Celebrity Justice
Michael Vick Case Goes to the Dogs

TMZ has obtained court documents filed by representatives for eleven animal rights groups who want Vick's dogs to have a say in the sentencing of Michael Vick. Woof!

Attorneys for the group filed a brief they say is on behalf of the dogs "which were brutally slaughtered by Vick and his cohorts." The brief, which outlines the horrifying abuse the dogs endured while involved in dog fighting, requests that the proceeds of any fines paid by Vick go to provide care and rehabilitation for the canine victims. It also asks that any fines paid by Vick go toward establishing a no-kill shelter or sanctuary to care for abused dogs, and to fund a public awareness program designed to educate the public on the "abhorrent nature of dog fighting."

The dogs also ask that Vick be sentenced to nearly six years in jail.

Reader Comments

(Page 6 of 6) Previous 15 Comments

76. And as for all you people who think Vick is a "HERO".......what would you do if one of the dogs he trained to kill attacked your child? Or a family member? Someone you loved? What would you do? You'd take his ass to court and sue!!!!! Right? Those dogs only do what they're trained to do and as the owner, he should be punished to the fullest extent of the law!!!

Posted at 4:23AM on Sep 21st 2007 by Evette

77. i'm so sick of all this!!! let him pay his fines serve a little time then you all shut the he** up. i could give you a list you wouldn't belive of famous people who go to these and place bet's. all this is simply because he's a young, black and good quarterback and yall can't stand it. no he shouldn't have been invovled he knew better, we all have to learn from our mistakes. give this a rest and pick on someone else. i wouldn't give the human society the last penny i've got just because of all this crap.

Posted at 11:59AM on Sep 21st 2007 by fed up w/ human society bs

78. You know it never surprises me who the real RACIEST are, The person that wrote about keeping the black man down, Are you serious?? Lets just say a few words OJ,SNOOP, diddy, and all those other gross rappers, How many crimes did they committ and get away with??? If you want to say that black men are being killed in IRAQ, again are you kidding, last time I checked you had to joint the military, SO that is just stupid, When you can make an idiol out of these people you should ask yourself why aren't they helping the poor black communities??? Oh Yeah Diddy hosts a party and has his pool filled with champane,,,Just think how many sneakers that could have bought his poor black folks. You are stupid and need to stop using your black thing as a cructh to do and act the way you do, Killing dogs, That is right up there with beating your women having 17 kids and not paying for any of them, Look to your heros and see what they will do for you, .... Last time I checked DARFOR seemed to be having some major problems black killing black so how are you going to blame us for that behavior??? Killing is wrong, rapping is wrong, it don't matter what color you are. Stop blaming sick bad behavior on the excuse as being BLACK,,,,, Seems to be alot of rich brothers and sisters out there start hitting them up for some answers to why stupid people act stupid

Posted at 2:09PM on Sep 21st 2007 by Love of animals

79. I'm tired of people always trotting out the homeless to counter ANY contribution that we might make to animal welfare. How many of you who are SO worried about the homeless have contributed time or money to as shelter. NONEEEEEEEEE. Vick owes these animals. Vick owes US. Why should I pay for much needed animal control when Vick should be fined, imprisoned, and then forced to work for the Humane Society. We love sports and Vick is one of many who give sports a bad name. It sickens me that we have to pay a fortune for tickets to a game just to pay Vick a fortune!

Posted at 2:54PM on Sep 21st 2007 by Linda

80. This guy is a very public and popular icon. I believe it's his responsibility to set high morals standards. Our youth and athletic enthusiasts look up to him. Is his example of animal abuse saying that we as a nation allow this type of cruelty? Does this mean that we allow rich and famous people to engage in activities that are shady and immoral? We have laws against this type of entertainment. We have laws that protect animals. If you are religious, then consider the laws of God.
I believe that all animal life serves a higher purpose. All animals - including Man, feel pain and depression as well as joy and happiness. If you feel that this guy needs to be left alone, then you ought to go live in a country or planet that supports your view. I think he needs to be severe punished and give back to the community of canines. The rest of the world is watching. It's no wonder non-Americans hate us so much!

Posted at 4:49PM on Sep 22nd 2007 by Pit Bull lover

81. This crap really pisses me off about these animal rights groups, they are like a cult. I am the owner of 4 dogs, I will will tell you this. No it wasn't right on what he did or was involved in, but get over it. I live in Florida and hear on the news or in the paper everyday how another pitbull attacked an innocent child or an adult, but those owners don't go to prison or even jail. Pit bulls shouldn't be allowed to live because all they do is attack and hurt if not kill people and I don't care what pitbull owners say, they are a very vicious animal. If these activist want to worry about things in life they should start with the kids in our world, the preditors that go after them, the drug dealers that mess them up. What about the crime (What group is going to bat for them). But lets face it, these activist want to worry about things that have to do with this because of who this man is, not because he screwed up in life, we all do, If you want to protest, protest about something more important then some pitbull thats a killer when there born.

Posted at 8:32PM on Sep 22nd 2007 by PB in Florida

82. This issue may be accomadated as "minor" to the eyes of people who have not surpassed the barrier of today's malicious media, but i would like to let all of you know, this issue does in fact, have a signifigant impact on today's community. Michael Vick participated in drowning and brutally slaughtering the canine's that did not have sucess against their components. He ran a ring of gambling for the lives of dog's and imported hundreds for the purpose. Tell me, would today's majority of society accuse a young adolescent for defending itself against harm? No, because a child doesn't know any better and it's behavior i incorperated through it's surroundings and parentals. Now why is it that this same decision is inferior and unsuitable? This animal has been raised through history to bring down up to 1000 lb. bulls. Its behavior patterns are highly malleable and i unfortunately find it highly amusing that many look upon "pit-bulls" with horror and shock saying they alone are just violent dogs all around.Pit-Bulls are absorbing all the blame for their actions due to the irresponsibility of their owners. Cases of young children that are victims, are not in fact attcked because their children but because of their size, no im not excusing the fact that this act is highly undesireable, but stating a matter of scientific proof that they arent going for children because theyre "baby killers". America. Open your eyes. Do you realize, recently, that the dog of all dogs, that heart warming canine known as the "Labrador Retreiver" actually mauled a woman so badly that she had to have the first facial faceplant in the entire world? Pit bulls can teach the world about profiling. Its no different than clutching your bag tighter to you because a man walks by, and not just any man , but a black man. Or the fact that, our goverment is still not equal. I am not middle eastern which unfortunately, much of society views as "terrorists" and i have still, each time walking through the airports been selectd for "voluntary" screening without volunteering. but all the caucasians walk forward. But having nothing to hide i let them search and move forward.

Posted at 12:53AM on Sep 26th 2007 by jackie O

83. Does anyone remember Jeffrey Dalmer???? He started out abusing and killing animals!

As an avid animal lover, I personally would like to have 2 live wires and stick them to his scrotal region and leave them there until he actually realizes how it feels! I was extremely
shocked to think that someone who actually has a gift (apparently playing football) would realize how lucky he is to have such an easy job and make tonnes of $$. I hope he loses everything he has worked for........and ends up punished for this a very long time. He seems to think that life is not a big deal. We'll see Michael Vick. Does he every wonder how he would feel if some stranger decided to murder or hurt a member of his family??

Posted at 6:45PM on Sep 27th 2007 by Ally

84. vick supporters are disgusting.your comments were eloquent & intelligent..........you sound like a compassionate human being.......I feel exactly as you,,,my life parallels yours somewhat.................as for "get it right"...........she is a hypocrite..& a boldfaced liar................she states that she has more important issues to deal with than caring about someone involved with dogfighting....................yet she has taken the time to log onto this blogsite ,read & comment on he dumb comments on both sides................now she has included herself as a dumb commentee........she is eloquent in her stupidity........comment # 30 exemplifies, proves & confirms this

Posted at 11:06PM on Sep 26th 2007 by joan

85. YES HE SHOULD BE IN JAIL. I DONT KNOW HOW IT WILL COME OUT OR HOW MUCH TIME, BUT A WOMAN JUST GOT KILLED BY THOSE IDIOT DEVIL DOGS. THATS ALL YOU HEAR ABOUT, IM A NICE FAMILY WOMAN FROM MICHIGAN, AND I HAVE A SWEET DOG WHOS IS VERY FRIENDLY, I CANT IMAGINE THE DARK HEART OF PEOPLE WHO FIGHT DOGS AND KEEP DOGS PENNED UP WITHOUT FOOD AND BREED THEM TO KILL. JUST GOES TO SHOW PEOPLE WHO LIVE BAD ARE BAD AND DO ONLY BAD AND ARE USED TO IT AND DONT SEE THE PROBLEM. YOU HAVE TO STEP AWAY AND CLEAN YOURSELF UP TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WRONG IS.

Posted at 5:33PM on Oct 5th 2007 by michmom

86. This is how I see it. People should invest their time and energy into something else, like protesting for something that really matters "Like ending the war or maybe even getting health care for everyone. I think that these small organizations were just waiting for some big named celebrity to screw up so they can crucify him and parade the cross all over the US. Michael Vick fell into this and because he's an african american and he's FILTHY RICH he became PETA's poster child, geesh I wonder if it was someone else like Tom Brady or even Petyton Manning if the backlash would have been the same .....mmmm... And how come Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and all these organizations for drunk drivers did not come out of their holes when Lindsey Lohan was arrested for the 100th time for driving under the influence. Oh let's put her into rehab, oh let's do this and that, But I bet if it was an african american celeb everyone and their mother would be holding signs and protesting. finally on Vick hetting busted for smoking da Grass, ummm... what else do you expect him to do ? he's not allowed to play footbal so what else is there left to do? Pass da dutchie on da left hand side ..ookie

Posted at 2:17PM on Oct 5th 2007 by dabigdrew

87. To the idiot who says leave vick alone, u r a complete moron with no heart or respect for living thing...yeah they are dogs but they bleed just as humans do and feel pain just as humans do Vick should be sentenced to AT least 6 years in jail if not longer, to show to the public that what he did is horrible and will NOT go without punishment, some1 should do to him what he did to those defensless animals he deserves that at the least THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH DISCRIMINATION THIS IS ABOUT AN EVIL MALITIOUS PERSON WHO NEEDS TO PAY EXTENSIVELY FOR HIS CRIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And as for them being vicious because they are pitbulls is a complete crock I have 2 and they are the sweetest most loyal dogs i have ever owned, get a clue loser

Posted at 5:02PM on Oct 5th 2007 by animal lover

88. It wasn't so long ago that Blacks were not considered human by the Catholic church - and it was a "culthural thang" to lynch Blacks. So why are blacks defending cruelty against another defenseless, no legal rights, and abused species as being all right? If anything I'd expect Black people to be a tad bit more empathetic or humane than most other ethnic groups since they are constantly complaining about all the suffering and abuse they are given.

MLK said: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consciencious stupidity."...He also said " Never forget everything Hitler did in Germany was legal."

And my momma said : "Two wrongs don't make a right". Soooo, if you condone abusing animals, then you condone any other abuse. Idiots.

Posted at 3:24AM on Oct 12th 2007 by Georgia

89. Dear TMZ readers,

The fact that Vick doesn't feel that he was doing anything wrong is the real problem. As a pet owner you are responsible for your pets well being, and clearly he didn't take on those responsibilities. He broke the law in several different ways and then denied knowing anything about it. The crimes were particularly cruel because they invovled the tormenting and killing of animals who cannot comprehend what is going on. Read the Indictment and see if your stomach doesn't turn.

Posted at 2:04AM on Dec 26th 2007 by Jedi

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