Book Review: The Lost Dogs

Book Review: “The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s dogs and their tale of rescue and redemption”

I just finished reading The Lost Dogs by Jim Gorant. I really liked it. The book focused on the rehabilitation of the dogs that were impounded after the Michael Vick dog-fighting ring was broken up. Even though I am an avid reader of the news, I tend not to follow stories like this when they’re happening because they are about local miseries that leave me feeling horrible about people and helpless.

Thankfully not everyone feels that way as the real story behind the story was about the people who stood up and went to help those dogs.

Fighting dogs are usually treated as criminals and are often euthanized after being impounded. Because of Michael Vick’s notoriety, people from across the country stepped up for the dogs. The dogs were given the status as victims of a crime, which they were. Each dog was treated individually and each was given the help that they needed specifically. As each individual human being deals with stress uniquely, while at the same time giving doctors some guidelines that can be useful to help those in need, so it was with these dogs.

Each dog was unique with individual traumas and each dealt with their situation in their own way. While knowledge has been gained over time on how to deal with trauma in animals in general, at the same time every individual dog in this case had specific needs. Some took a month to “get over” their time at Vick’s and then their time in facilities, while others have been ordered to live at Best Friends (an animal rescue group in Utah) for the rest of their lives.

Out of 51 dogs impounded, only one was euthanized due to her aggressive behavior that she just could just not overcome. Previously in these types of cases they all would have been put down. Most of these dogs now have homes with other dogs and all such dogs have received their Canine Good Citizen Certificate.

Because of their story, other fighting dogs have been given the chance to be treated as the individuals that they are. From the book:

That of course has been the point from the beginning of the effort to save the dogs—sweeping generalizations do not apply. From the start the rescuers argued that it was wrong to look at the group of fifty one pit bulls saved from Vick’s yard and simply say “They’re irredeemable, do away with them. “ No one would ever make any such sweeping statements about people.

The book was an uplifting read about just how good people can be, even while being reminded about how rotten people can be. Those people who took their time, spent their money put their families through massive changes to help these dogs are living saints. I am grateful for their inspiration and recommend this book.