The
Football Player and the Pit Bull
"A
star falls, breaking walls of depravity, immorality, inhumanity.
From the ashes the son rises, conquering those who objectify
him; his true champions hail and shield him...they, the
Rescue Angels."—Tammy Grimes, The
Dog Warrior, 2007
Dogfighting
has no defense even in a society that has its share
of humane issues still unacknowledged, unaddressed. In a
society where animals dying daily in shelters goes ignored
except by those valiant rescuers who kill themselves saving
the few they can, cry for those they cannot. Where groups
must fight for the right of dogs to live free of
chains, the right to be loved; the right to be
part of a family, a pack.
Dogs
bred for fighting are not only chained, often short-chained
on thick logging chains, but the focus is on making
them killers, making them fight to the death.
We
read that people in Michael Vick's town are puzzled, because
he never showed interest in dogs as a child. This very admission
lends further credence to the theory that dogs are
just property to dogfighters, merely a commodity with which
to trade, sell, bet, kill.
Any
claims of 'loving' these dogs cannot be taken seriously
by anyone who knows the meaning of the word 'love'.
'Love',
as described by Eddie
Lama in The Witness, is 'wanting the best' for
your significant other, friend, companion animal, etc. Dog
fighters 'want the best' for their dogs no more than spouse
and child abusers 'want the best' for their family as they
rain fists upon broken bodies.
This
is not love; will never be love.
This
is our message to dogfighters: Get out of the
dogfighting business, get out of your peer group, get out
of your neighborhood if you have to. Get into counseling,
therapy, a job; do not take ONE more innocent dog's life,
for their blood is yours. America is waking up to the dangers
of chaining dogs, and the dangers of those who harm dogs
in the name of sport.
We
await a day when all dogfighters will be caught and convicted
of this cruelest of all animal crimes, a day when society's
conscience is raised enough to make all thoughts of such
a sport a thing of the past.—Tammy Grimes
and Dogs Deserve Better
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