This week, Michael Vick, the struggling star quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, admitted that he owns a dog. The revelation comes three years after Vick emerged from a 19-month prison stint for participating in a dog-fighting ring. Vick's disclosure was accidental: He tweeted a photo of his daughter doing homework that included a box of Milk Bones on the table. Vick quickly took down the photo and reposted it with the Milk Bones digitally erased, but the jig was up. In a statement, Vick said that owning a dog was "an opportunity to break the cycle" of violence, and that his pet "is well cared for and loved as a member of our family." However, the fact that a former dog abuser is now responsible for another dog's life was bound to send shivers down the spines of many dog lovers. Is he to be commended for becoming a dog owner again?
No. Vick shouldn't be anywhere near a dog: "You don't have to be a Michael Vick hater to hate the idea of him owning a dog," says Greg Couch at Fox Sports. "That is just scary. And sickening." Remember, Vick was indicted for hanging, drowning, and slamming dogs to the ground. Vick even electrocuted some of his dogs. "He should be able to go on to a normal life, with his daughter studying at the table while he works. But he also should not own a dog."
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