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Sports
Aug. 22, 2007
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JOE HAWK: Vick deserves harshest sentence

JOE HAWK
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I have a confession to make, one that I am embarrassed to share: On Sept. 11, 2001, one of the most horrific days in U.S. history, when terrorists turned our pompous belief in national security upside down with hijacked air attacks that killed almost 3,000 Americans, I did not shed a tear. Not one.

And I have yet to in the nearly six years that have passed, although the magnitude of death and the global significance of the tragedy certainly is not lost on me.

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    • Back in May 2006, standing in a cold, clinical veterinarian's examination room with my 19-year-old Shetland sheepdog, Bart Simpson, lying on a counter, a tube inserted into his tiny body to inject a chemical that would send him to eternal rest -- a decision I knew I had to make when he wouldn't eat even a nibble of cooked hot dog or lap up a drop of water -- I cried. Uncontrollably.

    And I do every time I think of him, although I'm trying my best to hold back welling tears as I write this.

    People who know me well know that I love dogs and tolerate people. I acknowledge the latter doesn't say much about me as a member of the human race, but I certainly give St. Roch, the patron saint of dogs, a greyhound's run for his kibble when it comes to our four-legged friends.

    Even the much-maligned pit bull.

    "Dog people," as we frequently are called, come in breeds as different as the animals themselves. Some prefer pound hounds; others spend more than $1,000 for a pedigreed pooch. Some are partial only to beagles or terriers or German shepherds; others mix it up. Some are one-dog owners; then there's people such as myself who push various ordinances to, well ... let's just not go there.

    Late Sunday afternoon, while sitting on my back patio and using my Chuckit ball launcher to effortlessly flick tennis balls across the yard and into the swimming pool where my two golden retrievers, Bailey and Alex, would sprint, hit the decking and then leap into the sun-warmed water to fetch them back to me, I kept thinking about the inevitable trouble Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick faced for his then-alleged participation in a dogfighting operation in Virginia.

    As heinous as the dogfighting aspect was -- and the practice continues in pockets of our country, from stories I've read -- what made me want to retch was the accusation Friday by one of Vick's co-defendants that the suspended quarterback actually took part in the killing of "underperforming" dogs.

    Yes, if a dog didn't fight to his opponent's death, then he often got the sentence, with Vick alleged to have taken part in hanging a number of them. And if they didn't die from that, Vick allegedly helped put their heads in five-gallon buckets of water to drown them.

    Thinking of those suffering dogs while playing with two of my pups -- happily sprinting back and forth, sopping wet with tennis balls in mouth -- I again started to get teary-eyed.

    Pit bulls have never been my breed of choice, mind you. But I've read enough about them -- and know enough about dogs in general -- to understand they are not as mean as portrayed. In fact, like all dogs, they are gentle souls unless beaten into becoming vicious. They are faithful friends, always ready to please while asking for nothing more than food, water, a toy to play with and your legs to lie against when you sleep at night.

    Dogs are God's gift to mankind, I believe -- although I'm sure the counterculture "cat people" will disagree. And I'm OK with that. To tweak an old saying, "Different pet strokes for different pet folks."

    But the "different strokes" mind-set of accepting dogfighting as sport cannot and must not be accepted in a civilized world. It is incomprehensibly sadistic. To that end, I implore the judge who takes Vick's official plea on federal dogfighting charges Monday not to go by the recommended 12- to 18-month prison sentence reportedly pleaded out. Rather, I beg him to give this heartless individual -- who once was quoted as saying that, next to football, "I love animals, I love fishing and I'm a mama's boy" -- the maximum of five years behind bars.

    Take away Michael Vick's life, if only for half a decade, as he took away the lives of creatures born to bring joy, not bred to do harm. Make him pay, if not by electrocution, if not by drowning, then with a seemingly interminable amount of time to think about what he did wrong.

    Make him cry, your honor. Make him cry, just like those of us who have lost a dog have cried.

    In most of our cases it happened the way it should -- naturally, peacefully, because God probably needed a friend to play fetch with.

    Miss you, Bart. Every day.

    Joe Hawk is the Review-Journal's sports editor. He can be reached at 387-2912 or jhawk@reviewjournal.com.



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    Hank wrote on October 02, 2007 02:53 PM: Joe, I called your office on the day you spoke about Vic & left a message & you returned my call. Sorry I was out when you left a message. I will never forget how it inspired me. I pray for Vics soul, but cant think of a word bad enough for a human being like him.

    Loves animals.
    Hank Ohare


    Jamus2u2 wrote on September 22, 2007 07:35 AM: I agree with you Joe. I had to put my dog down that I held in my hands right after she was born. She was 14 and I could not watch her suffer. She was loving, always at the window wagging her tail when I came home. She was part Brittany, but my parakeets could sit on her and preen her. What a delight to watch. To think of what Vick did saddens me for the human race. I hope he gets the maximum penalty allowed by law. That is what he deserves.


    Pete wrote on September 21, 2007 08:09 PM: The fact that you didn't shed one tear on 9-11, and the fact you led this story off with that proves it: Dude your a wacko. I love dogs too but your nuts to feel that much more emotion over a dogs life than a humans.


    HUEY wrote on September 19, 2007 07:46 PM: Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Mt. 7:3


    james w wrote on September 07, 2007 04:40 AM: what vick did is not right and he should be punished dut if you go to mexico they kill dogs for not winning arace and this is country that the usa gives millons of dollars and nobody says nothing where are those animal rights people. also we have president that kills women& chidren.


    Jerry Wayne wrote on September 06, 2007 09:19 AM: First things first, I don't condone dog fighting. I like dogs. But the fact of the matter is I like people more. You put a bunch of dogs out in the wild and when they get hungry, you're nothing but another meal if you look weak enough. These are domesticated animals. The key word being animals. If people would stop worrying about the welfare of canine's and start worrying about the welfare of the youth in America, not only in the suburbs, we wouldn't even be worrying about dog fighting. Get bent Joe Hawk, you're articles have always sucked, and know I know you're an uncaring human unless it comes to your pets who don't judge your intelligence.


    Kathleen Stock wrote on September 05, 2007 10:41 AM: My heart breaks for not only the pit bulls who are forced to fight for their lives for the pleasure of a sick individual(s), but also for the poor "free" animals listed in the want adds every day in newspapers across the nation who are used to "train" the bigger dogs to kill. This amounts to feeding a small dog to a large one. To think a dog would put his life on the line to save a person who thinks so little of the value of an animal's loyalty makes me sick. Michael Vick can thank God that I am not the Judge in his case. I wonder how he would fare in a ring of trained pit bulls with no medical attention afterwards, even though he "tried" to fight.


    Thomas Fields wrote on September 04, 2007 05:09 PM: You and your Dog suck


    M.L. Arthur wrote on September 03, 2007 05:29 AM: Amen...thank you for your wonderful column.


    HDL wrote on September 01, 2007 11:36 PM: Fantastic article Joe!! You have made me a true believer in mankind again by your words. The person(s) who leave nasty comments are the idiots IMO. You can love God and animals also.

    Maybe Mr Ravenell needs to get out his Bible and read it instead of using it as a paperweight.Please read Prov 12:10 and read about Noah and the Ark for starters (LOL)!

    Thank you again! Blessings on you and your family :-)

    HDL


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