Michael Vick Sells House at Center of Dogfighting Scandal to Developer for Auction

The rural house that was a focus of the dogfighting case against Michael Vick has been sold by the fallen NFL player to a developer.

The developer planned to hold an open house of the Surrey County, Va., property before auctioning it off, according to The Virginian-Pilot, citing realtor Kyle Hause Jr., who has been involved in the deal.

The Pilot reported that Vick, of Newport News, Va., sold the 4,300-square-foot home and the 15 acres of land it sits on to Wilbur Ray Todd Jr. of Todd Builders.

Todd will show the estate from noon to 4 p.m. EST Dec. 8-9 and put it on the auction block Dec. 15, Hause told the paper.

The developer paid $450,000 for the five-bedroom house, less than the assessed value of the property, which is $747,000.

The house was the headquarters of Vick’s dogfighting business “Bad Newz Kennels,” which he founded in 2001 with three other people.

Meanwhile, a dozen dogs seized from the property have been transferred to a Virginia Beach shelter for evaluation and potential adoption.

The Humane Society of the United States says the dogs were transferred to the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They had been in the custody of the Surry County animal shelter.

The dogs include nine beagles, two Rottweilers and one 100-plus-pound dog of an unknown breed.

Officials at the shelter say they won't disclose which dogs were taken from Vick's property last April as part of an investigation into the dogfighting ring.

The deadline for animal-rescue organizations to apply to take custody of the 48 pit bulls seized from the property was earlier this week.

Vick and his associates pleaded guilty over the summer to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge. The pro-football player was suspended by the NFL and will be sentenced Dec. 10. He faces up to five years in prison.

The four also are up on state charges.

Click here to read the full story in The Virginian-Pilot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.