Woman seeks to save dogs

RICHMOND, Va. -- A Georgia woman doesn’t want to see the dogs seized from Michael Vick’s Surry County property die.

Instead, Bernadette Allen, of Roswell, wants them to be neutered and have their teeth removed so they are no longer a threat, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Richmond Friday.

The U.S. attorney’s office filed for custody of the dogs after they were seized from the property when it was searched in April. Because no one has claimed ownership of the animals, they will become property of the federal government by default.

In most dogfighting cases, the dogs are euthanized.

On Friday, Allen filed a request, titled “Stay of Execution” asking “How could the United States of America . . . have and hold a coporeal interest in (a) live animal unless they posed a real threat to public health, safety and welfare. . . ?”

“My petition for stay and clever judicial action, to remove the teeth, the natural fighting weapons of the natural aggressive animals like the pit bulls and Mike Tyson so they can have a better fit in civilized society,” Allen wrote.

District Judge Henry E. Hudson will take no action on Allen’s request, according to court records.

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