Wag the Dog

All dog owners beware.  When the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the Dog Owner’s Liability Act, it also brought back the portions of the law that had been struck in the lower court ruling.  Why does this matter to all dog owners?  The substantially similar clause has been reinstated.

If you have an unregistered or mixed breed dog with short hair consider moving.  At the turn of an Animal Control Officer’s head, your dog could be misidentified as a “pitbull”.  The onus is then on you to prove that it isn’t.  How do you prove that it isn’t if it isn’t registered as something else?  You can’t. While you argue your case your dog will be impounded as though it were no more significant than an inanimate object.  If you lose, your dog will be killed.  One dog in Mississauga was in a 4’ by 3’ kennel for over nine months, more than half of his life, while his fate was decided.  He was allowed fifteen minutes of socialization per day for nine months.  This is one case, but there are many.  In many cases, the dogs do not resemble at all any of the three rare, purebred dogs that are banned, not to an educated eye.  The fourth banned breed is non existent.

If you own a Boxer, Presa Canario, Cane Corso, Vizsla, Pointer, Bullmastiff, Rottweiler, Doberman, Rhodesian Ridgeback, Catahoula, Chesapeake Bay Retriever, American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldog, Bull Terrier, Great Dane or a Lab mix be especially worried.  Add to that Australian Cattle Dog mixes, Jack Russell mixes.  Any dog with short hair and an athletic appearance could be misidentified.  Any dog with a head that isn’t as narrow and pointed as a Collie could be targeted.  Ironically I watched my husband get attacked by a Collie on the face and throat.  He was extremely lucky to live, and needed an ambulance and a lot of stitches.  If I were uneducated about dogs, I might jump to the conclusion based on my anecdotal evidence that all Collies are unpredictable and dangerous, but I know better.  Incidentally it also didn’t make any news stories since it was a Collie, even though it was quite a serious attack.

If you think that your dog doesn’t look anything like any of the three banned purebred dogs, think again:  Animal Control Officers have proven time and time again that their breed identification skills are weak at best.  Add to this that you should be worried anyway, since when three breeds and anything that looks like it might be mixed with one are banned, it’s just as easy to add a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth, and so on.

The truth is, this isn’t even about dogs.  It’s about rights.  I agree with those who say that they have the right to be safe from dog attacks, but safe from any dog attack, not certain breeds.  Breed bans actually do a disservice to victims of bites by other breeds.   Yes we need responsible dog ownership laws, fines, even jail time if warranted.  Not breed bans.  Good people, family people are being punished.  Good dogs, family dogs, are being persecuted and killed, while idiot owners go out and get other breeds and are still idiot owners, and it’s somewhat important to note that even if that doesn’t bother you, giving up rights should.  Allowing warrantless search and seizure should. 

Discrimination based on appearance is wrong, plain and simple.  There are so many myths about these breeds, but physiologically they are just dogs.  So put aside your preconceived notions and stand up for rights in your province, and tell your government you want them to stop killing puppies.