Law Professor to Decide Fate of Vick's Dogs

A law professor from Valparaiso will decide if they live or die.

Should Michael Vick's pit bulls live or die?

That is a decision that will be made in part by Rebecca Huss, a Valparaiso University law professor and expert in animal law, who left the school Tuesday to begin evaluating four dozen pit bulls rescued from an animal fighting operation on property owned by the suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback.

Late Monday night, a federal judge appointed Huss to be the guardian and special master in the case, which has captured national attention.
Huss, who teaches at the Northern Indiana university's law school, will make recommendations to the court on which dogs can be placed with an adoption agency and which should die.

The process could take a few months, according to a spokesman for the law school, but she will continue to teach classes, traveling back and forth. Her expenses will be paid by Vick as part of his plea agreement.
"My goal, and the court's goal, is to find the best possible future for the dogs and the humans and other animals with which those dogs would come in contact," Huss said in a prepared statement.

"As someone whose academic endeavors focus on the legal status and value of animals in our lives," Huss said, "I am honored to represent the interests of those at the heart of this case -- the dogs."

Here's a link to her profile.