A sad situation that I just found out about this week. After sobbing my eyes out, I thought wow, the doggies are having a HUGE REUNION OVER THE RAINBOW… hoping my Cici girl is with them…
From BADRAP:
The incredible 'Vick dog' era is over.
On Saturday, we had the great honor and privilege of attending the transition of the sweet, shy Frodo as his family helped him pass over to be with the rest of the dogs from the group. He was the last of 48 brave survivors from that game changing case.
Seized and rescued in 2007, we estimate that he would've been 15 years old - and THIS is the important part - the last 14 years of his life were spent being pampered like a prince with the Ramirez family and dogs. Sweet Frodo - How we loved him.
He was one of the bravest survivors we've ever met.
We didn't realize at the time that Jonny Justice had just passed away in a private moment with his people, Cris & Jen, just two days earlier. Oh Jonny! We thought you might live forever.
And finally - in the first week of October, Letti de Little's sweet man Uba passed over.
We've been grappling to find the words, and now Uba's friends have pushed that door wide open. Warm sympathies and gratitude to the families. We'll come back with more on each special dog and the lives they lived, but for now, it's time to have a little cry and say good-bye to them all.
Frodo: The Little Engine Who Could
Wednesday, December 29, 2021
Frodo the Brave. 2007-2021
Bad Newz Kennels survivor Frodo didn't earn any fancy titles during his 15yrs on this planet, but he's probably one of the most accomplished dogs we've ever met. He was once so timid that he couldn't look his caretakers in the eye, much less take treats out of their hands, but he blossomed into a cheerful dog who learned how to prod his favorite humans for attention. He lived his best life with his housemate dogs in Fremont, CA and enjoyed all the canine staples: Car rides, doing fast zoomies in his yard, sneaking up on the bed for cuddles with his adopter, How did it happen?
In Kim's words… click on the\is link and read her words.
Frodo, the last surviving dog rescued from Michael Vick, dies surrounded by loved ones
…Ultimately, 47 dogs rescued from Vick’s property in Virginia landed with organizations around the country. (A 48th dog, Rose, had to be euthanized for medical reasons before the dogs were officially allocated to rescue groups.) The 22 dogs considered the most challenging cases went to Best Friends Animal Society, which has a sprawling sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. BADRAP took 10 dogs, and the rest headed to other organizations in smaller groups.
…Frodo, a black pit bull with long ears, was adopted by Kim Ramirez and lived in California. He found his new home in the fall of 2007 and was one of the younger dogs rescued from Vick’s property.
“When I got Frodo, the world was a scary place,” Ramirez said in an interview two years ago, describing her dog as initially “very, very shut down.”
Early on, Frodo had nightmares, and he would let out cries. Ramirez would get up from bed to console him. She either left the TV on a music channel or had a fan running to create white noise to drown out any sounds from outdoors overnight.
“I’ve had to somewhat rearrange my life in a way for Frodo,” Ramirez said then. “And he’s worth it, believe me.”
Ramirez worked with Frodo so he would become more familiar with everyday objects, and eventually he became comfortable inside his house and yard, even though the outside world still sparked some fear.
Frodo lived to be an estimated 15, and BADRAP’s social media announcement about his death said: “THIS is the important part — the last 14 years of his life were spent being pampered like a prince with the Ramirez family and dogs. Sweet Frodo — How we loved him. He was one of the bravest survivors we’ve ever met.”
In Frodo’s final moments, he ate steak while surrounded by his family members.
The rescue groups wanted these dogs to be seen as individuals during the evaluation process, and their lives after showcased their uniqueness.
Audie participated in agility competitions. Ginger enjoyed exploring natural places, and adopter Stacy Dubuc, a Green Bay Packers fan, took a road trip with Ginger from California to Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., to visit the brick that honors Ginger. Handsome Dan lives on through the rescue organization that bears his name. Harriet lived most of her life on a farm in Maryland. Jonny Justice loved children and spent time with kids through a literacy program. Collectively, leaders in animal welfare believe the rehabilitation of these dogs, sometimes referred to as the Vicktory dogs, prompted policy change and led others seized from fight busts to be given a chance to live.
“After an astonishing legacy, from coast to coast, from warm homes to state capitals, these beloved dogs have been the living embodiment of resiliency,” Best Friends wrote in a social media post Monday. “Their courage proved that there’s no such thing as ‘too damaged’ or ‘beyond hope.’ ”
Here’s Uba with Santa:
The Last Dog to Survive Vick Has Died
RICHMOND, Va. -- The last remaining dog that survived Virginia-native and former NFL player, Michael Vick's, dogfighting ring has passed away, according to BAD RAP — an animal welfare nonprofit in California.
Frodo, who the group described as sweet and shy in a post on their Facebook page, was estimated to be 15 years old when he passed on Saturday. He was one of 48 dogs rescued during the case in 2007.
According to the post, Frodo got a special meal of steak before his family helped him pass over.
“And THIS is the important part,” the post stated. “The last 14 years of his life were spent being pampered like a prince with the Ramirez family and dogs.”
Two other dogs from the case passed away recently, according to BAD RAP. Jonny Justice died two days before Frodo, and Uba died in October.
Later on, in the comments of the post, BAD RAP added a collection of photos of all 48 dogs who survived Vick's "Bad Newz Kennels" at his home in Surry, Virginia.
They also acknowledged other organizations who helped care for the rescues in the case, including the Richmond Animal League.
Vick, who was the quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons at the time of the case, served 18 months in federal prison for his role in the operation. He was suspended by the NFL and was fined nearly $1 million for victim restitution and the lifetime care and rehabilitation of the 47 surviving dogs (two eventually needed to be put down).
Washington Post
KANAB, Utah — Not long before lunchtime, Mya’s wagging tail splashes as she waits for the tank to drain. The bowlegged black pit bull just finished a three-minute hydrotherapy session, guided by treats offered from a staffer reaching down into the apparatus. But while Mya walks slowly on the submerged treadmill, she notices Laura Rethoret’s car through the window. Once the tank empties, Mya scurries down the ramp as fast as she can with her weakened legs, which have splayed more as she’s aged.
“Good morning, beautiful!” says Rethoret, who embraces Mya with a towel. “I’m right here!”
Rethoret loads Mya and her runmate, Curly, into her car and drives to the quiet office where the dogs hang out a few times a week. These dogs are reminders that even now, 12 years later, survivors of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation live on in pockets throughout the country, including here at Best Friends Animal Society’s 3,700-acre sanctuary.
…The dogs became ambassadors, tail-wagging proof of what’s possible through rescue and rehabilitation. In doing so, they changed how the public — and some prominent rescue organizations — view dogs freed from fighting rings. Dogfighting remains prevalent, but now, in large part thanks to these dogs, others seized in fight busts are evaluated to see if they can become pets.
The Washington Post tracked down 47 dogs and compiled a comprehensive look into their post-adoption lives and the families they joined. They landed in homes from California to Rhode Island, embraced by people with jobs ranging from preschool teacher to attorney. Some adopters love sports. Others had never heard of Vick, once the highest-paid player in the NFL who at the time of the bust starred for the Atlanta Falcons. Some of the dogs struggled to heal emotionally and remained fearful through their lives. But they all found homes far more loving than the horror-filled kennel that made headlines around the globe.
…“Michael Vick brought dogfighting into the living room of every American,” said Heather Gutshall, who adopted Handsome Dan and later founded a rescue organization that aims to help survivors of dogfighting. “Am I glad it happened? No. Am I glad, that if it was going to happen, that it happened the way it did? Absolutely. The dogs changed the landscape.”
Meet the Vicktory dogs
The Washington Post tracked down 47 dogs rescued in 2007 to find out about their post adoption lives.
…“There’s not the anger. I think in the early days there was,” said Stacy Dubuc, a Green Bay Packers fan who adopted Ginger from the SPCA for Monterey County in northern California. “Honestly at this point, I hate to say it, but somehow [Vick] is involved in my life. And I have the best dog possible because of it. He was the face of dogfighting. It took a celebrity to become that. And I don’t talk about him.”
…Dogs treated as individuals
Mel’s life was not normal.
Mel trembled whenever strangers entered Richard Hunter’s suburban Las Vegas home, the emotional scars from his time at Bad Newz Kennels still evident 12 years on. But Hunter always emphasized the progress Mel had made, though he let the dog’s continued struggles serve as a reminder of what Vick did.
Every night, Hunter walked Mel and his two other dogs. It would take Mel a minute to get going. He’d pause in the short driveway, look in each direction, take slow steps, assess the situation and only then decide he was ready to walk. The stories of all these dogs, Hunter said, shouldn’t be reduced to a Disney-style tale.
“Everybody is great in a lot of ways now,” Hunter said in July, shortly before Mel’s death following a brief and unexpected illness. “But you better believe the ghosts of what Vick did to him and did to those other dogs stays with them to this day and always will.”
…“I almost forget where he came from because he’s such a typical dog now,” said Melissa Fiaccone, who adopted Cherry. The dog’s confidence has surged through the years. Cherry spent a week this summer in a cabin with more than a dozen people, including many children. The family posted a photo of Cherry on a dock with his eyes squinting and his massive tongue flopping happily. He frequently attends public events and loves greeting everyone. Fiaccone’s husband, Paul, says Cherry “took on the rock star persona.”
(Photo: Frodo gobbled that big bag of steak under the tears of his mama, Kim Ramirez and her daughter Dominique. Thank you Dr. Williams for tending to his medical needs up until the end. He trusted you and you made this moment so perfect.
Below is a video clip of Jonny Justice & Uba in their prime and at their happiest. They were the best of friends. Voices of adopters Cris Cohen and Letti de Little in the background.
I wrote this (below) last year: before ALL of the former M. Vick dogs went on to greener pastures over the rainbow.
Sweet Ginger girl, who I met, passed 2 months after my Cici girl in 2019. Stella has left the earth and now Shadow, the last of the Best Friends dogs has gone, too now. Seventy dogs were rescued from Bad Newz Kennels in 2007.
The last of the Vicktory Dogs at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Shadow, died just shy of his 16th birthday. For the family who adopted him nearly ten years ago, the loss of this special dog has left them heartbroken. Shadow was the last; he succumbed to a mass in his lungs that was too close to his heart.
The Lost Dogs book by Jim Gorant
The bestselling story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious animal cruelty case. Featuring a new Afterword with updates on the Vick dogs.
Animal lovers and sports fans were shocked when the story broke about NFL player Michael Vick's brutal dog-fighting operation. But what became of the fifty-one dogs who survived?
V Dogs reunion at Best Friends in 2013
Survivor Dogs
When Ginger first came to Stacy’s home, she was 28 pounds, would not eat and hid out a lot behind furniture. She was terrified of people and Stacy had a difficult time getting her to cross any threshold. Ginger had door issues. It didn’t matter whether it was a front or back door. Ginger just did not want to go inside. She’d hunker down on the ground. For some reason, a lot of the dogs had issues with doorways.
And it took a long time to get Ginger used to new situations and environments. She would just shake and hide. When Stacy first brought Ginger to work with her at the SPCA, Ginger would hide behind the desk. Ginger had to learn to relax around people. Occasionally, now she goes to work with Stacy and she is a different girl.
My blog post about meeting Ginger, Stella and Red at the Monterey SPCA
With Enough Love All Things are Possible
Survivors, we rarely think of dogs as survivors… we think of cancer survivors, concentration camp survivors, and/or abuse survivors…
But Red, Stella and Ginger are definitely abuse survivors. They are canine survivors of Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels. Each is now living new lives with loving owners in multi-dog homes with staff from the Monterey SPCA…Best Friends Animal Society took in 22 of the dogs and BadRAP and other organizations received the rest of the dogs.
…Ginger was borderline meaning they were not sure if she would be able to be adopted and live in a home after all she had been through.
“It’s just great to see Ginger act like a dog. There were a lot of first times. The first time she sat on a couch. The first time she ran up to say hi. The first time she rode in the car. Now she’s been to Tahoe and Sonoma. She just got jittery in new situations. But gradually, step by step, she’s coming out of her shell,” concluded Stacy.
Thanks to Stacy and the SPCA who have given Ginger a lot of time, love, and tenderness, she is living a happy new life.
Stella
Beloved Stella. She is no longer in pain and able to move again to join some amazing dogs that I know she loved and missed. I have no doubt she will be waiting for us to join her one day. She left the earth on November 21, 2018.
“In October of 2007 I drove up with a coworker to Bad Rap and picked up three dogs that had just made it to California from Virginia. One was scared, hiding in the back of her crate not wanting to come out or near us. I sat there at the opening tossing treats, getting a leash on her and eventually crawled inside, picking her up and carrying her out to take with us. That was Ginger Girl. Then there was a stoic one named Red that just came right up to us and walked right to the van ready to go. And lastly there was Stella…full of life, vocal and all over the place…..the wild child of our group. We drove the three of them back down to Monterey and took them to the SPCA.
We set them up and that is where I got to know some amazing dogs. The court at that point had not allowed the dogs to go into foster yet so we were caring for them at our facility. At the time, I was an animal care tech and took care of them daily and started to get to know them pretty well. Red was slow to warm up to us, not trusting what was going on and would watch and take it all in daily. Ginger would run from us and there was a lot of sitting, treat tossing, and patience.
“Then there was Stella. She was a spitfire, jumping, grabbing your clothes, and just wanting your full attention. As the three adjusted they began to trust us more and show us just the beginning of what would become some truly amazing dogs. Once we were able to put them in foster they each got their first taste of what life should be like as a family pet.
Red
Red went into foster with a coworker for a few months but ended up not being the right fit. So after talking with my family I brought home a little red dog that left a huge mark on all of our lives. He became the SPCA greeter and my work buddy. Shortly after getting him we noticed some lumps and they multiplied. It was mast cell tumors, so we had them removed, did chemo and had an amazing two more years with him until cancer took him in April of 2010.
Hector’s former guardian RooYori aka K9 Ninja Warrior on American Ninja Warrior (Hector has been gone 7 years now (or was it Wallace?)
My interview with Roo Yori last year… Adopt a Dog
I became acquainted with the Yoris (Roo and Clara) years ago on Facebook when many of us pit bull owners, rescuers (Bad Rap), and Best Friends (where I worked one summer) got involved with the former Michael Vick dogs rescue and a dog named Patrick (Patrick Movement). We raised a lot of awareness about the dogs and helped educate folks about the “nanny dogs”… American dogs and adopting shelter dogs since too many wind up getting euthanized.
…Roo Yori is known as the K9 Ninja because he competes to bring awareness to homeless dogs and to promote their adoption. Roo & his wife, Clara, adopted a pit bull named Wallace who was going to be euthanized at the shelter. Roo and Wallace went on to win the Purina Pro Plan Incredible Dog Challenge National Championships in Freestyle Flying Disc, which led to a bestselling novel Wallace by New York Times Best Selling author Jim Gorant.
Roo also adopted Hector, one of the pit bulls rescued from the Michael Vick dog fighting case, who became a Certified Therapy Dog.
Wallace and Hector cross country trip
On his final day in 2018, Dan
“went for a car ride, sat in the grass at the park he loved near his wooded trail, he ate three scrambled eggs, and settled softly on his spot on the couch.”
In January, Meryl, the last of the 22 dogs rescued in 2007 living at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary passed away. Another Vicktory Dog named Cherry also died the previous week at the sanctuary where the dogs lived.
“On Thursday, we said goodbye to sweet, beautiful Meryl, the last Vicktory dog living at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. She suffered a sudden and dramatic decline that put her in distress and discomfort. Her caregivers, along with our veterinary staff, reluctantly made that difficult decision.”
From Susan Weidel, Little Red’s mom… “For five years, Vick and his people tried to make her mean. They were not successful. She stayed true to her kind and gentle nature even in the face of the most brutal and abhorrent treatment.”
My interview with Susan about Little Red
Cherry Garcia passed in January 2020
Vicktory Dog Squeaker crossed the rainbow bridge. Our hearts go out to her incredible family, who shared this beautiful tribute with us:
“Five months have passed since Squeaker’s death and even after all this time I am having a very hard time talking about her. I am in tears as I write this and I am sorry that I didn’t announce her death, but I just couldn’t!
Squeaker died March 31st, we suspect it was from cancer. Her symptoms were very acute, and she was happy until the very end when it happened and I rushed her up to the clinic.
Squeaker was the love of my life, my purpose in life, and my closest friend. She was always happy, always thumping her tail, and was always looking at you with those loving eyes- she was a true diamond in the rough! I often felt that some higher force made me move to Kanab and work at Best Friends because I was meant to meet her; meeting her and becoming her mom was the highlight in my life. I think that Squeaker was proof that dogs that come from difficult situations can blossom and can become the biggest gift in your life (don’t forget, she ended up living with 7 dogs, several cats, and a reptile!). I was highly protective of her, but the only thing I could not protect her from is time. I will always miss her