Ninety-year old Sen. Robert Byrd stood on the senate floor shaking with anger, screaming an outrage felt by many Americans, as he choked with emotion, "Barbaric...Barbaric...Barbaric..." Vick Michael Vick, the celebrated Atlanta Falcon Quarterback and multi-millionaire sports celebrity, had been indicted for being involved in dogfighting.
Byrd's words about the incident were appropriate..."Barbaric..."
When I told my wife about the episode, she nearly cried. We're both dog lovers and don't understand how anyone can take pleasure from hurting these or any other animals.
As the news crews latched on to the outrage, the evidence against Vick grew.
Not only was he "involved", but he was breeding dozens of dogs on his property using "Rape Stands" - a contraption that immobilizes the female for mating because the best fighting females are so mean that they'll bite the males.
Cajun-style dog fight pits were found on his estate in Virginia.
Barbaric...
Later that day, an e-mail notice dropped in my wife's inbox reminding her that she had sponsored several dogs last year at Best Friends - a beautiful organization in Utah that takes in stray, injured or neglected animals.
She sponsored five more this year, each with a moving story.
Shortly, an e-card arrived in my inbox from Best Friends saying that Charlsa had sponsored "Apple Butter" in my name (because she knows I love apple butter).
I smiled, thinking about my two dogs at home: Sophie and LuAnn.
LuAnn had come to us when a friend found the frightened six-week old puppy fending for herself in a church parking lot. She became our lover dog - respectful, sweet and playful...and a glutton for attention.
After six months, reluctantly, we realized this puppy needed a playmate. The neighbor brought six-month old retriever-mixed breed Sophie by the house to play with LuAnn and, of course, they fell in love with each other running, rolling and rumbling in the front yard.
When it was time to leave, she told us that she had six dogs and Sophie was going to the animal shelter because she was more than she could handle.
That's how she came to live with us. We didn't really want another dog. How could we love her as much as LuAnn?
But loving each other and never biting, they played so hard and made so much noise that visitors thought they were fighting. They just knew how to have a good time.
Sophie especially loved life. In addition to playing, she loved getting on the furniture - especially when we weren't looking - and terrorizing the cat.
When we returned home down our long drive, she and LuAnn would stop growling and playing when they saw our truck, and Sophie would search desperately for a stick. She always met an open car door by presenting a stick (or stick-like-substance) in big jaws for us, while wagging her big, bushy tail so hard that her whole body swayed with the momentum.
For three years, they were never separated. If they had to spend the night at the vet's for shots, checkups or boarding, they slept in the same dog run because they couldn't be apart.
Slowly, Sophie wagged her way into our hearts...like dogs tend to do.
(I've noticed over the years that dog lovers are just better people. It's hard to hold anger and resentment against other humans when you love a dog. There's something about letting the creature inside our protective wall that softens us.)
So, when a neighbor called last night to tell us that Sophie was laying on the road, we panicked fearing the worst. We flew to the road and there she lay, just below the crest of hill, all life gone from the sweet girl who loved life so much.
Our hearts exploded with the loss of a beautiful friend who knew nothing but joy.
Back to Michael Vick
The outrage is justified.
Jail time is warranted.
Suspension from the NFL a no-brainer.
But a better sentence would be working at Best Friends supporting and nurturing those animals in need of his love - any love - until he opens his heart to one of those dogs.
When that happens, a day will come when he no longer feels that soft-wet nuzzle on his arm, and his heart will ache with a pain like he's never felt before.
Then, he'll understand the wrongs he's committed.
Go to Best Friends now to learn how you can sponsor a dog (cat, horse or other animal) for just a few cents a month? I would be so happy if you would sponsor a dog in honor of Sophie...
