Michael Vick, Animal Welfare Advocate? Yeah, Right

Michael Vick is getting a lot of positive press lately, and it’s not related to football. No, the convicted owner of a dog-fighting ring who killed poor-performing dogs with his own bare hands is now…are you ready…advocating on behalf of animal welfare!

Tomorrow Vick will go to Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania, and ask the Democratic caucus to support House Bill 1516, referred to as the “Hot Car Law.” The law would give police officers the authority to smash car windows to save pets locked inside on hot or cold days.

Wait, what? Why is someone who once killed dogs advocating for a law that could save their lives?

“I know that I’m an unlikely advocate. I was part of the problem,” Vick said today in a news release. “Now my perspective can help reach people that activists can’t reach. I can help others become agents of change.”

Kids from Harrisburg schools will join Vick tomorrow “to teach children the political process,” according to the news release.

Are you getting the warm fuzzies? Neither am I.

In response to the outrage when he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in August, Vick told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that while he can’t change his own past, “the only thing I can do is try to inform the masses of kids to not go down the same road I went down.”

If Vick’s support helps get animal welfare laws passed and in the process shows children how to make positive changes, that is a good thing.

So why am I still not getting the warm fuzzies?

Probably because I have a feeling Vick’s “advocacy” is little more than a publicity ploy to help remove some of the tarnish from his image. And what better way to do it than with laws saving animals’ lives?

What I find most perplexing is how someone who could personally hang, electrocute and smash dogs’ heads to the ground (yeah, yeah, yeah, he was convicted and served prison time for it, but the fact remains that he had no problem murdering dogs) could have such a complete turnaround. I realize that people can and do change, but this drastically?

It doesn’t seem possible — or genuine.

What do you think? Does Michael Vick truly care about animals, or is he advocating for the publicity? Please leave a comment below.

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