Michael Vick Dog News

Alf and Gracie Update
February 18, 2008

Gracie checks in to give us an update on how she and Alf are doing in their foster home. Alf would report himself but he’s just tooooo busy unrolling the garden hose or bulldozing Gracie and the other dogs off the sofa so he can sit next to his foster mom.

“Well, it’s been just a little over six weeks since we moved into our new digs and boy have our lives changed!!!

I don’t really understand everything that’s happened to Alf and me, but up until April of last year we were living in dog pens or at the end of chains attached to car axels buried deep in the ground. Then one day a bunch of people showed up. The people seemed shocked to see us in pens or attached to chains and they kept talking about how bad it must have been for us to live like that. Anyway, they rounded up Alf, me and a lot of other dogs and put us in the back of some trucks and off we went. It was really scary at first….we didn’t understand why we were in the trucks or where we were going. Finally we ended up at some buildings where they took us out of the trucks and put us in indoor dog pens. Most of us were so scared we didn’t utter a peep but some of the other dogs started barking and it was real noisy. The dog pens had clean water, fresh food and some even had comfy dog beds. The buildings protected us from the rain and cold. WOW! All of the sudden life seemed to get better! The people who were taking care of us talked to us, petted us and gave us something that was real tasty. The people called those tasty treats “cookies”. We’d never had “cookies” before and we loved them!

After a while, Alf and I were moved to another building and that meant one more road trip. The people called this building Virginia Beach Animal Control. The people who took care of us at Virginia Beach Animal Control were really nice. They gave us lots of attention and even took us outside to run and play in some really big dog pens. Later on more people showed up. They did what they called “temperament testing”. We didn’t know what that meant but in the end Alf and I were called OK for “foster/observation”.

When we were at Virginia Beach Animal Control, Alf had some trouble adjusting to going in and out of doors. So a really nice lady named Nicole from a group called BAD RAP picked him up and carried him through doorways. Once outside Alf didn’t want to go back in so Nicole would pick him up like a baby and with Alf’s legs wrapped around her neck, Nicole would take him inside. (Don’t tell anybody but Alf is kind of a sissy.)

Next thing we know, some people from a placed called the Richmond Animal League came to visit us. It was really cool! They brought “cookies” and some squeakie toys….which Alf promptly destroyed. They came to see us two or three times and at each visit they brought more goodies. I, being the quiet, dignified one, wowed them with my manners. See, I’m older than Alf and I know how to behave like a lady. While he’s running around destroying squeakie toys, I much prefer to be sitting politely and quietly waiting my turn for attention.

The people from the Richmond Animal League really liked both of us and asked if they could take us home with them. It sounded to us like another road trip was in our future. And so a couple of days after Christmas we were loaded into a car and driven to what we now know is the Richmond Animal League’s building. There we got what they called “baths”…something neither of us really cared for but it did make us smell better. For a couple of hours we were allowed to hang out in something they called the “real room”. I really liked the “real room”. It had a comfy sofa so I immediately seized the opportunity to make myself at home on the sofa. Alf got a chance to run and play in a really BIG fenced yard.

After a while we were loaded back into the car for a short trip to our “foster home”. Now this is the life!!! The first thing I did was scope out the sofa and….you guessed it….make my self right at home. Our foster mom turned on the TV…something we’d never seen before. Alf walked right past it until he heard barking noises coming from the screen. He stopped dead in his tracks, cocked his head to the side a stared at the TV. But the novelty soon wore off and Alf moved on to check out the rest of our new digs. Our foster mom has other dogs and a bunch of cats. The dogs are cool but the cats kind of creeped me out at first. They made fast moves and strange noises but now that I’ve gotten used to it I just ignore them.

We both had to go the “vet” to be spayed and neutered….whatever that is. Now that was scary. We were cared for by some really nice people at Sycamore Veterinary Hospital but I still don’t know exactly what happened to us while we were there. The only thing I know for sure is that I can’t have anymore puppies (and over the years I had a bunch!) and Alf can’t make puppies, so it’s all good.

At our foster home Alf and I sleep in our own crates each night. Our crates are side by side so we can see each other. We’ve even learned that when our foster mom says “kennel up” it’s time to go to our crates for the night. We get to run around the fenced yard together and play tug-o’war with our toys. Alf is quite taken with the garden hose. Each day he unrolls it and stretches it out as far as he can – just to make sure it’s the same length as the day before. I prefer to sit on the deck and watch his foolishness.

We’ve been going to doggie daycare at K9 Consultants. They people there really love us. Jemi Hodge, the owner of K9 Consultants, has been working with us to teach us some basic obedience. We know how to walk on leashes and ring the bell when we need to go out to potty.

On January 25, 2008 we were taken back to the Richmond Animal League so people from the “media” could come and meet us. Before that nobody was allowed to see us. It had something to do with a dog fighting case but I really don’t understand what that was all about. Anyway, that day we had a lot of pictures and videos taken. When we got home that night, our foster mom turned on the TV so we could watch ourselves. But we were just too tired from the day’s excitement to care much about our first TV appearances.

Our foster mom told us that we will begin Canine Good Citizenship training real soon. We don’t understand exactly what that means but she said once we’ve passed all the tests, we will be allowed to visit schools, daycare centers and nursing homes. She said that because we’re such good dogs, we can show everyone that pit bulls are not to be feared.

Alf and I know we’re lucky dogs. All of the people who’ve helped us along the way have really gone out of their way to make sure we’ve been given the opportunity to survive and thrive….in spite of proclamations from HSUS and PETA that we be killed. Our foster mom says that we will be “ambassadors for the breed”. We don’t know what that means either but we promise to show the world that we are wonderful, loving dogs and to teach people that dogs deserve to be loved and cherished…………not subjected to the horrors of dog fighting.”

Be sure to check back for more updates on Alf and Gracie.