I may be the only person in this country that doesn't care how many dogs Michael Vick directly or indirectly tortured and killed or how much income was generated from his "Bad Newz" kennel. Don't get me wrong, I am an admitted dog lover. In fact, if I had to choose between the life of my grandmother or my Rottweiler, Maddie, the dog would be wagging her nub long after the last pile of dirt was tossed atop my Gram's final resting place. However, the backlash from America when the Vick story dropped was absolutely astounding. Americans were more outraged at what Vick did to those innocent Pit Bulls than they ever were about what Hitler did to those innocent Jews. And I think the reason may run far deeper than the simple fact that dogs are more apt to play fetch than Jews. In this country, our protective instinct for "man's best friend" can even outweigh the concern we have for our fellow man. For example, when a canine is "offed" on the silver screen it often elicits a far more emotional response from the audience than the death of any of the actors in the same movie (even the ones on the A-list).

As far as the animal kingdom goes, dogs have it better than any other creature. (I exclude cats here because they are closer to a moving plant than a family pet.) Remember, at one time, dogs actually used to be considered wild animals. Now, the family dog has it better than any other member of the family. These furry creatures are provided food, shelter, love and affection; however, unlike the children of a family, dogs are not required to attend school(usually), choose a career path that is satisfactory to the parents, take a spouse (of the opposite sex!) that shares similar religious and cultural ideologies to produce grandchildren to continue the family line and take care of the aging parents as their health and, sometimes, financial resources decline.

As far as animals go, I have a lot of sympathy for cows, pigs and chickens. These guys really got the short end of the stick. We slaughter these creatures in such a brutal and inhumane manner for the food that they produce when dog meat is just as delectable. You don't believe me? Order yourself a General Tsao's combo platter at any neighborhood Chinese restaurant (always tastes the exact same - delicious) and ask the cook what's in it or what the ASPCA does with the ones that get adopted? Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to step off of this soapbox grab myself a bucket of chicken and a BLT and try to catch the afternoon dogfight.