Judge Hudson’s pending decision on Michael Vick: Punishment AND counseling???

I’ve written before and will say it again, Michael Vick needs not only the maximum sentence of five years and no more NFL, but also five years of in-depth counseling on humane education. This position is supported by the American Humane Association, among others.

With apologies to Lerner & Loewe in Camelot, “I wonder what the Judge is thinking right now…”

—

American Humane Association Urges Severe Sentence for Michael Vick Appropriate to the Severity and Inhumanity of His Crimes (August 27, 2007)… and also recommends humane education:

Quotes president and CEO Marie Belew Wheatley: “Mr. Vick will be changing more than his uniform as he is held accountable for his crimes. In the public eye, he is also changing from role model to ‘example.’ We can only hope that he will quickly realize how inhumane his actions and attitudes toward animals have been. If he is willing to learn from his mistakes and chart a new, positive course going forward, he can still salvage his life.” [emphasis added]

American Humane’s Statement on Michael Vick (November 19, 2007):

Quotes president and CEO Marie Belew Wheatley: “We believe his crimes merit significant prison time, but we hope that the judge will also impose other appropriate requirements as part of the sentence. These could include constructive, rehabilitative activities such as meaningful community service, humane education and empathy counseling.” [emphasis added]

Humane Education Can Stop Dogs From Suffering (Richmond Times-Dispatch, Nov. 18, 2007):

Quotes Richmond SPCA CEO Robin Starr: “Whether someone who is well into adulthood and has reveled in brutality for years can have an extreme makeover of his personality is a question for psychiatric professionals or a higher power but not for me. One thing I do know, however, is that it will not happen on a football field but only, if at all, in serious counseling sessions.” [emphasis added]

Virginia is for…

…you fill in the blanks. Now it’s puppy mills. But thanks to The HSUS and dozens of shelters up and down the east coast, the Hillsville bust is going to result in hundreds of young animals getting a fair shake at a decent, loving home and life.

As for my girls, my previous baby and my current one are both rescues and I wouldn’t have it any other way unless I adopted directly from a shelter. Poppy, part beagle, part Jack Russell (aka a beagle on speed!), came from FLAG, For the Love of Animals in Goochland, Virginia. Cori, all beagle (part couch potato, part manic bunny-chaser), came from the Animal Resource Foundation on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Cori O’Holleran Bugle, 1/28/2001-

Poppy, 4/1/1990-6/3/2002

If you’re “in a family way,” in other words, you’re looking for a new furry family member, please-please-please visit your community shelter or contact a rescue group. You can find everything from just a dog to a purebred to cats, rabbits and other small mammals. You can befriend a stray, an owner give-up that’s very likely housetrained and socialized, a research animal that’s been saved, an injured or ill animal that needs attentive caregiving, a senior pet whose sole desire is to give and receive love — in short, an animal that’s just right for you and your family, whatever your lifestyle.

Don’t contribute to inhumane treatment of our fellow creatures. Don’t further the greed and profit motives of so-called “breeders” who do nothing more than make dogs reproduce far more often than they do in nature. Know your breeder or adopt from a shelter or rescue — do NOT, repeat, do NOT buy a pet at a retail store. Too many retail dogs likely came from puppy mills, and the easiest way to put those mills out of business is simply not to buy their animals.

Yes, they look cute and adorable and deserve a good life themselves, but when you buy one retail pup that started out at a mill, all you’re doing is allowing the mill to sell yet another animal. DON’T LET THAT HAPPEN!