As I type, a mutt named Fenway is staring up at me, awaiting the cue that it's time for his walk.
Those puppy-dog eyes punctuate the acid boiling in the pit of my stomach at the idea of dogfights.
While not one to drop a bundle in Vegas, I get the rush of gambling, from Texas Hold 'Em to the Sport of Kings, to a football pool. But what, I ask, is the lure of betting on one dog killing another?
If I had the chance, this is a question I would pose to Atlanta Falcon quarterback Michael Vick.
Legally, it is important to note that no charges have been laid against Vick as of yet -- even after authorities raided a home owned by the multi-millionaire pivot where they found 66 dogs -- most of which were pit bulls -- a dog-fighting pit and blood-stained carpets.
This is damning evidence pointing to the ugliness that is the disgusting pastime of dogfighting.
What you might find surprising is that I'm glad for this famous person's idiocy -- really I am. If he was a "heavyweight" in this "sport," as it is believed, then let him become the poster boy for what happens to those who do this and get caught.
It's about time authorities were forced to get to the root of this subculture of cruelty.
Like watching a trainwreck, I have been glued to this story since it broke in April, and the raid of Vick's home, but things have never been as "informative" as this weekend when ESPN aired "Outside the Lines."
The investigative report featured a man who's seen Vick in action at the pit with his own eyes.
Calling him a "very reliable source," with the source in shadow and voice disguised, he sang like a bird, sharing all the details of how Vick has been staging and betting on dogfights for the better part of a decade, adding that he knows because, "I've seen it with my own eyes."
While Vick's agent, Joel Segal, has been mum on the subject, the same can't be said for Vick's buddy from the Washington Redskins, Clinton Portis.
"I don't know if he was fighting dogs or not," Portis said. "But it's his property; it's his dogs. If that's what he wants to do, do it."
Showing his infinite intelligence on the topic he added, "dog fighting is a prevalent part of life."
If Rick Tocchet has gone through a year of hell for running a gambling ring --we are about to see if Vick's celebrity will garner him special treatment as the evidence begins to, ahem, dog-pile on the superstar.
Jody Vance is a sportscaster with Leafs TV. Her columns appear Tuesdays and Thursdays in 24 hours.
