Former Vick dogs taken to sanctuary

KANAB, Utah, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- An animal sanctuary near Kanab, Utah, has welcomed 22 of the surviving 47 pit bulls from former NFL star Michael Vick's dog fighting operation.

The dogs were loaded in individual crates and flown from Virginia to the Best Friends Animal Society's 33,000-acre sanctuary in Utah, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported Thursday.

"It's a great day for the dogs. It's a new lease on life for them. They get a chance now to go on with the rest of their lives. A few months back a lot of folks -- not us -- were talking euthanasia for these dogs," said John Polis, public relations manager for Best Friends.

Polis said the animal society hopes to eventually place many of the dogs in loving homes, but some will likely live out their lives at the sanctuary.

Dogs from Vick's Bad Newz Kennels have also been taken in by Richmond Animal League Inc., Animal Rescue of Tidewater in Chesapeake, Va., and shelters in California, Maryland and Georgia.