When Michael Vick left the podium after speaking at the press conference following his guilty plea hearing in August, a slip of paper was retrieved by a Humane Society of the United States employee. That slip of paper appeared to have been Vick's notes for his remarks. Scribbled in the lower right corner like an afterthought below the six numbered items are the words "Dogs have suffered." Each of the numbered items was addressed by Vick but those last words never made it into his statements to the press. He apologized to everyone who might influence his ability to return to professional football, but said nothing about those he injured the most grievously: The dogs he tortured and killed.

Vick's rehabilitation is now being discussed. This topic usually arises in the context of an argument for his return to the National Football League. Those who say that he deserves our sympathy and support on his road to redemption usually also argue that he should be allowed to play football again so that he is not deprived of a livelihood after he serves his time. Apparently, these folks believe that playing professional football is his only way of putting food on the table and being a productive member of society.

Remarkably enough, the vast majority of Americans manage to support themselves without one of their career options being playing football in the NFL. Michael Vick has made enough money already to survive quite comfortably. If he wants to be a productive member of society, there are all sorts of valuable things he could do to offset the massive harm he has caused but they would involve less remuneration and less flash -- which probably is the hitch.

If supporters of Vick sincerely want him to be rehabilitated, they should be seeking ways for him to come to terms with the immense suffering and injury he caused. The faux contrition he expressed at the press conference in August contained no suggestion that he regrets, or even recognizes, his sadism toward innocent animals. It only indicated that he knows where his bread is buttered.

Whether someone who is well into adulthood and has reveled in brutality for years can have an extreme makeover of his personality is a question for psychiatric professionals or a higher power but not for me. One thing I do know, however, is that it will not happen on a football field but only, if at all, in serious counseling sessions.

Another thing I know is how you help children to avoid heading down Vick's path. Children who have had the benefit of regular and professionally delivered humane education and the example of adults who model compassionate behavior toward other living things are much less likely to become animal abusers as adults. They are also less likely to become abusers of other people.

At the Richmond SPCA, we provide a wide variety of educational programs for children of all ages to teach them to be compassionate stewards of the Earth. Our staff of professional humane educators provides more than 11,000 hours of instruction annually to school-age children during summer camps; after-school programs; visits of many school, scout, and church groups to our humane center; and visits of our staff to the schools. Many kids come to us with a profound fear of animals because their prior experiences with animals have not been positive ones. We have great success in helping them to become comfortable with animals and to discover the fun and comfort that may be found in relationships with animals.

Through humane education, children learn to behave appropriately around animals, to care for them responsibly, and to empathize with them.

For years, we have sought charitable funding from local corporations for our programs of childhood humane education with little success. Even the corporations that say they target their giving to education still will not support humane education. Now that people are having their eyes opened and their stomachs churned by the revelations about dogfighters and their widespread and horrifying brutality, the need for humane education is abundantly clear.

By regularly having children present at animal fighting events to witness ghastly demonstrations of brutality, the depraved people who conduct these horrifying spectacles are doing plenty to ensure that there are more little abusers coming up behind them. If we want to do more than just rail about this sadism, if we truly want to help children to understand and care about the feelings and pain of others, then we need to take real steps to provide them with valid instructional programs and appropriate modeling behaviors.

Funding needs to be made available for humane education and it must be included in adequate quantity in school curricula and delivered by humane professionals.

Animal fighters have inflicted more damage than just their brutalizing, torturing, and killing of defenseless animals. They have engaged in many types of illegal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal gambling, that take an immense toll on our society. But, the most grievous offense of these barbarians is that they are infecting our next generation with their callousness and cruelty.

"Dogs have suffered." Yes, they truly have -- and our children and our society right along with them.
Robin Starr is the CEO of the Richmond SPCA.