Just when you think you’ve seen everything along comes a customizable Michael Vick dog jersey. What more could a dog lover ask for?

The L.A. Times reports that fans can order  the Philadelphia Eagles dog jersey with Vick’s name on the back on the NFLShop.com site.

A New York Daily News reporter successfully purchased the “custom pet jersey,” making it clear that Vick isn’t on the league’s list of words and names shoppers cannot use for customized jerseys.

“Like any other player, [customers] can obtain that name and that jersey if they wish,” league spokesman Greg Aiello told the Daily News. “As far as putting it on the dog product, he’s working with humane societies, working to educate others on this issue, so we don’t see a problem.”

I cannot fathom a dog lover walking around with a Michael Vick jersey. For that matter, I don’t know why anyone would possibly want one. A Michael Vick dog chew toy….maybe.

* Pic courtesy NFLShop.com

Spokesperson John Polis and John Garcia who is heading up the dogs care at Best Friends in Kanab, Utah were interviewed on USA TODAY.

“We feel that in the very near future, Cherry may be ready for foster care,” says John Polis, spokesman for Best Friends.

“When we first got him, he would just splay down on his belly. He had just totally shut down. John had to carry him everywhere in the beginning. He’s doing very well now.”

And Georgia is a star on television and in the publicity arena.

She was on Larry King Live Monday night with Garcia and makes the rounds with him to spread the word about the dogs’ recovery from a life of abuse.

“She had experienced fighting her whole life,” Garcia says. “Now she’s going around meeting people all over with us in places like the Beverly Hills Hilton. We hope that sends a very powerful message. She’s gone from rags to riches. These dogs were the victims. All it has taken is patience.”

Before any Vicktory dog is adopted out they must pass a very difficult canine “good citizen”  test and any potential family is thoroughly scrutinized to make sure it will be an appropriate fit.  Best Friends have worked very hard to rehabilitate these dogs and want to do everything they can to ensure a successful adoption.

* Pic of John Garcia and Georgia courtesy Best Friends

I received a message from one of our Dogster members pertaining to Vick’s new contract with the Eagles.

Many people are outraged by this decision but not sure how to make their voice heard. The message below provides information to help ensure the Eagles will know how the public feels.

Maybe it would put the matter in an easier to comprehend perspective for the general public if we replaced the term “dog fighting” with “pedophilia.” Get it now, sports fans?

If you are as sick as I am about hearing from, reading and listening about Vick, and all the people blogging about Vick, and all the organizations jumping on the Vick bandwagon, please do something useful:

a) Let the corporate partners of the Eagles know that you not only are not going to support the team, you’re also are not going to buy their products & services.

Be sure to copy your messages to the corporate partners, then paste and send to the team through their contact form.

b) I talked to the Eagles’ front office today. They are preparing for “outrage.” Call them at 215-463-2500, a human will take your call during business hours, and transfer you to a line they’ve set up to record you expressing yourself. (Please be civil. The person answering your call and tasked with listening to messages will not be Michael Vick.) I’m listing that as an option, but telling their corporate partners your opinion is going to be much more effective.

Despite if you believe he served his time and should be able to live his life, or that football players aren’t role models,  I still can’t understand why the Eagles would want to associate with the kind of human being that would commit such despicable acts.

Now you have the contacts you need, there’s no excuse to just talk about your outrage and not take action.

It’s official, the Eagles have signed Vick to a two-year contract. I think Kate Woodviolet from the LA Pet Rescue Examiner sums it up best.

Philadelphia Eagles President Joe Banner announced Thursday night that the team has signed disgraced former Atlanta Falcon and admitted dog killer Michael Vick to a two-year contract.

It is unclear how Vick can be eligible to sign a two-year deal if his reinstatement is only conditional at this time. It also calls into question whether Goodell and the NFL, instead of determining Vick’s future based on his conduct during the initial six-week period, were simply waiting to see if any NFL team wanted Vick before committing the league to a full reinstatement.

The Eagles announced the move on the website via the column “On the Inside” written by Dave Spadaro, under the breathless headline “Yes, It’s True! Vick Is An Eagle.” The brief article contains few details on the deal, although Spadaro gushes that the news “certainly is exciting, thrilling, shocking.” Spadaro does not once mention Vick’s conviction, nor the specific crimes to which he pled guilty. Such omissions go far toward explaining why so many people across the nation are still unaware of the extent of Vick’s admitted brutality towards his own dogs, as well as to family pet dogs he and his friends placed in the ring with fighting dogs because, according to a 2008 USDA report, they “thought it was funny to watch the pit bull dogs belonging to [Vick's] Bad Newz Kennels injure or kill the other dogs.”

Also helping to promote widespread misconceptions that Vick only “fought a few dogs” is the fact that throughout his legal odyssey Vick himself has only publicly acknowledged committing “immature acts” and, more recently, “terrible mistakes.” Even today, comments left on the Eagles website by fans who support the Vick signing insist, incorrectly, that Vick only fought dogs, rather reflecting an understanding of the fact that in addition to putting pet dogs in the ring with trained fighters, Vick also both participated in killing and conspired to kill at least thirteen of his own dogs by various means including shooting, hanging, drowning, electrocution and, in one case, viciously slamming the dog’s body to the ground; acts that NFL Commissioner Goodell once characterized as “not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible.” Apparently Goodell’s opinion of killing dogs by various torturous means has changed.

Pictured above is Leo, a former Vick dog, now fully rehabilitated and a certified therapy dog.

* Pic courtesy msnbc.com

Halle is the first Vicktory dog being adopted. Woohoo!

So much for the naysayers proclaiming a pit bull that’s been trained to fight can’t be rehabilitated.

Her life now is totally backwards and opposite in every possible way from her days before as part of Michael Vick’s dogfighting ring. Good for her.

You may remember that six months ago Halle went into foster care with her new mom Traci. Part of the intricate legal hoops with adopting any Vicktory dog is that the dog must first live in a potential new home for six months before being considered for adoption. There are a whole host of other things that have to happen during those six months as well (such as working with a trainer toward Canine Good Citizen certification) but in the end it all came down to waiting out the time. Traci and Halle sailed through the other stuff perfectly.

Halle has come a long way with her confidence, too. Here’s one example. Back when she first went into foster care, the video folks at Best Friends wanted to get some footage of the big day. That didn’t work out, though, because Halle got really nervous around the cameras. A couple weeks ago, however, Traci attended a nearby news conference to talk about pit bulls. This time around, Halle had no problems with the cameras. She let the reporters pet her and everything.

Sometimes that confidence isn’t always a good thing, though. Halle has developed a mischievous streak! Traci says that one of Halle’s new favorite pastimes is to sneak up on her while she’s applying makeup for the day. Halle watches, waits, and then quick as can be, she grabs one of the cosmetics and dashes out the room!

Traci also has another pit bull she adopted from Best Friends, his name is Tacoma. It was because of him that she thought about adopting another pit bull, a friend for Tacoma. After all, everybody needs friends.

Read Traci, Tacoma’s, and Halle’s full story on the Best Friends website. We wish them all the best.

*Halle and Tacoma, pic taken by Traci, courtesy of BF’s.

Dogs are rescued from a St. Louis, Mo., location by Humane Society officials July 8, 2009, part of what federal officials call the largest dog-fighting bust in American history. More than 350 mostly American Pit Bull Terrier dogs were rescued in at least five states.  (Photo: AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Dogs stand chained before being taken away by Humane Society officials in St. Louis, Mo., July 8, 2009. The Humane Society of Missouri says it would welcome help as it shelters about 300 dogs that were seized in raids of dog-fighting operations in Missouri and Illinois. (Photo: AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

How low? How about a new reality TV show starring none other than Michael Vick.

The incarcerated NFL star has talked to producers about launching an unscripted program. The proposed docu-series would follow Vick starting July 20, the day of his scheduled release from federal custody, and show him trying to “make amends for his past.”

Sources said eager producers even visited the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback in prison in the hope of signing him. As a result, there’s a few different parties claiming to have his rights, which is confusing the industry playing field.

Vick is serving a 23-month sentence for dogfighting conspiracy. His attorneys did not return a call for comment, though they told a judge this month at a bankruptcy hearing that Vick has agreed to a “television documentary deal” that will pay him $600,000.

That amount is only the tip of what Vick is asking for, however. He wants a high dollar figure for participation in the show, plus really needs the cash; he reportedly owes millions to creditors.

Another question is which network would be interested in a Vick reality show. Insiders place bets on A&E and Spike TV as likely first stops.

“It sure won’t be Animal Planet,” more than one source quipped.

What do you think about a reality show with Michael Vick? Give me a bark.

* ADOPTABLE: Shiner is looking for a forever home in the Longview, TX area.

I want to thank Shadow for barking to me about a former Michael Vick dog that has undergone an amazing transformation. It’s great to hear about the dogs that were rescued and rehabilitated, once again showing it’s about the owner not the breed.

Daisy Mae, formerly part of a dogfighting operation, is now a therapy dog in Santa Barbara making weekly rounds at Cottage Hospital’s pediatric ward and Villa Riviera retirement home. Gentle and affectionate, the three-year-old cuddles with the elderly and frail, and even allows small children to hold her tight when they are undergoing painful medical procedures.

Her owner Alison Hansen found her in a shelter affiliated with the BAD RAP organization, or Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (badrap.org). The dog was extremely withdrawn and frightened, cowering against the wall.

“Something came over me. I vowed, ‘She can never have a bad day again,’” said Hansen, who admits to originally wanting an athletic dog that she could exercise with. “I had wanted a [Labrador] experience, but what I got was a little sack of potatoes.”

Read more about Daisy Mae’s turnaround and dogfighting on the Santa Barbara Independent. If you’re looking to learn more about the breed stop by the Pit Bull friendly site Bad Rap.

* Pics courtesy PAUL WELLMAN

This a great story about what a lot of love and patience can do to turn around a dog that was used in dogfighting.  Hector was one of Michael Vick’s dogs, he has recently been adopted and is now a certified therapy dog.

Hector,  owned by Andrew Yori of Rochester, was recently certified as a therapy dog by TDI. He is a 4-year-old pit bull who spent the first part of his life as part of Michael Vick’s dog-fighting operation in Virginia. Rescued in 2007, Hector moved to Rochester in June of last year.

Hector still bears scars from his fights, but he has settled happily into his new peaceful life.

“He’s a big goofy dog,” Yori said.

Pit bulls are a very resilient breed.

“Not a lot of dogs could go through what he did and still come out OK,” Yori said.

Hector’s attitude seems to be, “It’s behind me, let’s go forward and have a good time.”

Yori and Hector are just waiting for the completion of some paperwork, then they will start visiting nursing homes. This is a dog that most deemed unadoptable, or not worth saving, but because he was given a chance, he’ll now give back to society by sharing his love with others in need.

Check out BadRap Blog and see some adorable pictures, and I mean adorable, of Hector with Oakland shelter volunteer and NFL player Jarrod Cooper.  In the photo shoot Cooper is holding Hector who basically turns into a big marshmallow.

Kudos to Cooper for volunteering at the Oakland shelter, and for showing what a dog loving NFL player looks like.

*Pic of Yori and Hector courtesy Postbulletin.com

I want to thank Shadow for barking this important information to me.

Raleigh, NC: Candlelight vigil Wednesday 3/4 -
SUPPORT CHANGING DOGFIGHTING LAWS

RALEIGH, North Carolina ─ Organizers of Wednesday’s candlelight vigil hope lawmakers will enact change to guarantee dogs seized from dog-fighting operations will have the opportunity to be individually evaluated, rather than being automatically deemed `dangerous’ and destroyed.

The vigil will be held 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 4 at Bicentennial Mall, 16 W. Jones St., in Raleigh, near the North Carolina General Assembly.

The recent mass euthanasia of 145 dogs ─ including about 75 puppies ─ prompted the candlelight vigil, said Laura Gonzo, one of the organizers. The dogs were seized from Wildside Kennels; a North Carolina dog-fighter’s breeding operation. Concerned citizens and representatives of animal rescue groups from across the state are planning to attend.

“We are so thankful that law enforcement and the courts took the crime of dog-fighting seriously and that it lead to a guilty plea by the dog fighter. But people across North Carolina, as well other parts of the country, expressed outrage because none of the dogs or 75 puppies from the dog fighter’s breeding operation were given any opportunity to be evaluated individually and the dogs were all destroyed. We North Carolina humanitarians are calling on the legislature to act to prevent future tragedies,” Gonzo said.

CONTACTS: Barbara Williamson @ barbara@bestfriends.org

John Polis @ johnp@bestfriends.org

Visit Best Friends website to find out all the details of the event, as well as how to contact your local legislators so you can help.

This post is about attending the candlelight vigil to help support a change in law, not about Wildside Kennels and Ed Faron’s guilt or innocence. Once again, I ask that you respect this and do not leave any comments on this post pertaining to that issue. Thank you for your cooperation.

* The handsome fella is Daunte