August 27, 2007 Lone Star State American Pit Bull Terrier Club Statement Regarding Michael Vick Case As advocates for the American Pit Bull Terrier, we would like to see the focus placed where it belongs -- on the victims of the crimes Michael Vick has confessed to committing. Mr. Vick is not being treated harshly because he is a celebrity. Dogfighting is a felony.  Any teacher or engineer, for example, in Mr. Vick's situation would lose his or her job and not be rehired.  Most professions conduct criminal background checks and would not hire a candidate with a dogfighting record. The dogs are the victims of this crime. With the exception of their terrible circumstances, Vick's dogs are no different than our own pets. They crave human affection and feel pain. While the Vick case receives enormous publicity, remember that we face a problem much larger than dogfighting. Thousands of American Pit Bull Terriers and Pit Bull-mixes die in Metroplex-area shelters every year due to human ignorance, neglect and cruelty. Too many people obtain these dogs with no intention of keeping them as family pets. Without fencing, training, socialization or exercise, the dogs end up running the streets. These dogs, victims as surely as Vick's dogs, are left to be hit by cars, abused by cruel people or, if they are lucky, picked up and humanely euthanized. ## Lone Star State American Pit Bull Terrier Club is a Dallas-Fort Worth member club of the American Dog Breeders' Association (ADBA). The club holds dog shows for championship point standings, but primarily holds educational and outreach events open to all American Pit Bull Terrier owners and others interested in the betterment of the breed.