Enough already

Michael Vick is in the news again. He received a six-year extension on his $100 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. Of course, he appeared appropriately thoughtful and thankful about the opportunity during a press conference that was picked up apparently by every media outlet in the galaxy, including USA Today.

Still makes me shake my head (and yes, grit my teeth a little) though. I still wonder how many of his apologists would have jumped on the redemption bandwagon if he had committed multiple violent crimes against people. Who knows? Perhaps he would have had more supporters, since there certainly seems to be a definite lack of empathy for humans nowadays. But what if it had been crimes against children? Would the fan base have forgiven that? Would any child advocacy group have seized the opportunity to use Vick's behavior as a media platform?

My parents always taught me never to wish evil on anyone, no matter who they are. Decades later, I still hear their voices in my head every time I am about to wish that Mr. Vick would just break a leg or something and have to sit out football season. So I won't wish that. Sigh.

And I admit it, I'm jealous of Michael Vick. $100 million dollars is a lot of money! I spent years in school, am a hard worker and never hurt anyone in my life... but I am never going to see anywhere near that kind of money. Ever. Really just isn't fair. I know, life isn't fair. Sigh.

So maybe I will just make a direct appeal to the football star-turned-felon-turned-football-star-again (not that he is ever going to see this blog):

Please just go away. Take your money and enjoy your second chance. You got everything you wanted, now please just go away. You can play football, but you don't need to speak at press conferences. You don't have to make public appearances. You don't need any more media of any sort. Just GO AWAY.

Thank you.

Setback in ALDF's Tony the Tiger case

A Baton Rouge appeals court has thrown out a judge's ruling that barred state officials from issuing any new permits to an Iberville Parish truck stop to keep a 550-pound tiger on display.

As the Houston Chronicle reports, the appellate panel said the truck stop owner should have been present at the May hearing...

Robo-Rover? California bill would require microchips implanted in pets.

In a move backers say will greatly reduce the $300-million-per-year California taxpayers pay for housing and euthanizing stray animals, the state Assembly has passed the nation’s first mandatory microchipping-of-pets bill.

Read more in The Christian Science Monitor...

What is up with that?

News has been swirling around the internet this past week that one of the early adopters of the new .xxx domains is going to be PETA. The advocacy group has registered the name PETA.xxx and announced plans to launch a soft-core porn site by the end of the year.

Not that anyone who knows anything about the history of PETA's shock-and-awwwww campaigns was going to be surprised by the news. But it does have people around the world wondering: Is this still about animal rights?

Fired Kasowitz First-Year Sues for $77M, Says Firm Didn’t Appreciate His ‘Superior Legal Mind’

Ok, not animal law but LOL!!!

Check out this item in the ABA Journal... (and don't miss the third comment...)

Jury awards family $300,000 after police kill man’s dog during search

Thomas Russell III describes watching a police officer shoot his canine “best friend” two years ago as “the scariest thing I ever saw.”

On Thursday, a U.S. District Court jury decided Russell, 20, and his family deserved to be compensated for the Feb. 27, 2009, police search of the family’s South Side home during which “Lady,” the family’s black Labrador, was shot dead. The jury awarded the family about $300,000.

Read more in the Chicago Sun-Times...

(Note: this story doesn't say whether any of the damages were for the actual value of the dog herself, as opposed to the NIED claim for the person. Nonetheless, even an NIED recovery where the underlying harm was injury to an animal is (I believe) the first time that's happened in an Illinois case. Congrats to the plaintiff's attorney(s), and if anyone knows who they are, please let me know!)

Animal activists hold protest at Korean consulate

Animal rights activists protested against the human consumption of dog meat Tuesday morning in front of the Korean consulate in San Francisco.

Get the rest of the story from KGO-TV...

German Fugitive Cow, Yvonne, On The Run

A runaway cow has captivated the attention of the media, police authorities, hunters, animal rights activists and even the Hindu community.

Read more about the adventures of Yvonne in The Huffington Post...

Dog fighting app is back

The maker of Dog Wars - yanked off the Android market last spring following public pressure - says the newest version of their app is the best yet. Yeesh.

At any rate, read more from KDAF-TV in Dallas. Even typically conservative Fox News doesn't seem to have much compassion for the First Amendment-pushing "game"...

A planet for all apes

Two new movies – one a science-fiction blockbuster, the other a revealing documentary – raise the issue of our relations with our closest non-human relatives, the great apes. Both dramatize insights and lessons that should not be ignored.

Read the rest of Peter Singer's commentary in The Globe and Mail...

(And thanks again to blog reader Bruce for the heads up!)