financially supporting the operation of executing dogs that did not perform well in the pit bull fighting ring, along with operating an interstate dog fighting venture known as the "Bad Newz Kennels."
Dang, I saw Bad Newz Kennels just had a Groupon for a 3 night dog stay.
Whew, glad I decided to skip that daily deal, General would have been scared to death...
So any who, Vick did 18 months in prison and 2 months house arrest.
He then was allowed back in the NFL and signed with the Eagles.
I just want you to have all of the facts before I open the floor blog for debate.
Since prison, Vick has:
Vick and his new book, published by a Christian publishing company mind you, was set to go on a book tour in just a handful of locations. It was cancelled.
It was cancelled because of numerous death threats, but not just threats to Vick.
Threats to HIS TWO DAUGHTERS
What the heck did they do?
I am a dog lover. I do social media and all the graphic design for a very large animal rescue organization here in Dallas, so I am heavily involved in animal rescue.
I. just. love. dogs.
My Notes to Add:
1. I'm so thankful to hear that many of Vick's dogs that were rescued are now thriving, loved so deeply by their new families!
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Meet Jonny Justice
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Jonny participated in a program called Paws for Tales, where dogs provide a non judgmental audience for children struggling with reading.
That is so sweet I now have a toothache.
2. The Virginia property where Vick's dog fighting ring operated has been purchased and will be turned into a sanctuary for abused dogs.
3. Here is a note from the Humane Society of the United States, "Just as former drug addicts are able to reach people struggling with addiction, former dogfighters are some of the most effective voices against the crime. We realized the potential that Vick has to reach at-risk youth and pull them out of the quicksand of animal fighting."
4. What Vick did was horrific, disgusting, vile, pathetic and just downright sad.
5. How many animals has Vick now indirectly/directly saved with his speeches to youth against dog fighting, the 30 new laws passed to crack down on dog fighting and the drastic increase in dog fighting raids since Vick's conviction.
6. The worst problems still lie in urban areas. Who better to go into those urban areas than Vick and say, "Hey, I lost everything I had because of this cruelty and stupidity I took part in. I was a superstar with endless potential. I was rich. Now I'm bankrupt, endangered my family, my two daughters and although I am trying to rehabilitate, forgiveness is really never going to come from the public."
I dunno if he says that, but if I were his speech writer that is what I would say.
So I'm not saying that I forgive him or do not forgive him.
I am just saying I appreciate the changes that have been put in place to project man's best friend from cruelty and abuse since the scandal broke.
So now your turn... go.... (Please don't hate me for writing this)
