When Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ring was busted in 2007, fifty pit bulls needed to be rehabilitated and rehomed. One of them, a bowl-legged black dog named Gracie, ended up living with Sharon Cornett, president of the Richmond Animal League’s no-kill shelter. The Animal League then began a program known as Gracie’s Guardians, focused on improving the welfare of pit bulls in the greater Richmond area.
Sadly, Gracie, the group’s namesake, has passed over the Rainbow Bridge. As CNN reports Gracie was one of some 50 pit bulls seized by authorities in April 2007 amid charges that Vick, then a quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons, was operating an illegal dog-fighting ring on his Virginia property. The case sparked an outcry over brutal treatment of the dogs, some of which showed signs of injuries and other abuse.
A post on the Richmond Animal League’s Facebook page reads: “This morning, little, old, bow-legged Gracie passed away and got her angel wings. Any words we write here could never begin to express the profound, positive and lasting impact that this little, black pit bull had on so many people who encountered her or heard the story of her suffering and triumph. We are and will be forever grateful for this little, broken black dog and everything she personified.
Gracie – you lived a long life, partially on the dark side, but then as a bright light. Thank you for your contribution to improving the lives of pit bulls everywhere.
Read about dog fighting in our new article in the doggies den.
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!