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Wednesday, August 22, 2007
In China, Michael Vick’s career goes to the dogs
Chinese have showed little sympathy for Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons’ star quarterback who agreed to plead guilty to dog fighting charges in a deal that will probably land him in prison.
“I don’t think Michael Vick’s much of a star since he’s so barbaric,” said Li Di, the director of a small non-profit association supporting animal welfare in Beijing. “The case is a shame for Americans.”
The reaction is a sign of the times. When I first arrived in China in 1996, pet dogs were rare and dog meat was commonly served in many parts of China.
Today, few restaurants serve dog (and a few cater to pets). As Chinese have gotten richer and traditional family structures have splintered — resulting in more lonely urbanites — the number of pet dogs has surged.
Most of my neighbors keep a couple Pekingese or dachshunds. One of my neighbors has a white poodle she’s trimmed to display the Olympic rings, a tribute to Beijing’s hosting the Summer Games next year.
After news on Monday that Vick had agreed to plead guilty to the felony charges including conspiring to sponsor a dog in an animal fight, many Chinese reacted angrily.
“I hate cruelty to animals, so I hope (Vick) gets a good scolding,” someone using the screen name Tina posted on the NFL’s Chinese language Web site.
“Regardless of whether it’s against the law to fight dogs, it’s certainly strange and maybe even abnormal,” a person posting on sina.com, one of China’s most popular Web sites, wrote.
