Dogs, politics, media, and more


And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground,
no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws,
his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death. -- George Graham Vest
Latest Entries

Dog killed by police in La Grange, Missouri, after being captured

Video and description of dog being shot by police in La Grange, Missouri, after having been captured by a catch pole.

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City of Brampton hires an outside lawyer

The city of Brampton has hired an outside lawyer to continue to persecute the owners of docile family pets, including a 75-year-old lady on a pension.

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Unbelievable misuse of taxpayers’ money

I have to say, I cannot recall ever seeing a city do this before. The City of Brampton has taken out a full-page ad in their local newspaper in order to “defend” their employees’ actions in seizing two family pets and scheduling their destruction. So, not only does Rui Branco (the owner of one of the dogs) have to pay for his own lawyer, but his (and many other irate dog owners’) taxes are being used to help the city try to kill his dog and to try to hoodwink the public with cover-their-butt propaganda!

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Can’t travel through Winnipeg with my dog, either!

Some people made a suggestion to a friend of mine that, if she wants to move from the West Coast of Canada to Nova Scotia with her dogs, she should drive to Winnipeg and then fly the rest of the way in order to skip dog-hating Ontario. I investigated that possibility and here’s the (bad) news.

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In case anyone was wondering?

In 2005, a lady wrote to then Ontario Minister of Tourism, Jim Bradley, to find out if she could drive through Ontario with her dogs to get from Saskatchewan to Nova Scotia. This was his reply.

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News articles about Brampton dogs and letters to the editors

Here are all the news stories I can find about the two dogs seized in Brampton. I have also included info for writing letters to the editors of the major Toronto and national newspapers, as well as the Brampton Guardian.

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Two boxer-crosses seized as "pit bulls" in Brampton

Brampton, Ontario, has really put their foot in it this time! These are two more cases that really need both media and public attention, ASAP.

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Complicit in their own diminishment

In case you were wondering how anybody could persuade 70+ intelligent, rational, elected government representatives to define a dog as dangerous based only on they way it looks, here’s a Toronto Star article explaining how.

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Toledo’s "pit bull" law unconstitutional!

Great news! Portions of Toledo Ohio’s pit bull restrictions have been struck down by a judge.

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Kitchener-Waterloo pit bull committee meeting minutes 1997

I saw a discussion about pit bull myths on Facebook and it reminded me of some documents I have from government meetings regarding the city of Kitchener, Ontario. Here are some of the crazier things that were said by authorities at those meetings.

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Great article on responsible dog ownership

Here is a great article by LeeAnn O’Reilly, president of the Dog Legislation Council of Canada, with whom I have worked for six years.

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Journalist with good news story ends on a sour note

Some good news out of Ontario for two condemned young dogs. They’ve been shipped to the SPCA in Fredericton, New Brunswick. It’s a shame that Shawn Berry from the Daily Gleaner felt it necessary to end the story by quoting from the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeals judges. In my opinion, it is probably one of the most inaccurate and inflammatory statements ever put into print by a judge about “pit bulls”.

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British Columbia: Langley City pet shop dogged by parvo virus

A Langley City pet shop appears to have a lot of sick dogs!

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Another dictatorship town in Canada

Carstairs, Alberta, has a dog bylaw that restricts three “breeds”. One isn’t a breed at all and the other two are misspelled!

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Ozzy: Musician, reality TV star, and now DOG BEHAVIOUR EXPERT?

Somehow, Ozzy Osbourne has morphed from bat-eating heavy metal rock star (who I thought was great) to reality TV family man to now self-appointed expert on dog breed identification and dog behaviour.

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Humane Society of United States – 2008 Tax Filing

In 2008, HSUS spent just HALF of ONE PERCENT of its total budget on organizations providing hands-on care to dogs and cats.

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Official Vick’s Dog Chew Toy

It’s too bad I didn’t find this in time for Christmas. A lot of my friends would have received it.

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Animal Rights reviewed (again)

I was in a bookstore yesterday browsing the pet section and came across Ingrid Newkirk’s book “The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights”. I didn’t buy it, although I still may. What I did do, however, was collect all my earlier articles on animal rights organizations. Here is what I’ve collected to-date.

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Eagles name Michael Vick their Ed Block Courage Award recipient!!

The Philadelphia Eagles have named Michael Vick their Ed Block Courage Award recipient!

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Facebook group "Boycott Nike"

Message from the owner of the Facebook group “Boycott Nike”: “I want to remind everyone NOT to buy Nike during this holiday season. They continue to supply Michael Vick with free product but refused to send me free sneakers for the volunteers at my local animal shelter. Please encourage your friends and family to do the same. Thank you.”

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Copyright © Steve Barker, 2010. All rights reserved.