Another Dog Book
by Michael Schaffer

Speaking of books, word is that Michael Vick–currently serving 23 months on dog-fighting charges–is shopping a book of his own, which will tell his story of a rise from poverty to NFL stardom and a subsequent descent to become quite possibly the most loathed person in America. Vick is also in bankruptcy proceedings, accordng to Rush & Molloy, which may explain his sudden literary motivation.  Coverage of that angle leads to the sort of awesome pet-era jurisprudential conundrum that I wrote a lot about in my own book: Had Vick crimes hurt humans, the law would have made it impossible for him to benefit from a book that traded on his notoreity. But the “Son of Sam” laws, which would hand over his earnings to those he wounded, apparently don’t apply to people who kill and maim animals. Although I have a feeling that there’s a lawyer somewhere out there willing to put that question to the test.