Today, a member of one of the Internet groups that I’m on asked if a certain mix of dog has to be muzzled in Ontario. Here’s my answer. I would like to say “to avoid confusion”, but unfortunately that wouldn’t be true.
This is my somewhat detailed explanation of what happened during Ontario’s clause-by-clause hearings on Bill 16 on May 9, 2012.
I have a minor correction to the Canadian “death by dog” statistics that I quoted in my letter to the Toronto Star. The actual numbers are very similar, but I feel I should give you the exact statistics instead of my prior guesses.
Thomas Walkom was outspoken against the Ontario ban in 2004 and 2005 and was one of the voices of reason in the media at the time. It’s nice to see he’s still speaking out. Thanks, Thomas.
A satirical look at the Toronto Star’s “pit bulls are dangerous” editorial.
So let’s see how much airplay/newsprint this story gets, since the attacking dog clearly can’t be reported as a “pit bull”.
Bet that got your attention! That’s the headline of a February 26 Toronto Star editorial to which I respond here.
Here is a list of every Ontario MPP and how they voted at the second reading of Bill 16 (including those who didn’t vote).
Great news! Bill 16 passed its second reading today in the Ontario Legislature!
Randy Hillier, one of the sponsors of Bill 16, left a comment on my last blog entry that significantly increases my optimism about this bill’s potential to become law, so much so that I decided to write an updated article about it.
What’s the big deal with Bill 16 in Ontario? Why is it important to dog owners and why is it important for you to show up at Queen’s Park on February 23?
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
Kerry Pakarinen and his dog, Preacher, are still walking across Canada and are still in Ontario.
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