Stephen Zawistowski (right), helped to rehabilitate Hector, one of the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case, now a trained therapy dog.
Animal welfare expert Stephen Zawistowski will discuss “The History and Culture of Dog Fighting” in a free public lecture at 10 a.m. Thursday, March 3, in room 104, Toldo Health Education Centre.
Dr. Zawistowski is a certified applied animal behaviourist, founding co-editor of the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, and an adjunct professor of clinical medicine in the veterinary college at the University of Illinois, the animal behaviour and conservation graduate program at Hunter College; and the anthrozoology graduate program at Canisius College.
He spent 26 years as a senior executive at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and worked extensively on the dogfighting case against NFL quarterback Michael Vick, and directly with the dogs seized as a result.
Zawistowski will talk about his involvement with the case, as well as about the history and culture of dog fighting, to professor Beth Daly’s class “Animals for sport and entertainment,” which will be opened to the public for this guest lecture.