Lio by Mark Tatulli for January 23, 2011

I think Cujo’s in there somewhere…along with the Hound of the Baskervilles…

Right on, Lio! However, isn’t it a bit late for Vick and Dogs references?

I’ll donate a pack of H e l l Hounds! Dirt bag!

Vick just made this statement to the press about 6 weeks ago, so this is the soonest I could get a Sundat strip done, given my lead time.

@mtatulli - …to a future that ensure creeps never get there ;-)

And a dog would love to get Michael Vick.

Give him a rabid wolverine and tell him its a new breed of dog

He already asked Scooby-Doo, but he said, “Ruck roo!” and left.

Nice one, Tats.. Once again, Lio simply tells it like it is, and the good ol’ universe takes care of the rest!

I hate Michael Vick.

That us o.k. about your lead time, Mr. Tatulli. You are still making a very valid point. Good for you!

The only pet Vick deserves is a chupacabra.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra

Maybe this dog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWukihVp3fQ&feature=related

I was a rabid Eagles fan until they signed Vick. Now I’m just rabid.

I’d give him Cerberus…so he could get mauled three times as much!

It’s never too late - in many states animal abuse cases are automatically forwarded to child and adult service to determine if there is abuse of children and spouses as well.

Atta boy Lio!!! I’m a member of the Humane Society of the United States and read something disturbing the other day . Supposedly they were paid off by him to support the ‘second chance’ idea. I was always skeptical. Input, anyone?

Well, as Ron White has said many times before …. You can’t fix stupid.

I really hope that is just a rumor about the HS. He should never, ever, be allowed to own a dog’

Thanks for the rare voice of sanity! Too many have forgotten and forgiven in the name of the game. Sad commentary on our society.

I love you Mark Tatulli. :)

It’s sad that people will jump on an animal abuser faster than they would on a child abuser…

I sent this to all my email contacts.

Vick just said he would love to have a dog because his kids keep asking for one. He will never own another dog according to his sentence. He just doesn’t know how to tell his kids why they can’t have one if they are around him.

I am I lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. I do NOT love Michael Vick. Cheering for the Eagles was very difficult this year. I have to admit to having a smile on my face when Vick threw the interception against Green Bay that ended the Eagles season.

Tony Dungy has been vouching for him and I will take THAT man at his word.

No offense, but these are like the last dogs Vick had.

I won’t say he has changed, but I will say he has until he proves otherwise. As for being stupid enough to say what he did, I will say he remains an idiot.

Get a cat. Less work and nobody trains them to fight. they do that on their own.

Many years ago I had a neighbor who got evicted for raising fighting dogs in an apartment he turned out to have rented for just that purpose.

You should have seen ( and smelled! ) the inside of that place, like a ‘Hostel’ for canines.

I’m 100% with Mark on this one.

Future ownership of animals should be banned as part of the sentence in animal abuse cases.

No way…No how! Michael Vick needs a dog like a fish needs a bicycle!

Mark, I love the subtle stuff… the hands of Vick in the picture are suspiciously like the religious illuminations of the late middle ages. Nice touch!

WIN!

Size doesn’t matter, just make sure the poor beast has rabies.

I guess the fact that he has served his time is a moot point to some. Maybe we should just institute the death penalty for all offenses that way no one would get a second chance. We wouldn’t have to be burdened with people wanting to put it behind them and get on with their lives. Maybe next time someone gets a speeding ticket the officer should just pull out his revolver and administer a little roadside justice. Then we wouldn’t even need the courts anymore. Yeah, bypass the middle man and just get right to it. Does anyone see where this would be heading. Think about it.

my vote is on the first one. really, vick?

Awesome!! Way to go Lio!! Yes, Vick served time but not nearly enough when you think about the kind of “time” those poor dogs endured. Those of you who sympathize with him should give serious thought to their suffering. They were tortured and killed by his own hand!! He should not ever be allowed to have another dog. Using his kids as a reason is outrageous - was he thinking about his kids when he was strangling and drowning struggling screaming dogs?

Vick has kids? Oh dear! What kind of example he has set! He should never be allowed to have pets of ANY kind, not even a goldfsh. He probably shouldn’t be allowed near his kids either!

I do agree with one thing freeholder said. Tony Dungy from all I know, is a fine upstanding gentleman. Kind of gives me pause to think, if he’s vouching for Vick, maybe he has changed. Still hate him for what he did ,and he should still never own any animals, but ultimately, God will decide his fate for it.

Plenty of people have served time but still have conditions attached to their freedom, heck of a lot different then shooting people. Abuse carries further restrictions then just jail time, as it should, get enough speeding tickets and you loose the privilege of driving… all a far cry from shooting people out of hand.

I GET why some people seem all feverish to defend Vick because he has done his time… but it seems hardly cruel that his ability to own a dog is restricted, and I think his ego is big enough to handle a comic strip taking a topical swing at him.

As for people jumping on an Animal abuser faster than a child abuser.. Frankly that assertion is more than a little puerile. You can hate both instances at the same time and talk about one without having to talk about the other. Or perhaps I should throw a fit because this comic doesn’t address the outrage of poorly insulated houses in the midwest. OMG Tatulli doesn’t care about energy conservation !11!!!1!

anyways….

Michael Vick was the end of any sympathy I had for “misbehaving” sports figures. All their lives, these people are told, “You’re special. The rules don’t apply to you.”, in many subtle and direct ways. Then we are surprised when they fight dogs, mistreat women, and shoot people. Sorry, the rules still apply to these people, money and the opinions of sycophants do not change this fact. Don’t believe it? Simply watch the news, Michael Vick is only one example, and I will offer this from direct experience: my wife is the undergrad secretary for a department of the local university and she often fields requests for “grade adjustments” for university sports players - - - Given all the “misbehavior”, I’m astounded that people would even consider holding sports figures up as examples for their children. (HEY! Wait a minute! Maybe that helps explain the current state of society - - - (g!) )

Yes, he served his sentence. But you don’t let child molesters lead scout troops just because they served their time, so why let a dog abuser have a dog? It’s just an invitation for a repeat offense. The comparison is a little harsh, but I think it works. Lead him not into temptation.

Thank you Mark.

I wonder why some strips require so much lead time, while “In the Sticks” referred to the Tuscon shooting three days after it happened.

<sarcasm >

We’ll I just don’t know!

What is so bad about hangin a dog because it’s just too lazy, stupid, cowardly and weak to win every fight? I’m mean really! Why get so upset abut everyday reasonable behavior?

After all if you want ta win dem dog fights ya gotta be tough and consistent. Udderwize dem dogs is just gunna take advantage of ya and eat ya outta house and home and lose, problee on purpuss

Come on guys! Fair is fair!

</sarcasm >

Once a dope always a dope!

Never too late pouncingtiger. Until this scumbag is ruined I will keep on hating him and even after that. VICK IS TRASH and so is anyone associated with him.

@Destiny23: my lead time on Sunday’s is six weeks, but for dailes it’s a week and a half.

@LarryNelson: caught the Saint-like fingers…good eye!

@margueritem LOL That was hilarious

Great strip Mark!

He paid for his crime and will continue to. No dog for him.

He got his second chance. he’s playing for the NFL again and is making millions. That doesn’t mean I have to play along. Let me ask you this: if I got caught doing what he did and it became news, how many newspapers do you think would continue to run LIO? The only reason he got a second chance is he’s a good football player…and that’s good for business. To hell with the fans.

Awesome!

@mtatulli: Truer words were never spoken

I recently watched a PBS show following up on some of the Vick dogs. During the segment I learned that one of the under performing dogs was swung repeatedly against a wall until it died. The blood stains were still visible.

Another was in such bad shape that helping it cross The Bridge was a kindness.

There will never be a proper time frame for either Vick getting ( or even being near) a dog or for his actions being untimely. Animal cruelty will always be a topic for the times…ALWAYS!

Thank you Mark for your awareness and sensitivity, not to mention your wicked funny sense of the absurd.

Thank you Mark! It’s too bad that this comic isn’t printed in the sports section. I like football but it does breed cruelty in it’s players.

Does anyone have an idea of how many non sport stars are currently fighting dogs? If Mike Vick was not a famous football player none of this would have made a single newspaper. What he did was asinine and stupid, but he did his time. There are thousands of child abusers that continue to have babies and are allowed to keep those children, but hurt a dog and you remain outraged for ever?

mark -love this started watching pitbulls and parolees -some of those pups have been through hades and still love folks give vick a pet rock

On this week’s “Need to Know” (check your local PBS listings or watch it online) there is a wonderful segment about the rehabilitation of the 50 dogs that were rescued from Vick’s ring. Dogs that PETA and the Humane Society had condemned as unsafe and vicious. In the end all but two were able to be placed- it’s a very heart-warming story. Check it out!

Forgive us OUR sins, but when it comes to the other guy…

Vick is getting the same chance to care for a dog as a convicted child abuser has to care for a child.

As Mark said, Vick has his second chance and he’s making millions but what he did was animal abuse of the worse kind. Should he be forgiven? That’s up to each person but I don’t believe someone who tortured dogs and killed them in the manner he did will ever change. He knows the right thing to say and put on the remorseful face but he’s the same person without a heart or soul. Let him make his millions and let the Eagle fans applaud him but I don’t have to watch him. Once he no longer needs the image for television he’ll go back to the brutal subhuman he really is.

@Coyoty And the same way a convicted rapist has the chance to care for a woman? Or someone convicted of vehicular manslaughter never gets to drive again?

And ‘skipping’ set out to prove my statement and did a fine job. ;)

I am sure that Vick has a ‘personality consultant’ that is busily working on rehabing his image. Is Vick rehabing himself? That remains to be seen. You might forgive, but forgetting is another story.

@Mark - That Fine Arts required course finally reaped dividends! :)

Just chiming in also… I also say its never too late Mr. Tatulli. Never hurts to bring it back up from time to time so people dont forget either…

@Jason and Larry - Right on! If he ever did get a dog again, check ups for the dog might be a good idea.

tamron:

“[T]he same way a convicted rapist has the chance to care for a woman? Or someone convicted of vehicular manslaughter never gets to drive again?”

Those are two entirely different kinds of crime. Vehicular manslaughter is due to irresponsibility. Rape is never an accident.

Abusers tend to repeat their patterns, just as we all do all the time. Your pattern is not to steal gum from the grocery store. An abuser’s pattern is to be abusive.

That’s not to say that the behavior cannot change. However, we’d need to see (1) evidence that Vick has undergone extensive psychiatric treatment and psychological counseling to address his cruel behaviors; and (2) more than just a couple of years to pass since his sentence for animal cruelty.

He’s just a little too fresh from his crimes to be trusted with the keys to the kennel.

@warreno

I see your point. But I still have those silly hopes that people change. We all do it, some just have taken more heinous actions than others and end up being more visible. I know we don’t hear about others in the ring just because they aren’t public figures. It’s good to remember, but rehabilitation is always the desired result.

Rock on, Mark.

Thank you.

A lot of people don’t understand that the animal cruelty charges were dropped in the plea bargain so he’s never had nor will he consequences for his cruelty to the animals.

Perhaps one of the kindest things he can teach his daughters is that you don’t always get what you want - that daddy made a mistake that cannot be fixed by money or fame and that unfortunately they cannot have a dog because of it.

like!!!!!

I loved this one, the best yet! Lio is awesome!

why not a poddle?

I’d give him fenrir

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS50sxgLGqOKtC2tjuQjkHDwDz70NVNvHZoXXmn4jLjPQhil9EMefVeA2Un