Dog rescued from Michael Vick ring euthanized

Scars from fighting mark the face of Lucas, the grand champion of football player Michael Vick's fighting dogs, at the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah. Officials at the Best Friends Animal Society say Lucas was euthanized Wednesday because of accumulating health problems.

Lucas spends time in an office with executive assistant Brenda Escher at the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah. Officials at the Best Friends Animal Society say Lucas, the grand champion of football player Michael Vick's fighting dogs, was euthanized Wednesday because of accumulating health problems.

KANAB, Utah — A pit bull rehabilitated after being used as a top fighter in the dogfighting ring bankrolled by quarterback Michael Vick has died.

Officials at the Best Friends Animal Society say Lucas was euthanized Wednesday because of accumulating health problems.

Nearly two dozen of the Vick dogs were rehabilitated at Best Friends in Kanab, Utah. Lucas was one of two not allowed to be adopted because of his history as a fighter.

So, he spent most of his time lounging in the administrative offices at Best Friends, where he was widely known as one of the friendliest dogs at the sanctuary.

Gregory Castle, the CEO at Best Friends, says it was “a blessing in every way to be around him and to witness the wonderful effects on everyone he met.”