Meanwhile back at the ranch, the headline "I became dinner" says a B.C. dog attack victim. Oops, that wasn't a 'pitbull' attack. It was a Labrador Retriever cross. So I guess it is safe to assume Lab's are on the hit list in B.C.?
The article I will throw my support behind this week is from KC Dogblog. Dog bites actually on the decline? So dog bites are down by some 80% over the last decade? Could this be because of education in bite prevention and better understanding of canine behaviour? Will we see this statement in the MSM? My odds will lie on the NO side. Who will buy papers with front page headlines fear mongering about dog attacks? Dog forbid the media will have to print some facts or do some research.
The DLCC would like to thank everyone who has written to government and expressed their concerns........
We have now entered into another phase of the process.
Bill 138 is before the Law Amendments Committee.
This committee is already aware of the public opinion about the amendments (from the MLA's) therefore it is NOT necessary to contact the government or this committee further.This will place us in a better position to facilitate open dialogue .
So hang tight,we will apprise everyone of any new developments as they unfold or you can visit...
Several months ago my husband and I had one huge dream dashed into the ground when we found out we could not purchase a home that we fell in love with more»
Just in time for National Bite Prevention Week, Stanley Coren is leading the public to believe one of the most popular breeds of dog are a model for not biting..
Kudos Caveat for keeping up with this issue. I have Bell Express Vu so I don't get the Ontario Legislature Channel. I wonder if the Fibs are behind the lack of Bell customers not having the channel? Not as easy to keep tabs on what they are up to, or rather what the 'ban' of the day is.
Our very own Selma Mulvey of the DLCC presented to the Mississauga Council regarding owner visitation for animals being held at city animal services. The video is now available at Mississauga Musings.
One week later Mississauga Council voted unanimously in favour of owner visitation.
For those of you who may not know who Merritt Clifton is, if you disagree with breed specific legislation, I guarantee you, you won't like what Mr. Clifton has to say.
Upon reading the beginning of the article, I got the impression the article was painting the true picture of skewed logic in insurance discrimination; however there always seems to be a but. (or butt, depending on which end you look at)
Quoting the HSUS is never a good thing, and beyond that quoting Merritt Clifton is definitely never a good thing!
Luisa, at Lassie Get Help, wrote a good article critiquing Merritt Clifton. This article has two parts. Here is the link to the second part. I think Merritt possibly did one too many hallucinogenic drugs in the 60's, because he seems to have carried some of the after effects forward into his studies and reports.
On the upside, my optimistic self truly feels there is going to be a distinct change of mind in the near future. I truly believe the 'thinking' people are starting to become more savvy to the fear mongering campaign. There is a cross section of the population, subject to the nonsensical spewing of the hard core monger. As for the rest of us, we are onto it...
Clifton, you are on the watch list! There is quite a colourful list of mongers, however thanks to technology we are hip to most. When you consider the odds of mongers per capita, there is a minute fraction of the population who dream up the fictitious crap. Fictitious crap that has NO scientific evidence, which at the end of the day you can try and try to stand behind a load of crap but it is still a load of crap. Unfortunately the media buys crap by the dump load. They must think it is a hell of a deal...
Keep the faith people that the people who follow the crap preachers are an even smaller cross section of the population. I like to call them trogs...
The word is, Rambo (whether the owners case is won or not) is likely to live.
A motion passed at a Mississauga general committee meeting, which will change the city's "pit bull" policy. The motion would provide a second option for dealing with DOLA dogs. Under the new legislation, the dogs would be given a temperament test. If the dog passes, the dog would be allowed to be sent out of province.
I am pleased with the leadership shown by the city of Mississauga. Here's hoping more cities in Ontario will follow Mississauga's lead. Actually, come to think of it, once precedence is set...
The city of Mississauga passed the decision to allow visitation at the city pound. Rambo's owner has since had her first visit with Rambo. The visit went very well according to this report at Random Access.
Dog owner Gabriela Nowakowska was informed today by Ward 6 Councillor Carolyn Parrish that the City has had a charge of heart and that she will be permitted to visit Rambo at the Mississauga Animal Control shelter.
One of our DLCC executive board members, Selma Mulvey, spoke at the council meeting this morning. Her presentation was instrumental in a unanimous vote in favour of granting Gabriella visitation rights with Rambo. Carolyn Parrish raised the motion in favour of allowing visitation.
There will be a final vote in the near future to change policy toward visitation for incarcerated dogs in Mississauga. This sets a valuable precedent for cities and towns.
Great work Selma, Carolyn and kudos to the city of Mississauga.
A friend sent me a link to a new concept in canine rescue. Their name is Rescue Ink.
I think every town and city should have a branch from this group. I absolutely love the concept. I thought about sending 'the boys', addresses for puppy killers Bryant and McGuinty. They do ask people to report animal cruelty cases...
I love this excerpt from their 'about us' page;
We're not a gang, vigilantes or a social organization, but we do have that certain "in your face" style when it comes to animal abusers.
That concept certainly works for me! I do not condone violence, but 'in your face' works for me.. Call me silly, but I do feel abusers will answer for their actions and how they have treated other living creatures at some point.
In the meantime, to make an animal abuser uncomfortable to say the least, gives me some satisfaction.
I love this line; "If we need to convince people to do the right thing ... we can be very convincing." How cool is that? I wonder if I could convince them to become members of the DLCC.. How fun would they be to hang with?
The story is how Rescue Ink found and returned to it's owner a dognapped Bulldog.
March 24, 2008 -- Beloved bulldog Clara - snatched outside a Midtown supermarket - has been returned to her grateful family, thanks to the efforts of some burly, tattooed volunteers from a Long Island animal-welfare group.
Remember our game, find the 'pit bull'? Well, the pound in Mississauga thought they would take it to higher stakes.. What we have here is a reverse beauty pageant with death as the door prize for any perceived loser. more»
First Aid Course Sunday May 4th at 10am in Hanover, Ontario. Please pass along this link to anyone you think may be interested. Please see attachment for a map to the location. more»
Carolyn Parrish, along with two of our own joined a panel discussion on Rogers Cable this week.
The panel discussion topic was about Rambo's case, but the facts were flying to the fact starved masses in Mississauga this week.
Here is the link to the streaming video. Unfortunately this was only a clip from the hour long show. If only they had a link to the whole show it would reach much further than the GTA.
I was going through some archived posts at Caveat and found these cartoons. Click on the highlighted links to link to the cartoons. I thought you would enjoy a chuckle too..
Calgary and comprehensive, effective animal bylaws belong in the same sentence. We have been shouting from the rooftops about the Calgary model for years now.
The proof is in the pudding. For those who can't quite get their head wrapped around the transformation from a bylaw into a practical, common sense plan; anyone can plainly see the results have paid off. Kudos to Calgary for implementing a long term plan and successfully achieving an environment that makes pet owners, non pet owners and pets equally happy!
Well, if a certain shape of dog is such a 'ticking time bomb', according to our ever so smart former AG, then why is it ok to send them to other provinces? more»
In light of cases in and around this great province of Ontariostan, a friend sent me a link to some advice for dog owners/breeder who may have an animal control officer at their door. more»
The Toronto Sun had a pathetic article today. Lassie Get Help, a well worth the read blog, has a good article in response to the Sun article.
The second article in The Toronto Sun was better. The girls from the "Pit Bull Co-op" had some good comments.
Gotta wonder at the timing of such an article within a week of killing Munchie? Is there some twisted logic going on here? Maybe a feeble attempt at justification?
The owners of Munchie, Sheila Yeung and Angela Feng, were working on Munchie's appeal and its financing when Toronto Animal Services killed Munchie. They weren't even told that Munchie had been killed; a reporter told them when he called them for their reaction.
I simply can't believe the insensitivity and lack of compassion. It appears that Toronto Animal Services notified the media without notifying Munchie's owners that he had been killed! Munchie's owners didn't find out their dog was gone until 3 days after the fact! I simply cannot imagine. My heart goes out to Sheila and Angela.
What we are asking everyone to do is write the editors of local and national papers and let them know what you think of this injustice, this outrage. Make sure you send to only one at a time so your letter doesn't go into a spam filter, and that your full name, address and phone number are on the letter.
Editor, Toronto Star - lettertoed @ thestar.ca (without the spaces) Editor, National Post - letters @ nationalpost.com (without the spaces) Editor, Globe & Mail - Letters @ globeandmail.com (without the spaces) Editor, Toronto Sun - torsun.editor @ sunmedia.ca (without the spaces)
In addition please email Mayor Miller to let him know your feelings.
I went to court (all 4 dates) and supported the person charged in this case yesterday. We withheld all information previous to the court date. I am going to continue to withhold the name of the person charged, but what I will tell you is this case took place in Barrie, Ontario.
I am pleased to tell you all charges were dropped against this young single mother!
The hell this woman went through in the past 7 months is enough to scare anyone. Luckily this woman got in touch with her vet immediately, who put her in touch with someone in the SBTCC. (Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada) That person in turn, put her in touch with me. We (DLCC) stood beside her every step of the way and offered support and resources. We referred her to a lawyer, who has done some outstanding work with the Sarnia case, this one and others. Kudos to Christopher Avery.
Some points to consider when mulling this case over in your head.
* The woman's ex-mother in law complained to the city she was in fear of her grandchildren's lives because their mother had 'pitbulls'. The pup was 4 months old (hound cross) and the other was a year and half old JRT mix.
* The ACO officer initially left a card in her door to make an appointment to come and license her dogs. She let him in her apartment thinking he was there to simply get her to tag her dogs (which she was prepared to do). He began taking pictures of her dogs and asked her if she knew anything about the ban. She was puzzled not thinking she owned banned dogs. Her young daughters began to get upset and cry asking if the man was going to take their dogs. He eventually pulled her into the hallway and gave her until 3pm the next afternoon to surrender her dogs for death. The AC officer told the prosecutor yesterday he did not seize the dogs immediately because of the children.
* The AC officer showed up the next day and the dogs were not there. She told him "the dogs are gone". She then told him to charge her or go away and closed the door. The dogs were put in hiding and were never surrendered to AC. If they had been surrendered, they would have dropped the charges, but her dogs would now be dead! She was charged under DOLA 3 weeks later. Had the charges not been dropped, she could have been facing 6 months in jail and/or 10,000.00 fine!
Do you think this couldn't happen to you?
Well think again! This is happening all over Ontario!
Think you are safe cause you don't own a 'pit bull'? Well think again! There have been dogs of all shapes and sizes seized and killed for being accused of being a banned dog in Ontario! Over 2000 dogs have now been killed in Ontario. This number is growing at a rapid rate. Caveat posted the checklist used in this case.
No one is safe and no one is immune.
We saved the Barrie dogs yesterday, but we lost Munchie this week. Rambo is still pending as are many other dogs sitting in pounds all over the province.
Sounds like some sick game doesn't it? Keeping score of how many we have lost and saved.. Nice game the Fiberals are playing with Ontario dog owners! Very sick indeed!
Another high profile case in Mississauga began today. Rambo has been on death row since Christmas day when he was picked up running at large. Unfortunately for him, the AC officer decided he looked like a banned dog and placed him on death row. Now, do you suppose if Rambo had longer hair he might have been home for dinner? He didn't do anything wrong other than go for a romp through the neighbourhood. He has won the hearts of everyone at the Mississauga pound and even won over the hearts of some of the Mississauga councillors including Carolyn Parrish.
Munchie, the lab mix involved in a high profile case in Toronto, was killed on Monday according to the Toronto Star.
Munchie lab mix
Two young female Ryerson University students were the owners of Munchie. Here is an excerpt from the story at Caveat:
The case began last September when Munchie escaped his downtown backyard. A scuffle ended with Munchie's quarantine and criminal charges against the man the dog is alleged to have attacked.
Sheila Yeung, one of Munchie's owners, said her neighbour had previously threatened to kill the dog and on that day he attacked the dog with a knife. When the dog broke free of his grasp, it ran into the house, she said.
Yeung, a 21-year-old Ryerson student, said she locked her door only to have the man break in, make threats and hold her at knifepoint. That man currently faces charges including uttering threats, break and enter and threatening with a weapon. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
But the man claims he and his dog were bitten. As a result, Munchie was quarantined and has remained with Animal Services since.
In October, Animal Services classified Munchie as a pit bull, and a threat to the safety of others.
Yeung said the dog is gentle and friendly. Munchie is a mutt who looks like a chocolate Lab, she said.
As of Feb 14, 2008 the court upheld a decision by Toronto Animal Services to have the 4-year-old dog destroyed. Munchie has 30 days to live, pending an appeal. Unfortunately this case cost the students over 15,000.00 in legal costs. An appeal would have been very expensive and difficult to win. Munchie paid the highest price. He paid with his life.
In my opinion, it sounds as if these girls had a dirt bag neighbour with an axe to grind. He was in jail 9 days before offering up the information he had been allegedly bitten by Munchie. The police said he had a scratch and why would he wait 9 days before offering up this information?
Thank you again Michael Bryant and the Liberal government of Ontario, for providing the opportunity, to people with a vendetta, to put the victim and their dog on the chopping block! I have been actively involved in many cases in Ontario and most of them have a neighbour or family member (usually of the "ex" persuasion) who have lodged a complaint, which resulted in the dog ending up in custody and later dead.
Well known Animal Behaviourist, Cheryl Smith, performed an assessment on Munchie. Here is an excerpt from that assessment:
Even under less optimum conditions, Munchiedid not display aggressive behaviour during the entire Assessment.
To read the full report of the assessment go to Munchie's blog.
Caveat was in touch with the owners of Munchie. The girls gave Caveat some details into the case. There are some disturbing details that Caveat wrote in this story. Check it out!
I am outraged at the state of this province! I have been involved in this fight against breed discrimination for the last 5 years, and even though I must say I have "toughened" up, my heart bleeds for the thousands of dogs that have lost their lives to this INSANE law!
