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Saturday, July 21, 2007
Animal lover cares about dogs, not Vick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
She couldn’t care less if Falcons quarterback Michael Vick takes another snap.
And the thought of the Falcons not having a winning season in light of Vick’s indictment on federal dogfighting charges hasn’t entered her mind.
What Nancy Elizabeth Green cares about are the dogs — how they lived and how they died.
The feds allege that, if Vick’s dogs lost a fight, they were killed by cruel methods, such as electrocution. Green shudders at the thought.
“If you soak a dog with water, then execute him, you’re not human,” she told me. “You’re a sociopath.”
I first met her in November 2004, when I wrote about her public appeal for help to nab a motorist who apparently ran over her dog. Priscilla, a 4-year-old Aussie shepherd, survived but lost sight in her right eye.
Green, a licensed private investigator, wanted Snellville police to prosecute. She asked any witnesses to step forward. No one was ever apprehended, though.
Then in April 2006, she saw an SUV get broad sided on North Druid Hills Road near I-85. A frightened pooch jumped out of the damaged car and took to the woods. Green stopped to help the dog owner search for the animal. The leashed dog was returned to its owner days later. A story about the lucky pet ran in an edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
This Philly native has been rescuing stray and abused canines for nearly two decades. Calling her a pet lover doesn’t capture the depth of her compassion. One time, she told me — quite seriously — that she “thinks” the way dogs do.
Now she may have an even better sense of their thought processes. Green recently spent a weekend chained up with 14 other dog advocates. The event, held June 30 and July 1 in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park, was part of a nationwide campaign organized by Dogs Deserve Better (www .dogsdeservebetter.org), a nonprofit in Tipton, Pa.
“Laying out there in the hot sun, with a heavy chain around my neck, was horrific,” said Green, 53, who was chained for 17 hours. “And I had the convenience of water and a small umbrella.”
Usually, Green e-mails me whenever a local story about animal cruelty makes headlines. She didn’t contact me about the Vick indictment, so I called her to get an animal lover’s perspective.
“Imagine being semi-starved so you’re made to be really aggressive,” she told me. “Small rabbits and other animals are hung on hooks, and the [fight dogs] are kept running after them on a treadmill until they are exhausted. That’s how they train them.”
As she talked on her cellphone, Green was en route to rescue a border collie in Clayton County. She’ll be the replacement for “Geneva,” a mixed border collie and cocker spaniel who died Dec. 19 after suffering from blindness and diabetes.
“I know this sounds insane, but I have been begging Geneva to send me a replacement that’s in dire straits,” Green said, “and this dog is it. “
Perhaps some dogs act more humane than (some) human beings.
• Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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