Frodo, the last remaining dog from Michael Vick‘s dogfighting case has passed away, BAD RAP, an animal welfare group. The post said that Frodo lived a happy and pampered life since being one of the 48 dogs rescued in 2007.
“I’ve had to somewhat rearrange my life in a way for Frodo,” said Kim Ramirez, who adopted Frodo. “And he’s worth it, believe me.”
“He was the last of 48 brave survivors from that game-changing case,” BAD RAP in a statement. “Sweet Frodo – how we loved him. He was one of the bravest survivors we’ve ever met.”
Vick was arrested in the spring of 2007 for financing a dogfighting operation and kennel that treated dogs inhumanely, chaining them up and leaving them injured and without food. At the time, Vick was the star quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Vick ended up serving 18 months in prison and was fined around $1 million in restitution. After getting out of prison, he made an NFL comeback and played in the league for seven more seasons before becoming a sports analyst for FOX Sports.
Vick recently talked about his regrets about his dogfighting days in a Washington Post feature.
“S–t, it hurt [my chances of] going in the Hall of Fame,” Vick said. “It’s going to impact everything. But it was all self-inflicted. I was young. I didn’t have no guidance. I don’t use this as no excuse. I could’ve said, ‘No.’ I could’ve made those right decisions, like, ‘This ain’t for me.’ That’s a blemish that I will never be able to erase.”
After leaving prison, Vick became an advocate for animal rights and has worked to stop dog fighting. He partnered with the Human Society and became an anti-dog fighting ambassador. Vick and his family own a rottweiler named Lotus.
