DogPAC to Eagles: Campaign Won’t Help Dogs

According to an email obtained by a suburban Philadelphia newspaper, efforts to help victimized dogs are misdirected and more about branding the Philadelphia Eagles.

Tom Hickey of DogPAC wrote to Pamela Browner Crawley, VP of public affairs and government relations for the Eagles and stated, “most concerning to me is most of the activities appear to center on ensuring that the Eagles brand is the primary driver in each activity.”

Hickey has been in discussions with Eagles management since the team signed convicted dog fighter Michael Vick in August.

The Eagles are sending veterinary vans around the city to promote and conduct spay/neuter procedures, and hand out trading cards depicting Eagles stars with their dogs. Hickey’s email explained that critics of the campaign fail to see how the services will help abused dogs, and points out that dog fighters wouldn’t use such a service since the goal is to breed and fight the animals.

The article reminds us of the auspices in which Vick was signed six weeks ago, delivered at a presser by team owner Jeffrey Lurie:

[the criterion] “will be 100 percent, is he able to create social change in this horrendous arena of animal cruelty? Whether he is successful with us on the field, sure I hope he is. But his legend and whether we are giving him a second chance will be successful if he can diminish the level of animal cruelty. That’s it.”

Related: Michael Vick Signs with the Eagles
Vick’s Image Rehab Kicks Off with 60 Minutes

[Official pet jersey, via Eagles online store]

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