Great article on responsible dog ownership
Written by Steve Barker on January 16th, 2010
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.
Category Archives: Responsible Ownership
Stop Viacom and BET from airing "The Michael Vick Project"
Written by Steve Barker on December 20th, 2009
Andrew Kirschner from the group “Stop Viacom and BET from airing The Michael Vick Project” spoke with a representative from Viacom this week who confirmed that BET will be airing the Michael Vick Reality Project. As you know, $Vick$ signed a “lucrative contract” (undisclosed terms) to star in his own reality show. It is time for us to prepare to boycott the show’s commercial sponsors.
No animal cruelty charges?
Written by Steve Barker on December 18th, 2009
An emaciated pit bull and her eight neglected puppies, whose teenage owners advertised them for sale on craigslist.org, are recovering at the Nanaimo SPCA. No charges are expected to be filed.
Calgary Animal Services
Written by Steve Barker on September 24th, 2009
Yesterday, I went to Nanaimo BC to attend a seminar by Bill Bruce, manager of Bylaw Services for Calgary Alberta. Putting it bluntly, Calgary has the best run Animal Services department in North America. Here’s a quick overview.
Kudos to Nackawic! No more BSL!
Written by Steve Barker on September 12th, 2009
Congratulations to Nackawic town council for listening to your dog owners! There are plenty of other places in this country that could learn a thing or two from you.
Congratulations to Kris, Cheyenne, Dakota, and Tahoe!
Written by Steve Barker on September 12th, 2009
Congratulations to Kris, Cheyenne, Dakota, and Tahoe for being presented with the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Just stay away from Ontario as you travel the continent saving lives.
Problem Dogs WANTED!!
Written by Steve Barker on January 27th, 2009
We are searching for FOUR demonstration dogs with various issues for a “CANINE CONFLICT” seminar with Cheryl Smith and Calvin Thompson in Beeton, Ontario, Canada in May 2009.
Sad, angry, and frustrated
Written by Steve Barker on December 18th, 2007
The pit bull puppy in my earlier story Animal cruelty and the Ontario government is now on her way to be cremated. She died this morning at the vet’s office.
A good article with a few missteps
Written by Steve Barker on November 8th, 2007
Here is a reasonably intelligent commentary on “pit bulls”, albeit from an author who is admittedly biased toward this particular type of dog. Like myself, however, he wasn’t always that way.You can read his story at: http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/article.aspx?id=17766 In general, this is a well-articulated discussion of the plight of these dogs on this continent. There are, [...]
Their minds were made up!
Written by Steve Barker on November 7th, 2007
If you want proof that the mind of the Ontario government was made up BEFORE the Bill 132 committee hearings, you need look no further than these comments by Conservative MPP Joe Tascona and NDP MPP Peter Kormos, in opposition to the Bill.Any rational, logical person could not listen to what these two men had [...]
An illogical leap
Written by Steve Barker on October 31st, 2007
Craig McInnes of the Vancouver Sun wrote this article in September which initially appeared to lament the dangers of loose dogs to children.The basic premise of the first third of his story, and certainly the gist of the headline, is that a child, when walking or playing in a place where the child is supposed [...]
Media catches up
Written by Steve Barker on October 31st, 2007
Tuesday uncovered a few more media outlets covering the story of the eleven-year-old boy ordering his dog to attack other children.I won’t be so presumptious as to pretend that letters to the editors from myself and others made a difference. It’s probably just the rest of the news organizations catching up to the Toronto Star. [...]
Where is the media?
Written by Steve Barker on October 29th, 2007
Thank you to the Toronto Star for being the ONLY paper to print this story.I was not able to find the story in any other newspaper. This incident did not happen in a small, obscure town with only one daily or weekly paper. This happened in Toronto, with at least six daily newspapers and many [...]
Agenda? Who? Us?
Written by Steve Barker on October 26th, 2007
The blatant media pandering to an irrational public fear is starting to get a little old.Below, I’ve copied all three articles from the St. Catharines Standard about a dog and woman being bitten by a “pit bull”. I had to do this because, unfortunately, the Standard, like the rest of the Osprey Media publications, start [...]
Dangerous and Disruptive Pets Survey
Written by Steve Barker on October 19th, 2007
Here is a brief summary of a survery conducted by Ipsos Canada. The summary was also produced by Ipsos, so the “interesting tidbits” listed for each city have been selected by the editors of the news release and, as such, may not actually be the most revealing statistics. I’m hoping to get the full report [...]
Miakoda’s dead
Written by Steve Barker on September 24th, 2007
I received this letter today from East Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Please read and act. Miakoda’s dead. My baby. My pride & joy. Cole’s best friend…….is dead. All because of some irresponsible *******. I’ll got into more detail later, but what happened was the temp outside was nice, all the neighbors were out working the yards [...]
Most politicians don’t know why dogs bite
Written by Steve Barker on July 18th, 2007
I recognize that some people encourage human aggression in their dogs, including training them to intimidate or attack people. I recognize that some people encourage dog aggression in their dogs, including training them to fight each other.I recognize that some people allow their dogs to run loose or escape and thus create fear in their [...]
Not "pit bulls"? Not interested!
Written by Steve Barker on June 25th, 2007
Since I’ve been involved in dog legislation issues, I have seen many newspaper articles and TV stories about “pit bulls”. They range from ridiculous to horrifying and everything in between.I have seen instances of articles being passed from newspaper to newspaper throughout the world, cases of multiple local and national newspapers and TV stations carrying [...]
The death of the mixed breed dog
Written by Steve Barker on June 7th, 2007
There was a time when, if asked, I would have said that only licensed, ethical breeders of registered, purebred dogs should be allowed to breed, in order to eliminate backyard breeding and puppy milling. As with most absolutes, I have gradually been forced to re-examine that attitude, for a variety of reasons.I guess, first of [...]
Ontario residents: Bill 232 – not bad, needs some work
Written by Steve Barker on June 1st, 2007
Bob (Robert) Runciman, the House Leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, has introduced Bill 232 in the Ontario legislature. It contains amendments to the Ontario SPCA Act regarding cruelty to dogs and cats to allow the courts to impose jail terms up to two years less a day, fines up to $60,000 and [...]