Browsing the web

I was recently browsing the web looking at various sites about breed-specific legislation and I came across a number of pages about Ontario, all of which I’d seen before and forgotten. So, for your reading pleasure, I’ve included them here.

Here is a wonderful petition created by the owners of a dog named Lily, a boxer-lab cross identified by authorities in Kitchener, Ontario, as a “pit bull”. The owners fought this and won. They created this petition to try to hold elected officials accountable for false and misleading statements made to the public.

In January and February 2005, 102 individuals and organizations made presentations to a committee in Ontario. The responsibility of this committee was to listen to public and expert opinion and to make recommendations regarding what was then Bill 132 and what eventually became the Dog Owners’ Liability Act of Ontario. The Dog Legislation Council of Canada has created a summary of those presentations.

It never ceases to amaze me how much information the Ontario government was given on this subject and how much it chose to ignore. Read for yourself the actual presentations and the committee’s final recommendations.

Some insightful comments about “pit bulls” by Antonia Zerbisias, columnist for the Toronto Star. Until recently, Antonia’s American Eskimo, Syd, played regularly with a number of different “pit bull type” dogs. My sincerest condolences to Antonia regarding Syd’s recent passing.

Here are some responses to Peter Worthington’s series of articles in the Toronto Sun, the latest of which was a half-hearted attempt to show both sides of the argument:

Dianne Singer
Bryan Dale
Steve Barker and Bryan Dale

In that same column, he dismisses as proposterous the notion that a Jack Russell Terrier attacked a “pit bull”, which did not respond in kind.

As a dog trainer, I have met the following Jack Russell Terriers:

  • A nine-month old puppy that had bitten each of the five human members of his family multiple times, twice seriously.
  • A two-year-old female that had tried, numerous times, to bite people in the face and could not be trusted to be petted or picked up.
  • A year-old dog that literally tried to kill any other dog that she met.
  • A two-year-old dog that had not had a bone in his house for over a year because he would seriously attack anyone who came near him once he had possession of one.

I actually really liked all of these dogs. They have all had their problems resolved, gradually, and they are wonderful dogs. But don’t tell me that your particular breed won’t bite, just because your own dog happened to be great, and don’t tell me that my dog will attack someone or something, just because you happened to meet one that did.

Here are Worthington’s other articles attacking pit bulls, their owners, and anyone who disagrees with him:

May 18, 2006 – Bite’s worse than its bark
July 5, 2006 – Pitbull attacks columnist’s dog

My own comments on his July article are here.

My final thoughts are with Linda Williamson, editor of the Toronto Sun and outspoken critic of the Ontario legislation. She has left the Sun and has dedicated her final column to her mother, who passed away in May of this year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*