Owners of former Vick dogfighting house seek to preserve its history, shed a new controversy

Much has changed at the former headquarters of Michael Vick's dogfighting operation in Surry County.

The anti-chaining organization Dogs Deserve Better bought the 15-acre compound and its five-bedroom house in 2011. The property where dogs were once brutalized is now a refuge for dogs rescued from a life of being chained or penned.

But the organization has had its own animal cruelty controversy. Its founder was charged in 2012 with mistreating a dog, which was seized by the county. A judge found no evidence of abuse and ordered the dog returned, and the charges were dropped.

Now the organization and its founder are suing animal control workers in federal court for unspecified damages. Settlement talks are underway.