What Makes Michael Vick So Bad?

I've heard people lately admit that they don't know what Michael Vick actually did but they know he "hurt some dogs" For those who don't know exactly what he did or why he is fast becoming the most hated man in the US, here is a timeline that I came across:

Timeline

• April 25, 2007: Police and animal-control seize 66 dogs (53 pit bulls and dogfighting evidence from property owned by Michael Vick. Dogs are distributed to six different animal control shelters throughout Virginia.
• June 7, 2007: U.S. attorney's office, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Virginia State Police present warrant and search Vick's property.

• July 2, 2007: Federal authorities file court documents alleging that a dogfighting venture had operated at the Vick property for the past five years. The U.S. attorney's office files papers seeking federal government ownership of 53 pit bulls that were among the dogs seized from Vick's property.

• July 6, 2007: Federal authorities now on the case, evidence of dogfighting in the form of animal remains is discovered

• July 17, 2007: Vick and three other men are indicted by a federal grand jury on dog fighting charges for activity over a six year period.

• July 19, 2007: Nike suspends the release of a new Vick footwear line, but allows current Vick products to remain for sale.
• July 24, 2007: Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank holds a news conference and calls Vick’s behavior "horrific."
• July 26, 2007: Vick pleads not guilty in federal court in Richmond, VA. (translation: He lied)

• July 27, 2007: Reebok, Upper Deck Trading Cards and Rawlings Sports Goods ends relationship with Vick.

  Entering month four of confinement for dogs.

• July 30, 2007: Co-defendant Tony Taylor pleads guilty to dog-fighting charges and agrees to cooperate with the prosecution. BAD RAP submits rescue proposal to federal prosecutor, requesting permission to evaluate dogs for placement potential.

• Aug. 1, 2007: Surry County Animal Control Officer James Smith about the Vick dogs,“They are in good shape,” he said. “They are not violent to humans.”

• Aug. 17, 2007: Vick's other two co-defendants, Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips, plead guilty to dogfighting charges and admit to killing dogs "that did not perform well" by hanging and drowning.

• Aug. 20, 2007: Vick's lawyer, Billy Martin, says that Vick agrees to plead guilty to dogfighting charges. BAD RAP and the ASPCA agree to partner to evaluate the dogs.

• Aug. 23, 2007: Vick signs plea agreement and statement of facts admitting to conspiracy in a dogfighting ring and helping kill pit bulls. Dogs enter fourth month of confinement. PETA calls custody dogs "ticking time bombs" and advocates for euthanasia without evaluation.

• Aug. 28, 2007: ASPCA announces plans to work with BAD RAP to evaluate Vick dogs. Entering month five of confinement for dogs. All groups begin a 'gag order' to prevent news leaks or publicity that might compromise the legal proceedings.

• Sept. 3, 2007: BAD RAP officers Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds and colleague Justin Phillips from SPCA Monterey County leave CA to join Vick dog evaluation team in VA. Evaluations commence on Sept. 4-6.

• Sept. 9, 2007: BAD RAP submits evaluation results and recommendations for disposition of individual dogs to foster care homes and to sanctuary care.

• Sept. 25, 2007: Entering month six of confinement for dogs.

• Oct. 1, 2007: Motion filed in Virginia U. S. District Court to move all but one dog to foster families or sanctuaries. Report reveal that only one dog displayed aggression towards humans and numerous dogs presented "no threat to other animals.'

• Oct. 16, 2007: Professor and animal law expert Rebecca Huss of Valparaiso University School of Law named guardian of dogs in Vick case.

• Oct. 17-20, 2007: BAD RAP officer Tim Racer returns to VA to accompany Guardian/Special Master Rebecca Huss in conducting Round Two of dog evaluations. BAD RAP works with Huss to arrange interim foster care of 16 foster/observation status dogs so they can receive relief from shelter confinement. USDA approves interim transfer.

• Oct. 21, 2007: Three dogs quietly leave the shelters with east coast rescue groups. BAD RAP representatives begin cross-country road trip to bring 13 dogs to new lives with three different organizations on the west coast.

• Oct. 23, 2007: 13 dogs arrive in Oakland, CA and move into NorCA foster homes.

• Nov. 6, 2007: BAD RAP representative Nicole Rattay relocates to VA to begin six weeks of daily exercise and care for the dogs still remaining in shelter. Nicole's daily updates and observations of sheltered dogs offer invaluable insights that allow Special Master Huss to create placement matches with approved rescue organizations.

• Nov. 12, 2007: Deadline closes for rescues to submit applications.

• Nov 20, 2007: U. S. District Court orders Michael Vick to pay $928,073.00 as "restitution" for expenses incurred in caring for "the victim pit bulls."

• Dec. 3, 2007: Special Master Guardian Rebecca Huss submits recommendations for disposition of Vick dogs to Judge Hudson in Special Master Report Eight groups named to be permanent caretakers of Vick dogs.

• Dec. 10, 2007: Michael Vick is sentenced to 23 months in jail in a federal courthouse in Richmond, VA. BAD RAP reps Tim Racer and Nicole Rattay attend sentencing.

• Dec. 17, 2007: USDA signs 10 dogs over to BAD RAP's permanent custody, roughly eight months after being seized from Bad Newz Kennels. Dogs transition into family settings in preparation for adoption into qualified homes.

• Jan. 25, 2008: The final defendant (Owen Allen) sentenced, America gets its first glimpse of the dogs that were given a second chance.

You can order "The Lost Dogs" at http://www.thelostdogsbook.com. This book will show you exactly who Michael Vick is:

As [the little red dog] lay on the ground fighting for air, Quanis Phillips grabbed its front legs and Michael Vick grabbed its hind legs. They swung the dog over their head like a jump rope then slammed it to the ground. The first impact didn't kill it. So Phillips and Vick slammed it again. The two men kept at it, alternating back and forth, pounding the creature against the ground, until at last, the little red dog was dead.

One of the men comes towards the dogs. He grabs the one that had been in the rectangle with the little red dog and fastens the old nylon leash around her neck. He picks her up and carries her over to two trees that stand next to the two-story shed. The other man ties the leash to a two-by-four that has been nailed between the trees. Once the leash is secure, the first man boosts the dog a little further up and lets go.

For a moment, the dog lifts upward, her back arching and her legs paddling the air. Her head spins as she looks for the ground. Then her upward momentum peters out and she begins downward. Forty pounds of muscle and bone accelerate toward the earth. The rope pulls. The dog's head jolts to the side and with a single yelp she is dead.

The other dogs in the yard spring to their feet; the ones that had been brought up from the clearing that morning, the ones that lived in the kennel, the ones inside the shed. They bark and howl and run back and forth, pulling at their leashes or bouncing off the walls of their enclosures.

Even as they do, the other man approaches a second dog, one that had been injured and that now lies meekly on the ground. He carries him to the bucket and then holds his back legs in the air. One of the other men takes the dog by the scruff of the neck and plunges his head into the water. The dog shakes and flails, splashing water out of the bucket, but he is unable to shake free and within a few minutes his body goes limp. He's tossed into a wheelbarrow.

In all, four dogs get the bucket and four the leash, although not all of them are as lucky as the first dog. Some of them swing from the rope, gasping and shaking, eyes bulging, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths as they slowly strangle. Even when they are finally cut down, they are not quite dead, so they too have their heads stuck in the bucket. - Excerpts Taken from "The Lost Dogs"