Friday, January 25, 2008

Jan 25 - Last Defendant Sentenced

Thank you for your patience and your support all these weeks. These
'Vick' dogs are alive today because you imagined it as fiercely as we did.

See the Dogs

(the site may not work in Internet Explorer)

Video Stories from DogTime.com!


Introducing Jonny Justice, a survivor of Bad Newz Kennels...



We are eternally grateful to Mike Gill and the U.S. Attorney Staff, Eastern District of Virginia, for saying "Yes"... to Special Guardian Master Rebecca Huss for losing sleep over the dogs...to the staff of the USDA Office of Inspector General for working so hard to get the dogs to better situations....to the ASPCA for believing in the rights of individuals....to all the rescue groups who brought them home,

...and to Rose - who taught us how to do it better the next time.

Donna, Tim, Nicole, Steve
& the rest of BAD RAP

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yet again, Bad Rap, you amaze me and all of us (dogs included) are forever grateful. You continue to remind me that there really *are* good people in this world who do things for the right reasons and with the most genuine of intentions. The fact that you've taken this dogs in and purposefully protected them from the media spotlight shows just how true all of you are. And, Nicole, going to VA for 6 weeks to care for the remaining dogs is yet another demonstration of your greatness.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

No BSL said...

[quote]Evaluating them as individuals[/quote]

That`s it in a nutshell.

No matter what the breed or type of dog.

They`re amazing.

I hope they lose the "moniker" V#$K dogs and just become dogs.

I watched the video of them and I am so happy that they are getting a chance to experience dog stuff.

Here`s hoping that they continue to enjoy a "dogs" life.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful way to start the day!

People need to know that many pit bulls confiscated from fight busts, with just a modicum of time and energy, can become (or already are) social butterflies...even dog social.

I feel this will portend well for other confiscated dogs. They deserve a second chance to live life as dogs.

Good job, everyone!

Anonymous said...

That was a wonderful video and you've done such great things for these adorable dogs, thank you so much.

Anonymous said...

This has me crying at my computer this morning. Thank you all so much for what you've done. I have explorer, so can't see the slide shows, but even the "cover" shots tell you so much about the beauties.

Sorry to be ignorant, but who is Rose?

Again, thank you, thank you, thank you.... It's like Bastille Day!
- Jean in Seaside

Phena Phenomenon said...

This is great!

It would be great if you guys could put the video's in flash rather than quicktime. The link takes forever to see the beautiful faces!

Keep on keeping on!!! You are awesome!!

oh, rebecca. said...

You are my favourite people ever right now. Thank you so much for giving these guys a second chance. You and all the other groups that are doing the same, you are the best in the world in my book!

Anonymous said...

Oh, they are BEAUTIFUL! And so happy!

I remember when this story first hit the news I thought to myself how sad it was that no one would probably be able to save these innocent dogs. You guys give me faith in the world again. Thanks so much for posting these photos for us to see.

Jackelyn said...

I have tears of joy.

Thank you BadRap!

No BSL said...

Here`s another link where you can see some videos of the dogs

http://dogtime.com/

Anonymous said...

I am speechless.
To the Bad Rap crew, you are true heros.

Anonymous said...

You guys have done a fantastic job! The stories are great, the videos are great, the site looks great - thanks for all your hard work and effort. Friendly pats and tailwags to you from Kansas and Missouri :-)

~Mel

Unknown said...

Paypal here I come! The videos are quality. You guys make me weep and rage and feel so grateful that someone(s) out there gives a 'beep'.
Lisa

Anonymous said...

I have been following this with you from the beginning, and I'm so grateful to you for sharing it with us all along the way.
There are probably many "silver linings" to this saga, but the main silver lining for me is that Michael Vick will be forever remembered by me as the one who made me care about pit bulls.

Anonymous said...

Donna sure did a fantastic job on the video pieces documenting this fantastic rescue story.

Tim came through as well - on the CNN TV interview.
Here is the direct link to the CNN video

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/01/25/intv.racer.badrap.dogs.cnn?iref=videosearch

Tim you really showed the heart of a Pit Bull going under the stair of the camera and the prodding of questions. I even like the piece as it showed Pit Bulls are just 'another dog' and as individual dogs should be treated that way. You were tenacious in refocusing the conversation and bringing the story back to the Vick-tims, to the dogs potential, the home, family and life of a pit-bull. We applauded you for your closing remarks on remembering the people out there that supported the justice and rescue of these dogs.

Hoping the sun came out for today's training class, and all the 'badrap clan' take a well deserved break --- go curl-up with a pit bull (that's what we do to chill).

All the best from Boris and his family in Texas

Anonymous said...

Great work with the dogs, and I also have to commend, and thank, you for the beautiful presentation of their stories. It's a huge contribution to the movement to rehabilitate the image of our favorite breed, and I can't begin to tell you how much it's appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Did the rescuers have access to any records Vick kept about his dogs? Surely he (or whoever managed his "kennel") kept track of what dogs were breeding, what dogs were fought and where, what dogs were judged ready for torture because they wouldn't fight?

Donna said...

Thanks so much for everyone's support. It always feels good to be able to report good news. We're just sorry that we had to hold it from you for so long (for good reason of course).

We had a limited amount of information about the individual dogs from the kennel, but the dogs themselves - as always - were the ones to tell us everything we needed to know via the evaluations. The testing and follow up care both at home at at the shelters helped us know which dogs could make it in homes and which needed to go to sanctuary.

We will have more information about the process and some of the more interesting stories of working with the federal government, the shelters and the dogs in upcoming blogs. But for now, we just wanted to celebrate the beautiful faces of the survivors. What a year!

Donna said...

Thanks so much for everyone's support. It always feels good to be able to report good news. We're just sorry that we had to hold it from you for so long (for good reason of course).

We had a limited amount of information about the individual dogs from the kennel, but the dogs themselves - as always - were the ones to tell us everything we needed to know via the evaluations. The testing and follow up care both at home at at the shelters helped us know which dogs could make it in homes and which needed to go to sanctuary.

We will have more information about the process and some of the more interesting stories of working with the federal government, the shelters and the dogs in upcoming blogs. But for now, we just wanted to celebrate the beautiful faces of the survivors. What a year!

No BSL said...

I just watched the CNN story.
Boy you handled that reporter well.
You made them sound like just dogs.;)
I was glad to see they didn`t do an intro with a snarling dog on a catch pole.(that`s what we do in Ontario Canada all the time-Same tired old clip from many years ago)

[quote]will be forever remembered by me as the one who made me care about pit bulls.[/quote]

That comment took my breath away!
Let`s hope that many more people feel that way.

It just took owning one little sweet guy to open my eyes,heart and mind.

Anonymous said...

You are fantastic. Thank you all for all the work you do. There is nothing worse than having to fight prejudice and hysteria in any shape and form and what rescuers and responsible owners of Pit Bulls, Rotts, Akitas, Chows and other so called dangerous breeds have to deal with is extremely frustrating.

I cannot thank you enough for giving a chance to dogs who were victims of Michael Vick. While so many had the need to find excuses for his terrible behavior because he is famous, you fought a good fight for the dogs and won.

As a rescuer, dog and animal lover, I really appreciate your hard work. Please keep it up. You have my support in your efforts and the fight against BSL as well.

Leslie said...

Just turned on NPR and was thrilled to hear BADRAP being covered there as well. Tim and Donna, you both sounded fabulous. Great work -- we're slowly changing perceptions and attitudes...
-Leslie from Dogtime.com (Sierra's colleague)

Anonymous said...

I volunteer at my local SPCA, and I always make sure to walk the pit bulls. Most of them are huggers. Some want to play, but most of them use the time out of the kennel to crawl in my lap and hug. It was the Vick case that got me to do that - before this, I was afraid of pit bulls. I guess you never know which way a "ripple effect" will go. :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for putting us on to the NPR piece -- for those who haven't heard it, the feed can be found at:

http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=18447877&m=18447855

Viva Hector - let's put on the Sinatra and pull-out the peanut butter, "el tiempo del partido para el chico y su perro empaca" .... Leslie and Donna style!

We love hearing Tim in the training class as background sound in the piece. (It got Boris up and into a sit,reminding us of why he does so could that he gets complements from folks for sitting so well.)

Keep the exposure going you all,
Boris and family from Texas

Anonymous said...

Boris wanted to hear it again, and helped me find a better link to the NPR story that then has click to the 'listen now'
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18447877

TParkhouse said...

Love all the links - all the POSITIVE press. A continued thanks and kudos to BADRAP - your spirit and love for these dogs has been contagious...just look at it go - I LOVE IT!