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The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption
An inspiring story of survival and our powerful bond with man's best friend, in the aftermath of the nation's most notorious case of animal cruelty.
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 dozens of dogs who survived? As acclaimed writer Jim Gorant discovered, the
...moreMP3 Book, 0 pages
Published
September 3rd 2010
by Blackstone Audio, Inc.
(first published September 1st 2010)
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Mar 19, 2011
Jennifer (aka EM)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
football fans
Shelves:
going-to-the-dogs
UPDATED: 03/19/11 Read. Cried. Read some more. Got seriously pissed off. Read some more and finished on a bittersweet note.
The Lost Dogs tells the tale of a landmark dog-fighting case, the swirl of celebrity politics surrounding it, and the precedent-setting processes and activities that were developed to rescue and rehabilitate the dogs - for the first time viewed as victims, not evidence; saved, not destroyed. The facts it reveals about pit bulls were and still are critical to advancing the a...more
The Lost Dogs tells the tale of a landmark dog-fighting case, the swirl of celebrity politics surrounding it, and the precedent-setting processes and activities that were developed to rescue and rehabilitate the dogs - for the first time viewed as victims, not evidence; saved, not destroyed. The facts it reveals about pit bulls were and still are critical to advancing the a...more
25 likes · like · see review
view all 44 comments
Dec 20, 2011
Marieke
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Michael Vick, Andy Reid, Howie Roseman, Vick supporters who think it's about race, supporters of BSL
Recommended to Marieke by:
Kaliki's updates
**ETA (December 2011) sad update: Tribute to Leo
If i am in tears at the end of a book, it gets five stars. I would advise anyone who is out in public, on transit or whatever, reading this book (which i hope you do--the more people seen reading this book, the more people might read it), stop if you get to Chapter 38 (the last chapter), close the book, and don't continue reading until you are home.
This is an incredibly important book, in my estimation. Gorant focuses on the investigation and the a...more
If i am in tears at the end of a book, it gets five stars. I would advise anyone who is out in public, on transit or whatever, reading this book (which i hope you do--the more people seen reading this book, the more people might read it), stop if you get to Chapter 38 (the last chapter), close the book, and don't continue reading until you are home.
This is an incredibly important book, in my estimation. Gorant focuses on the investigation and the a...more
10 likes · like · see review
EDIT:
I couldn't get even 20 pages in. It wasn't horribly graphic (thankfully) but it *was* really sad and I just had to abandon ship in order to save my own heart. I'm so glad those dogs found homes and did well and I should rest in knowing that....
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As I've gotten older, my threshold to read about the abuse of animals, or kids or people....has absolutely dissolved. Hell, even reading about the death of dogs. I can't do it, it seizes-up my heart and the sorrow of it just paralyzes me...more
I couldn't get even 20 pages in. It wasn't horribly graphic (thankfully) but it *was* really sad and I just had to abandon ship in order to save my own heart. I'm so glad those dogs found homes and did well and I should rest in knowing that....
************
As I've gotten older, my threshold to read about the abuse of animals, or kids or people....has absolutely dissolved. Hell, even reading about the death of dogs. I can't do it, it seizes-up my heart and the sorrow of it just paralyzes me...more
8 likes · like · see review
This book is about the Michael Vick case and the dogs that were seized from his property. I was amazed that only one dog out 51 had to be euthanized because it was too aggressive. As an animal lover I found it extremely difficult to read at times as it includes graphic details of what was done to these dogs. But it renewed my faith in those in law enforcement that protect animals and go after people who dogfight. I also found myself questioning why Vick and his partners did not face harsher pena...more
Nov 10, 2012
Barbara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
animals-dogs-cats-horses-other
This book should be read by all dog lovers and anyone who thinks pit-bulls are so mean. The pit-bulls I've seen have so much love to give and are good around children. This book is a must read for all the close minded people that don't want to give pit-bulls a chance. Pit-bulls are NOT the terrible dogs some people think they are. It's not bad dogs, but bad owners as you can see in this book. Despite all that those poor dogs had endored they still wanted someone to just love them and treat them...more
2 likes · like · see review
Anyone thinking that Michael Vick has "done his time" should read this book, particularly the sequence describing the method Vick chose in punishing a dog that performed poorly in the ring. Still, this book is brimming with hope and redemption, not so much for Michael Vick himself, but for the majority of the surviving dogs seized from Vick's property.
From examples like a shy hopeful new to family life, to a shot at a career as a professional therapy dog, the pitbulls detailed in Jim Gorant's Th...more
From examples like a shy hopeful new to family life, to a shot at a career as a professional therapy dog, the pitbulls detailed in Jim Gorant's Th...more
1 like · like · see review
Great book! It follows the investigation of Michael Vick's dog fighting operation and the fate of the dogs that were confiscated. The book is engagingly written and the story both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Also, everyone who is prejudiced against pit bulls should read this story. While they admittedly have strong jaws, pits aren't any more disposed towards aggression than any other breed of dog, even after being horribly mistreated.
There are some larger questions this book brings up, some...more
There are some larger questions this book brings up, some...more
Dear Charan,
I'm reading this book called The lost dogs by Jim Gorant. It is about Michael Vick and his dogfighting company that he ran with a few other people. There is stories about dogs being abused/killed and some finding good homes even though they were near death numerous times. Michael Vick worked with a couple of other men in this dog fighting scandal
This book made me realize that people can be truly cruel and heartless because this book is about dogs, pitbulls used for dogfighting gam...more
I'm reading this book called The lost dogs by Jim Gorant. It is about Michael Vick and his dogfighting company that he ran with a few other people. There is stories about dogs being abused/killed and some finding good homes even though they were near death numerous times. Michael Vick worked with a couple of other men in this dog fighting scandal
This book made me realize that people can be truly cruel and heartless because this book is about dogs, pitbulls used for dogfighting gam...more
This was a great book devoted partially to terrible truths of how some people treat animals, merely as commodities to be rewarded when good and to be cruelly discarded when not up to "human" standards, and partially about the humanity of a great population of people working hard to undo the harm others have inflicted. I cried for the dogs in this book. I cried for the dogs out there enduring similar pains as the dogs in this book. Finally, I cried for a human race that would slap a man on the wr...more
The Lost Dogs is a novel about the dogs that were involved with the Michael Vick dog fighting case. Michael Vick is currently in the NFL (a football player), and is playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. This tells the stories of everybody that was involved rescuing and taking care of all the dogs from start to finish. Some stories are about the people that take care of the dogs in the shelters, and others are about the people that are working on this case got to the position they are currently. I...more
As a militant vegan, and a total NFL dork I was over do for reading this book. Lost dogs is not the story of Michael Vick and dog fighting, but the story of the dogs who survived his dog fighting operation. For animal lovers this book will enrage, and enrich.
It gives the background on the case, which I feel I should have so I am more justified when I clap for every bone jarring sack Vick behind the piss O-line in Philly.
Some things I didn’t know. Vick wasn’t very good at breeding and fighting d...more
It gives the background on the case, which I feel I should have so I am more justified when I clap for every bone jarring sack Vick behind the piss O-line in Philly.
Some things I didn’t know. Vick wasn’t very good at breeding and fighting d...more
Very depressing, for obvious reasons, but also quite interesting. I am sometimes shocked to see how often animal welfare groups actually recommend destroying animals. It's practical, but doesn't really fit with the image they usually try to portray. This book describes a lot of what when on behind the scenes to save these dogs, and predicts that this approach (individual evaluation rather than mass euthanasia) might become the norm for animals seized in dogfighting operations. At least a dozen o...more
I choose to read this book because I was curious as to what happened to all of the rescued dogs...I had followed the case and knew that a good amount of the dogs had moved onto happier lives but wanted to know more. I didn't anticipate how difficult the first couple chapter would be, as they discussed the brutality of the operation with specifics that immediately brought me to tears and made me sick to my stomach. I decided to "skip over" or glance over the first couple chapters as the only mean...more
I have never understood cruelty without any reason which a human applies in regarding to weaker creatures including animals. I know that somebody can remember that there are a lot of people who eat meat and this is the most cruel thing which can be done. But I have never taken in mind why people can be so violent with animals just... just for fun... just for their own entertainment... I think that if anybody wants to feel some splash of adrenaline it would be much more easier for a person to go...more
I had a difficult time reading this book. The brief graphic sections haunt me still. However, I found the description of the process of putting the evidence together and the legal proceedings interesting. The majority of the book described what happened to the dogs from the time they were confiscated until they were stable enough to go into foster care or were adopted into homes. All of the dogs had to earn their Canine Good Citizens certificates before they were considered available for adopti...more
This book is about Michael Vick, his involvement in dog fighting, and the charges he faced as a result. This is a very good and informative book, but also very graphic. As I read the first three chapters (which is the first 20 pages), I almost thought I could not finish the book. I am an animal lover, and at first I could not stand reading what the dogs experienced while under the care of Michael Vick. However, I kept reading..........
The first pages of the book is so graphic in nature because J...more
The first pages of the book is so graphic in nature because J...more
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and their tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant is the story about Michael Vick's dogs and where they ended up after being rescued. In the 2007 season Michael Vick was suspended and sent to prison for holding dog fights in his basement. Although he served two years he got off easy. He could have been banned from football for life or serve more than 25 years in prison. Even though Vick was recently let off the hook and allowed to play for the Eagles his d...more
Incredible...Appalling...Disgusting...Heartbreaking...Tastefully written. I had to force myself to continue reading this book after the first few pages (I did so only because of good reviews). It is a well-written, sensitive chronicle of the true victims in the Michael Vick dog-fighting operation. Without belaboring the horrendous aspects of the crimes, Gorant proceeds to tell the story of rehabilitating the emotionally and sometimes physically injured dogs resulting from this felony. Many of th...more
I've definitely read about the bad rap that pit bulls get. Even the people I'm house sitting for, who have two boxers, told me a story about how they had adopted one dog and when the vet told them it was a pit bull and not a boxer they returned it. Couldn't have a pit bull. I've also read The Dogs Who Found Me where he talks a lot about pit bulls.
Personally, I think the opinion should change. I think it's an opinion born of fear and ignorance. (As are most opinions that are near impossible to c...more
2 likes · like · see review
Such an original angle to take on this subject. What was the fate of these dogs that were put thru so much pain and agony? Unfortunately the execution wasn't as strong as the angle. Jim Gorant is a strong reporter, however, he isn't a strong writer. The prose's were so primitive that I wondered if I was reading a children's book. I also felt like the chapters were too short, and it messed with the flow of the story.
You can tell Gorant has a real passion for dogs, and it is something that is dis...more
You can tell Gorant has a real passion for dogs, and it is something that is dis...more
I picked this book up with some trepidation, not sure if I could make it through reading about what happened to these dogs. If you're like me, have no fear, there aren't many details about the dog fighting or the things that happened to them. Yes, it is part of the story, but the author doesn't dwell on those things. THe story is more about the saving of the dogs and what happened after they were saved.
Having said that, the story did get to me, bringing on tears several times. If you're a dog lo...more
Having said that, the story did get to me, bringing on tears several times. If you're a dog lo...more
3 likes · like · see review
An even-handed and well-written account of Michael Vick's professional dogfighting practices, as well as the fates of the nearly 50 dogs that were recovered from his property in 2007. The first third of the book chronicles the brutality and egregious violence Vick and his associates inflicted on these poor animals. I knew about the cruelty and maulings that occurred in actual dogfights (whose descriptions were still hard to stomach), but I had little conception of the absolutely unnecessary sava...more
Reading this book made me want to go back into dog training. Gorant gets so much right about the nature of dogs, and of pit bulls in particular-- I saw in his descriptions echoes of many of the dogs I've worked with. Best of all, he illustrates how an outpouring of abject and depraved cruelty from just a few men brought out the best in so many people across the country, people who gave everything they could of themselves to help.
Having worked at Best Friends, I was eager to hear about the 22 Vi...more
Having worked at Best Friends, I was eager to hear about the 22 Vi...more
As I was nose deep into Gorant’s harrowing tale of many a bloody and brutal murder at the cruel hands of dog fighters, I was feeling October’s spookiness creep around me. My husband was out, the baby was asleep and all I could think of was the horrible acts of insane killing that went on only a few states above the one I now call home. Only slightly less chilling than the actual telling, was the fact that only months before the awful truth came out to the media about the Vick property, we had be...more
At first I wasn’t sure I could read a book about Michael Vick’s dogs. The world of dog fighting is a dirty rotten place, but the reviews for Jim Gorant’s book were so compelling that I decided to try. I am glad I did. Just as the subtitle states it is indeed a story of dog rescue and more importantly, redemption. The Lost Dogs chronicles the story of Vick and the Bad Newz Kennel, the raid on the kennel and then follows what happens to the dogs after they are taken from the rural Virginia locatio...more
1 like · like · see review
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What can I say that another reviewer hasn't already mentioned. The first few chapters gave a small glimpse of the horror these dogs endured at the hand of Michael Vick and his associates but it was nothing compared to the wiki article I originally read that made me cry at night and curse Michael Vick's name. He should never be allowed to have a dog, I don't care how much you have "changed". I can't believe you now have a "family dog" and big deal you had to pay almost a million dollars for the w...more
The best part of this is book is the rehabilitation and the happy future these abused dogs now have. “The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption” by Jim Gorant must have been an incredibly difficult book to write. Reporting about horrid abuse against defenseless dogs would be emotionally taxing, to say the least. The book is even handed, retelling not only the gruesome, barbaric, inhumane treatment of the animals, but of the healing of the dogs. Fact gathering fo...more
I started reading this book because it was one of the few immediately available e-books from the library, and because it looked interesting. I was very pleasantly surprised by how engrossing it was. Although I would definitely describe myself as an animal lover, I think anyone who would not describe themselves as such would still enjoy this book. It is divided into three well-organized sections: Rescue, Reclamation, and Redemption.
The first section, Rescue, describes the events leading up to th...more
The first section, Rescue, describes the events leading up to th...more
Very difficult beginning; very.
I would recommend that anyone skip the first few chapters of this book. The details of abuse and neglect and the reports of autopsy results are absolutely horrifying. If there is still anyone out there who believes that Vick wasn't involved in the day to day details of this operation, he or she should check out the way he personally killed one of his dogs by playing jump rope with it.
This book made me furious, but in the end the triumph of human and dog spirits m...more
I would recommend that anyone skip the first few chapters of this book. The details of abuse and neglect and the reports of autopsy results are absolutely horrifying. If there is still anyone out there who believes that Vick wasn't involved in the day to day details of this operation, he or she should check out the way he personally killed one of his dogs by playing jump rope with it.
This book made me furious, but in the end the triumph of human and dog spirits m...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Michael Vick | 17 | 42 | Dec 31, 2012 05:18pm |
Shortly after his birth in Brooklyn, New York, Jim's family decamped for the greener pastures of northern New Jersey. Other than the four years when he escaped to college in the distant metropolis of Philadelphia, he’s spent his entire life in the Garden State, where he still lives with his wife and two children.
Jim Gorant's career in magazine publishing began in 1990 with a job at Good Housekeepi...more
More about Jim Gorant...
Jim Gorant's career in magazine publishing began in 1990 with a job at Good Housekeepi...more
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“Last, I would like to thank the dogs, not just the Vick pack, but all of them, simply for being dogs, which is to say, tolerant and perseverant; willing to connect with a world that does not always return their affection; and for proving, time and again, that life, while messy, difficult, and imperfect, has the capacity to exceed our expectations and feed our undying hope.”
—
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