Not surprisingly, a pit bull is even money.
The gambling site Bodog.com has posted a provocative proposition bet: "What will be the first type of dog will Michael Vick own after his supervised release?"
The Eagles quarterback, who served 18 months in federal prison for running a dog-fighting and gambling operation, was barred as part of his December 2008 sentence from buying, selling or owning a dog at least until May 2012.
So he can't legally own one for a year and a half.
"I said it before that I wish I can own a dog and I'll continue to say it," he told the Associated Press on Thursday. "I'm not allowed to, but I'm just saying I wish I could because my kids ask me every day. It's more so for them than for me."
Only seven breeds (including one seriously misspelled) are listed for the proposition bet, by the Antiqua-based bookmaker:
Pit Bull, 1-1
Bulldog, 2-1
Labrador, 5-1
Golden Retriever, 6-1
"German Sheppard," 7-1
Poodle, 25-1
Chihuahua, 30-1
What about . . . B-E-A-G-L-E-S, beagles!?
"Must own a dog by December 31st 2012 for wagers to have action," Bodog advises.
Pit bulls were brutally murdered at Vick's Bad Newz Kennels, but he says those days are all behind him.
"I don't have a problem. I'm not a psychopath. I'm not crazy. I'm a human being," he said. "What happened in my past and what I did in the culture I grew up in doesn't shape and mold me as the person I am now."
The president and CEO of the Humane Society of America, however, says Vick isn't ready - even though, in conjunction with the society, he has spoken to more than two dozen groups of schoolchildren about the evils of dog fighting.
"It's too early in terms of his own rehabilitation, and that's the principle behind the restriction on pet-keeping in the Vick household that the court meted out," wrote Wayne Pacelle in his blog.
"All of that said, I do think that if his rehabilitation progresses and he handles the probation period flawlessly, it could be a good thing for Michael Vick's family to have a pet at the end of that process. To adopt a pet is the most cherished desire of countless millions of children everywhere, including Michael Vick's two little girls, London and Jada. It's the most natural thing in the world for a parent to want to grant that wish."