Michael Vick's Pit Bulls Get Second Chance

Spared euthanasia, abused dogs succeed in foster care, rehab
By Dustin Lushing,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 7, 2008 3:32 PM CDT
Michael Vick's Pit Bulls Get Second Chance
In this May 22, 2007 file photo, one of three dogs removed from a house owned by Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is shown in Chesapeake, Va.    (AP Photo)

The pit bulls rescued from disgraced NFL star Michael Vick's underground fighting ring are getting a rare second chance, the Washington Post reports. A federal judge ordered each dog evaluated individually and fined Vick $1 million for their care. Now, 25 of the 49 dogs have been adopted into foster homes while the rest are being rehabilitated at animal sanctuaries.

Animal experts renamed the dogs or gave them names for the first time. Some now go by Iggy, Zippy, Hazel, and Squeaker. Leo now wears a clown collar and visits cancer patients as a certified therapy dog, and Gracie gets along fine with her owner's cats. "Their main problem was not aggressiveness but isolation," said an expert. (More Michael Vick stories.)

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