eware the beast Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among god's primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death."

~ ROD SERLING & MICHAEL WILSON ~
The Plannet of the Apes




DOGBITES



The parallels are all too obvious to ignore!

UPDATE ON MICHAEL VICK'S DOGS

Given Reprieve, N.F.L. Star’s Dogs Find Kindness

By JULIET MACUR
Published: February 2, 2008

KANAB, Utah — A quick survey of Georgia, a caramel-colored pit bull mix with cropped ears and soulful brown eyes, offers a road map to a difficult life. Her tongue juts from the left side of her mouth because her jaw, once broken, healed at an awkward angle. Her tail zigzags.
Scars from puncture wounds on her face, legs and torso reveal that she was a fighter. Her misshapen, dangling teats show that she might have been such a successful, vicious competitor that she was forcibly bred, her new handlers suspect, again and again.

But there is one haunting sign that Georgia might have endured the most abuse of any of the 47 surviving pit bulls seized last April from the property of the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in connection with an illegal dogfighting ring.

Georgia has no teeth. All 42 of them were pried from her mouth, most likely to make certain she could not harm male dogs during forced breeding....


....Mr. Vick, once the highest-paid player in the N.F.L., is serving a 23-month sentence in a federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., for bankrolling his Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting operation and helping execute dogs that were not good fighters. Dogs were electrocuted, hanged, drowned, shot or slammed to the ground, according to court records. Two mass graves with the remains of eight pit bulls were found on Mr. Vick’s property in rural Virginia.

Pit bulls seized from illegal fighting operations are usually euthanized after becoming property of the government. The Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recommended that Mr. Vick’s dogs be euthanized, but many animal rescue organizations urged the prosecutors to let the dogs live....

For the entire article, logon to >

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/sports/football/02vickdogs.html?_r=1&oref=slogin


McKenzie Garcia, a caregiver at the Best Friends sanctuary, with Squeaker.


John Garcia, a caregiver at the Best Friends sanctuary, tries to teach abused dogs to trust people.

Photography: Garrett Davis for The New York Times


Official Atlanta Falcons Agleam Chappell / Reuters

Michael Vick has been the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons since 2002,
and has been named to the Pro Bowl three times. He was a first-round draft pick after starring at Virginia Tech.

In the spring of 2007, a search of a property owned by Michael Vick in Surry, Va., turned up 54 pit bulls,
and a later search found graves of other dogs said to have been killed during fights by members of a group called Bad Newz Kennels. On July 18, 2007, Mr. Vick and three other men were indicted on federal felony charges. The indictment charged that Mr. Vick had sponsored illegal dog fighting, gambled on dog fights and permittedacts of cruelty against animals on his property.
FULL ARTICLE @
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/v/michael_vick/index.html?8qa
DOG FIGHTS? 54 DEAD DOGS BURIED IN YOUR BACK YARD?
Cry me a river, TOUGH GUY!
Somebody sure forgot to tell SICK MICK, the PRICK, VICK, big sh(o)it "IT-MAN"(he?),
starting quarterback of the Atlanta FALCONS -- FALCONS!?!?!
More like...CHICKEN-HAWK!

BIG BODY, NO BRAIN, NO GUTTS -
Send him out on the field WITHOUT his FACE GUARD or HELMET. This QUARTER-BACK ain't even a QUARTER-MAN. How would you like to look like this, pretty boy? >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Let's FINISH this STARTING QUARTER-MAN OFF!!! You can take some boyz outta da hood but you can't get the hood outa da ghetto(...or something like that).

Rob Rogers
United Feature Syndicate



Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

By JULIET MACUR
Published: December 11, 2007

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 10 — Michael Vick, the former Atlanta Falcons star who has traded his No. 7 jersey for a black-and-white-striped jail uniform, stood expressionless in a federal courtroom Monday and apologized to the court and his family for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. But for the judge about to decide Vick’s fate, those words were not enough.

“I think you need to apologize once again to the millions of people who look up to you,” United States District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson said.

“Yes, sir,” Vick answered.

Hudson then sentenced Vick to 23 months in prison, more than Vick’s co-defendants in the case — and also more than the 12 to 18 months prosecutors originally suggested, as part of Vick’s plea agreement.

click on image above for full article

GUILLERMO VARGAS
HABACUC

In the 2007, the 'artist' Guillermo Vargas Habacuc, took a stray
dog off the street, tied him to a rope in an art gallery, starving him to death.
For several days, the 'artist' and the visitors of the exhibition
watched emotionless the shameful 'masterpiece' of the dog's agony,
until it eventually died.

Does this look like art to you?

But this is not all ... the prestigious Visual Arts Biennial of the Central
American Isthmus decided that the 'installation' was actually art, so that
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc has been invited to repeat his cruel action
for the biennial of 2008.

TO PETITION AGAINST THIS ENCORE PERFORMANCE
Click on the following link : http://www.petitiononline.com/ea6gk/petition-sign.html or http://www.petitiononline.com/13031953/petition.html or just copy it in
your browser to sign a petion to stop him to do it again, then digit the
name Guillermo Vargas Habacuc to find the petition to sign.
Please act NOW!!!
It will only take 1 minute to save the life of an innocent creature.
Please also send this e-mail to as many contacts as you can.
Guillermo Vargas Habacuc

This in not a hoax.
Please see our FAQs for more information on this issue:
http://www.hsus.org/contact_us/humane_society_international.html#Q_dog_artist

The greatest tragedy of this incident is that the artist did not bring
the dog to the state that you see in the photographs - that is, in fact,
the sad state of most street animals in the developing world.

Because Nicaragua does not have animal cruelty laws, there can be no
prosecution of the artist or the venue.

However, it's an opportunity to highlight the proactive work we do with
street dogs around the world, which we hope will prevent the
circumstances that allow such an event to occur in the first place.

Please see here for more information:
http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_society_international_hsi/special_programs_projects/hsis_humane_animal_mgmt.html

If we do get updates, we will certainly let supporters know via our
website at hsi.org.
If you have not already, please consider signing up for our free email
alerts at www.hsi.org/join or take action on current petitions at
www.hsi.org/takeaction
Thank you for your concern,
Humane Society International

No excuses for cruelty

Update: San José, May 15, 2008
WSPA believes there is no justification for the mistreatment of animals. The use of an emaciated dog by Guillermo Vargas (Habacuc) during an art exhibition in Nicaragua in 2007 was cruel and contrary to the Five Freedoms that form the basis of animal welfare.

For these reasons, WSPA is opposed to Vargas' participation in the VIth Central American Visual Arts Biennial - and any future exhibitions - and has urged the organizers to withdraw the artist's right to exhibit.

Representatives from Empresarios por el Arte in Costa Rica acknowledged that the organization is opposed to animal cruelty for artistic purposes but also said that they cannot prevent Vargas from participating in the Honduran biennial. In a letter sent to WSPA on April 30, 2008, Mr. Ronald Zürcher – president of the association – confirmed that artists will not use animals during this show.

WSPA is awaiting a response from Mujeres en las Artes to the petition calling for Vargas to be prevented from participating in the exhibition. Neither the Asociación Hondureña Protectora de los Animales y su Hábitat (AHPRA) or any representative of WSPA will act as observer in the biennale.

Furthermore, WSPA is supporting and allocating resources to a project led by a special commission within the Nicaraguan Congress aiming to update and reform the nation's animal protection laws. This will make prosecution and punishment for the mistreatment to animals possible in the future.

ANTONIO PIERCE
Posted: Friday, 28 March 2008
Giants LB Antonio Pierce Pleads GUILTY
to Animal Neglect

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP)  -- A member of the Super Bowl champion New York Giants has pleaded guilty to neglecting his pet pit bulls.

Middle linebacker Antonio Pierce appeared in municipal court in Monroe Township on Thursday and agreed to pay a $1,300 fine.

Authorities say one of the dogs was severely underweight and suffering from a respiratory illness. They also say Pierce and his girlfriend let the dogs run loose and failed to get them rabies shots.

Jocelyn Maldanado also pleaded guilty and was fined $1,300. A lawyer for the couple says the dogs were given away as part of the plea agreement.

The dogs were discovered running around a neighbor's yard in late January, the week before the Giants upset New England to win the Super Bowl.

http://www.1010wins.com/Giants-LB-Pierce-Pleads-Guilty-to-Animal-Neglect/1906304

YET ANOTHER BIG TOUGH HERO


ANTONIO PIERCE
NY "GIANT" ?

More - http://www.pet-abuse.com/profiles/13631/



ANTHONY GONZALEZ - PETER BYRNE
Drug Raid in Yonkers Yields Dogfighting Evidence, 15 Pit Bulls
YONKERS, N.Y. (AP)
Wednesday, 05 March 2008

Anthony Gonzalez, left, Peter Byrne, right

Two scarred pit bulls were found dead Wednesday in trash bags just as police announced the rescue of 15 other dogs and the discovery of a dogfighting pit in a Yonkers basement.

Ken Ross, police chief for the Westchester County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said it was not clear if the dead dogs were connected to the Yonkers find.


Photo from WNBC.com


"We just ripped open a couple of trash bags and found two pit bulls,'' he said. ``One male, one female, decomposed.'' Yonkers Police Commissioner Edward Hartnett said they were found in the Riverdale area of the Bronx.

Wednesday's developments come two months after two crippled pit bulls, bloodied from dogfighting, were found in a trash bin at a Yonkers gas station. One of those dogs died. Despite the offer of rewards, no arrests have been made in that case.

The discovery of the 15 pit bulls in Yonkers came during a Tuesday night raid by narcotics police, said police spokeswoman Lt. Diane Hessler. Besides 6 ounces of cocaine, drug packaging and nearly $16,000 in cash, the police found a 3-foot-high Plexiglas fighting enclosure, treadmills for dogs, chains, a whip and syringes used on the dogs, officials said.

They also heard dogs in a garage, obtained a search warrant and called in the SPCA, Ross said. He said the garage was filthy with excrement, no food or water was available to the 15 dogs and some were scarred and emaciated.
During the raid, two Yonkers men were arrested on drug possession charges, Hessler said. Peter Byrne, 25, and Anthony Gonzalez, 24, were to be arraigned later Wednesday.

Ross said the dogs found Tuesday would be seeing veterinarians Wednesday and Thursday. He said the SPCA was determining whether the evidence would support felony dogfighting charges or just misdemeanor cruelty charges. The felony is punishable by up to four years in prison, the misdemeanor by up to one year.

Over the past year, there have been several signs of dogfighting in the urban areas of lower Westchester, just north of New York City. Last summer, five Rottweilers and a pit bull were rescued in Mount Vernon, not long after an injured pit bull was found lying in its own blood in the street. Also in Mount Vernon, 63 kittens were found in boxes on the doorstep of an animal shelter, likely saved from use as dogfighting bait. In October, six scarred dogs were found in a Yonkers garage.

Ross said Wednesday that publicity from the dogs found in January and from the case of football pro Michael Vick, who was sent to prison for training pit bulls for fighting, had helped raise awareness of the crime. He said narcotics police have been trained to look for signs of dogfighting during their drug investigations "because the two often are linked.''

Photo from WNBC.com


he greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

~ MOHANDAS GANDHI ~

BRENTWOOD MAN ARRESTED
FOR SETTING DOG ON FIRE
1010 WINS
 Posted: Tuesday, 24 July 2007

BRENTWOOD, N.Y. (AP)  --  A man has been charged with cruelty after his dog was tied to a tree and set on fire.

The dog, a pit bull called Maximus by his rescuers, died last week after three surgeries. Authorities said he smelled of gasoline when he was found, severely injured, on July 12.

 

FULL STORY
http://www.1010wins.com/pages/710756.php?contentType=4&contentId=713268
DERICK PHANORD,
22, of Brentwood, Police said, confessed to dousing the dog with clorox, then gasoline,
before tying it to a tree and setting it on fire
because the dog was "unfriendly."*

July 24, 2007, 1:10 PM EDT
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidog0725,0,957883.story
* "Unfriendly" is a euphemism for a dog that was not a good fighter. This is their lot.
They are tied to a tree and left to die, sometimes set on fire as was the case with Mahimus,
sonetimes drowned, sofocated, strangled or hung.
-



he human race had yet to render itself extinct; perhaps the animals were just a dry run. Once you believed animals were insensate things, disposable, of utilitarian vale only, it wasn't hard to move on to people."

~ NICHOLAS CHRISTOPHER ~


3 TEENAGERS ARE SOUGHT AFTER MAN IS SET ON FIRE
6 October 2007
By AL BAKER and COLIN MOYNIHAN

Felix Najera made his home in the streets outside the tenements and churches on East 103rd Street, a tranquil pocket of East Harlem bounded by Lexington Avenue and the high stone overpass of the Metro-North railroad line.

Early yesterday, as he slept outside Bethany Christian Church on an unusually warm October night, Mr. Najera, 49, was set aflame by teenagers, the police said. A witness told investigators that three teenage boys approached Mr. Najera around 12:15 a.m. as he was lying on cardboard just outside the gates of the brown brick and cement church at 133 East 103rd Street. One boy touched a lighter to Mr. Najera’s pants, the police said, and another rifled his pockets.


FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE CLICK ON NY TIMES BANNER

HOMELESS MAN TORCHED IN
EAST HARLEM DIES

Posted: Sunday, 14 October 2007 7:45AM

NEW YORK (1010 WINS)  -- A homeless man torched outside a church where he had bedded down for the night has died from his injuries, police said Saturday.

Felix Najera suffered burns to 40 percent of his body after being set on fire while sleeping in front of Bethany Christian Church in upper Manhattan's East Harlem, police said.

Police had called the torching of the 49-year-old one of the most severe and senseless attacks on a homeless victim in recent memory.
Israel Torres, of the Bronx, was charged with attempted murder and assault in the Oct. 5 attack, police said. He pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Oct. 8 and was held without bail.

Charges against Torres have not been upgraded since Najera's death on Oct. 9, police said.




e can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."

~ IMMANUEL KANT ~

 
COULDA BEEN
'RIDER'
( A Story of Hope & Synchronicity )

Many of us around Washington Square Park, NYC, know the chopper-riding yellow mix,
RIDER, and her biker rescuer / guardian Mark C.

Her story's similar, WITH A HAPPY ENDING, thanks to a tough biker with a tender heart.
Pup Rider was about to be fed to fire
by a gang of hoodlums in Alaska when Mark, who was on a biking excursion, intervened.

 

“You would have to look a long, long time to find a dishonest or cruel [Dog]. And the odds are that, if you did find one, it was made cruel or dishonest by the company it kept with humans. It is no exaggeration to say that nearly every [ Dog ] ... is pure of heart.”

Adapted from ‘One Horse Dies’, New York Times Editorial,
30 January 2007

 




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