Michael Vick and his dogs: Some ask, "Why does it matter? They're just dogs."
That's what author Jim Gorant says he heard from some readers. Here's his answer.
Jim Gorant says most readers praised his Sports Ilustrated Story on Michael Vick's dogs – but a minority questioned its value.
Jim Gorant's story about Michael Vick's dogs – the battered and bruised pit bulls discovered at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels – ran on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Dec. 29, 2008. In response, the magazine received almost 500 letters and e-mails – more than for any other cover story that year.
Gorant went on to write "The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption," a book released just last week.
In the book, Gorant explains that most of the mail received about the Vick story was very positive and supportive of the dogs. But some readers had a different reaction, says Gorant. He sums up their comments this way: "Why does it matter, they’re just dogs?.... People are dying and starving every day and we’ve got bigger problems. No one cares if you kill cows or chickens or hunt deer. What’s different about dogs?"
Here's the short version of Gorant's answer to that question: "[A]s man rose in the world, dogs came with us, perhaps even aiding the advance. They continued to guard us and help with hunting, but they did more.... In return we brought them into our homes, made them part of our families. We offered them love and companionship and they returned the gesture.... Our relationship with dogs has always been different than it has been with livestock or wildlife.... Dogs have that ability to sense what we’re feeling and commiserate. There’s a reason they’re called man’s best friend."
And then, of course, there's the larger issue: "If you show good will and kindness toward those who cannot stand up for themselves, you set a tone of compassion and good will that permeates all."
The question of man's proper relationship to animals is a complex one that will not be settled by a single book or even a single high-profile court case. But Gorant's book certainly raises some interesting questions.
Marjorie Kehe is the Monitor's book editor.