Vick - Just Quick

I have so many things I want to talk about, but so little time! Who says being an artist is easy?!?!

The first thing on my mind is something that's been all over the news today - Michael Vick. I asked my Facebook friends what they thought, and got a lot of different responses, like...

• I don't believe for a minute that he is sorry for what he has done, I think he is sorry he got caught.
• I will protest the NFL if that man ever plays football again. My son is a huge football fan and thinks they are all heroes and he is NO HERO!!
• Frankly, he did the cause against dogfighting an awful lot of good. Counties across the country who used to look the other way actively began going after dogfighters, and dogfighting busts were way up in the year that followed his arrest.
• My thoughts about Michael Vick being released are not printable, or suitable for minors.
• I am wasting absolutely no effort on this scumbag, he deserves no thought or time from anyone.

I knew asking my friends (who are some of the biggest, best animal welfare advocates in the country) about Vick would probably not solicit the most optimistic opinions, but I tend to agree with my friend Diane who said, "keeping him in prison doesn't fix the problem of dog fighting... "

Personally, when I first heard about Vick's arrest and the charges, I was horrified. Directly after I heard, I called my friends at The Humane Society of the United States and we developed a program to help, called Prize, Not Fighter.



I agreed to use my artwork on a t-shirt to support actions to stop dog-fighting. To see our efforts and/or show your support, visit http://www.ronburns.com/philanthropy/prizenotfighter/index.html. What those dogs went through is absolutely revolting, and it's our job as animal-lovers to stop it.

For me, I take the latest Vick news as an excuse to refocus, regenerate, and look towards the future. I have never been so steadfast in my goal that every dog and cat finds what they deserve - a loving furever home.

I promise my next entry will be MUCH more upbeat... it'll be about my new book, Rufus Rhymes and even a sneak peak!