An unintentional, yet intense, sociological experiment is underway and you may be unaware.  You see, we often attach human characteristics to non-human entities and develop strong feelings and attachment to things like pets.  Observe:

I grew up with dogs - specifically Dachsunds (wiener dogs, if you will).  They were very sweet dogs and generally fun to play with and have around.  I would anticipate getting home from school with the dogs anxiously waiting to play with an excitement like they hadn’t seen me in a month, even though it had only been 8 hours.  They didn’t go too many places with us but I’ll always remember whenever they did go on car rides, we’d roll the windows down and let them stick their heads out and check out the world.  We would have to hold them back by their collars because they were so curious about all these new smells that the were inadvertantly trying to jump out of the window of a fast-moving vehicle.  They would almost hyperventilate becasue they were sniffing so much that it almost seemed like they would forget to exhale.  If you’ve ever seen a Dachsund, you know they have floppy ears, so while they would be sticking their heads out of the car windows as far as they could reach trying to get a closer whiff, their ears would catch the wind and stick straight out giving them the appearance of flying!  I have many great memories of those dogs.  Sadly, they both passed away while I was away for college. 

If you’ve ever owned a dog, you probably made a connection with that story and were a little sad for me that my dogs that I grew up with died.  Now, if I’d shared a similar personal story with you about a friend or family member that has since passed away, I bet you would have reacted even more emotionally towards my loss.  Why?  Because you’re reasonable and you know the value of a human life is so much greater than that of an animal. 

As you may or may not know, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth was involved in an automobile accident this past Saturday morning in Miami, FL where he struck and killed a 59-year-old man.  It has now been reported by multiple sources that Stallworth was driving under the influence of alcohol.  The police administered a field sobriety test and drew blood on scene but have yet to confirm or deny the reports of Stallworth’s blood alcohol level.

Also, as you may or may not know, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick had his property in Surry County, VA raided on April 25, 2007 in connection with dogfighting investigations.  66 dogs and dogfighting paraphernalia were removed from the property that day.  Vick was formally indicted on July 17, 2007 and sentenced to 23 months in federal prison on December 10, 2007.  By the way, prior to the indictment, the NFL released this statement regarding Vick’s alleged involvement in dogfighting:

Dogfighting is cruel, degrading, and illegal. We support a thorough investigation into any allegations of this type of activity. Any NFL employee proved to be involved in this type of activity will be subject to prompt and significant discipline under our personal conduct policy.”

During Vick’s ordeal, intense public reaction was rampant and opinions about Vick’s actions and character were definitely not hard to find.  The situation was even used to attempt an illsutration of racial divisions.  Vick is set to be released from federal prison to serve the final couple of months of his sentence under home confinement sometime around the end of July, 2009.  The Atlanta Falcons still hold the contract that binds Vick to them but seem anxious to rid themselves of him.  And, nobody seems to want Vick yet due to the repurcussions not of having a convicted felon on the team, but of having a convicted dogfighter on the team.  PETA will go nuts on whoever trades for him and is already sticking their hand in the situation by asking the NFL to give Vick a psychological exam prior to reinstatement into the league to confirm whether he is or is not a psychopath.

We’ve seen one half of the sociologial experiment in the public reaction to Michael Vick and his involvement with dogfighting over the last two years.  Now, we wait to see the reaction to Dante Stallworth killing a man.  I would like to point out one major difference in the two situations – their respective public notoriety.  Vick was basically the face of the NFL at the height of his troubles while many casual fans may or may not have heard of Donte Stallworth.  Here’s the facts:

Vick:
 - Brutally killed at least 8 dogs using means including electrocution, drowning, hanging, and physical force. 
 - Was involved in dogfighting for many years.  An undetermined number of dogs were forced to fight, often to the death.

Stallworth:
 - Drove his Bentley while under the influence of alcohol and struck a 59-year-old man who was crossing the street to reach a bus stop after completing a night shift as a crane operator.
 - The man’s name was Mario Reyes.  He is survived by his wife of almost 20 years, Catalina, and their 15-year-old daughter, Daniela.

Here’s video of the scene.  You can see the field sobriety test being administered to Stallworth and rescue personnel attempting treatment on Mr. Reyes.

Charges have yet to be filed by the Miami police and won’t be until toxicology results are available, likely in the next few days.  The public reaction has been awfully quiet concerning this story.  The NFL has been quiet as well.  We can become utterly outraged by a dog-killer, but not by a human-killer?

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