By Mark Maske - Washington Post Staff Writer - Friday, August 24, 2007

It all started, Michael Vick’s estranged father said, when the Atlanta Falcons quarterback was a child growing up in a rough area of Newport News, Va., and would join other neighborhood kids in setting loose a dog every so often to watch it chase a cat around a nearby lumberyard.

Vick’s “fascination with animals” eventually would lead him to be an active participant in a dogfighting operation, Michael Boddie said in an interview yesterday in which he traced his son’s involvement in the illegal activity to Vick’s college days at Virginia Tech. Boddie said he was dismissed by his son when he tried to convince Vick that being involved in dogfighting was potentially harmful to his career.

“He said, ‘Yeah, I know. But I’ve got it. I’ve got it well in hand,’ ” Boddie said.

As Vick prepares to plead guilty Monday to a federal dogfighting charge, family members have remained silent about the circumstances that led to his indictment. Boddie, whose relationship with Vick is so strained that the quarterback no longer speaks to him, offered his perspective on his son’s legal troubles in a telephone interview. Some aspects of Boddie’s account could not be verified through other sources, and one assertion — that Vick held dogfights in the family’s Newport News home in 2000 and 2001 — was disputed by a former neighbor who remains a family friend. And Boddie acknowledged he asked his son, whose contract is worth $130 million, for $700,000 recently but was turned down.

[ EDIT ] - Well, Mikey … millions of us consider you to be one very sick human, to exploit helpless; defenseless dogs in such a sick manner … hopefully, the Judge will do the right thing and sentence your sorry a$$ to the maximum of 5 years in prison with NO PAROLE — as an avid dog lover / owner, that’s what I would do if I were on the Bench!

But, now we learn today you’re no better than that Flip-Flopping Demo$hitter buddy of yours, John “HANOI FONDA” Skerry, in the fact that now you’ve changed your story and will not admit to having a part in the senseless; brutal killing of those dogs!

IMO - you’re a low-life scum weasel
Vick’s Dad Traces Dogs To Son’s Childhood