ONTARIO ' S THIRD BANIVERSARY

(Originally published last year, with some minor modifications)

It was four years ago yesterday that a phantom victim from whom we never heard again was allegedly being 'eaten from the ground up' in Toronto by two dogs he had bred and was walking for a friend in the middle of the night.   Apparently, he was inebriated and had one of the dogs in a head lock when he was bitten.

I'll say one thing for our former Attorney General, he knew how to turn a colourful phrase.  Unfortunately, while the new Attorney General isn't as theatrical, he's as unable to think logically about doggy issues as Bryant, who is gone but not forgotten.

Shortly thereafter, the hyperbole came to town.  We heard about 'inherently dangerous beasts, haunting our streets'.  We were told that 'pit bulls' were 'ticking time bombs'.  We listened to wild flights of fancy where 'pit bulls' were '150-pound beasts, crashing through the fence' and were 'a breed apart'. 

Aren't all dogs a 'breed apart' when you think about it?  I mean, isn't that the point of purebred dogs?  A Gordon Setter is a breed apart, a Border Terrier is a breed apart, a Brussels Griffon is a breed apart - they are all breeds apart.

It was tough to keep a straight face (or to keep your blood pressure down) when that wacky Bryant was off on one of his rants.

While watching the infamous televised sideshow featuring Bryant on October 15, 2004 where he made these silly statements and others, I was actually more interested in one of the questions from the floor.

"Attorney General, there is no such breed as 'pit bull'.  How will you prove that a dog is a 'pit bull'?"

"We don't have to.  We're gonna to make them prove they aren't ...buk-buk"

Louise Ellis, whose daughter was bitten in the face by a dog she claimed was a 'pit bull' (a dog already on a muzzle order being managed by a lout who eyewitnesses say was intoxicated at the time), was on stage with Bryant.  Talk about a subjective thinker on a vendetta against a shape of animal.  The mind boggles.

Some people just can't extrapolate or generalize.  That is the root of most of the strife in the world today.

Anyway, on her way out she tossed off a remark about her daugher: '...but she loves her Springer Spaniel'.  I immediately emailed Bryant to ask him to have Ms Ellis research the breed and talk to her breeder because of a documented neurological disorder that runs through some lines of Springers and which causes them to - wait for it - attack viciously and without warning.

So, she has a hate on for 'pit bulls' but she has a Springer spaniel?  That is one knowledgeable dog owner. 

Our new Attorney General, Bentley, has a Springer spaniel too.  He believes that Bullmastiffs and Dogues de Bordeaux are 'pit bulls'.  Actually, I'm not sure what he believes, since he just sent in the form response written by Dalton McGuinty when we surveyed him during last fall's election campaign.  In a way, that's even worse.

There's another anniversary which is even more repugnant and it isn't Hurricane Katrina, although the number of dogs put to death by so-called animal protection groups during that situation is horrendous to contemplate.

Today marks the third anniversary of the enactment of Ontario's foray into the world of wilful ignorance.

Today is the third anniversary of the effective date of the Ontario dog breed ownership ban.

We're still fighting, we'll never give up.

How about you? 

Donate to the legal fund, help pay the bills for the case.  You can do that here:

http://www.doglegislationcouncilcanada.org/donate.html.

Every dollar counts, it really does.

We'll be at the Ontario Court of Appeals on September 15 and 16, Osgoode Hall, Toronto.  Keep your paws crossed for a ruling on the side of decency and fairness, will you?

Comments

[unknown]

Paws crossed and prayers headed up.

[unknown]

I still remember that attack that Bryant and the Fibs used to "justify" killing dogs and makng responsible owners into second-class citizens...the peson attacked supposedly bred the dogs, there were claims of prior aggression towards humans but no action by Toronto Animal Services, and Toronto Police proved that they needed some serious time on the shooting range, it was just lucky no one was shot in the process.
Considering that we never saw an owners name or victims name printed, no statement of charges laid, nada, I wonder.....

[unknown]

Yeah, that was one of the attacks that just didnt seem to get much play...I think it was a fake, myself. Like a lot of them.