Well, there’s this guy named Jarrod Cooper. Cooper plays for the Oakland Raiders, and, was suspended four games last year for steroid use. Based on this information, he is somewhat akin to Mr. Vick.

But, take a look at what Cooper did with his time while he was suspended:

He needed something to fill his time, to distract him from the disturbing thoughts that filled his head and to begin building a future without football. So he arrived at the {animal} shelter like any other volunteer. The staff members didn’t ask too many questions about the heavily muscled young man with elaborate tattoos, but they did find him intriguing.

“He’d drive up in this nice car. He had all this time,” volunteer coordinator Megan Webb said, laughing. “We had no idea.”

Cooper returned to the Raiders, and everyone at the shelter figured out who he was late in the season, when he got hurt and arrived to volunteer on crutches. By then, he was hooked on the place. He had become the perfect antidote to Vick and his sadistic dogfighting ring - a pro athlete who owned big dogs and, more and more every day, devoted the fierce intensity cultivated by football to the cause of protecting animals.

“When I first came here, I’d see a mean dog, I’d say what’s wrong with that dog? And now if I would see a mean dog, I think, ‘Who did that to this animal?’ ” he said. “The dogs only do what you train them to do.”

This isn’t a Nashville story, or even a blog piece, but Cooper’s story moved me. The power of animals to change your heart, and ultimately your life, is a compelling one. Click here for the rest of the story (he’s even working with a society to teach pit bull owners how to train their pets!)