Caveat

I ' VE MOVED

This will look like one long sentence. Since blogware isn't supporting its product any more, I've moved to Typepad. NEW ADDRESS IS: http://caveat.typepad.com/blog/

IT ' S PETITION TIME AGAIN!

Something is wrong with blogware, they are looking into it. Our first batch of petitions will be presented in the Ontario Legislature today by MPP Julia Munro. We plan to send petitions along as they are signed to keep the issue on the floor until the next election, when McGuinty will hopefully be ousted. If you LIVE IN ONTARIO, please print out a petition from the attached file and try to get it signed. Each page holds 10 signatures, so it's easy to count how many you have collected. You can also get the petition at this link: http://caveat.blogware.com/Petition%20to%20Repeal%20BSL.pdf Be careful when getting signatures. Smudges, crossouts, etc, can invalidate an entire page of petitions. All RESIDENTS OF ONTARIO may sign, including those who have not reached the age of majority. I am taking these to dog shows on a clipboard and asking people to sign. There are many opportunities to get signatures - at the dog park, the pet food shop, the groomers, among family and friends, etc. Once you have some signatures - you don't need a full sheet - please mail them to: Julia Munro, MPP P O Box 1129 18977 Leslie Street Sharon ON L0G 1V0 OR: Julia Munro MPP Room 204 North Wing Legislative Building Queen's Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A8 THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION. TOGETHER, WE CAN END BSL IN ONTARIO! hERE IS THE TEXT OF THE PETITION: TO: The Legislative Assembly of Ontario WHEREAS: Aggressive dogs are found among all breeds and mixed breeds; and WHEREAS breed-specific legislation has been shown to be an expensive and ineffective approach to dog bite prevention; and WHEREAS problem dog owners are best dealt with through education, training and legislation encouraging responsible behaviour; WE the undersigned petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as follows: To repeal the breed-specific sections of the Dog Owners' Liability Act (2005) and to implement legislation that encourages responsible ownership of all dog breeds and types.

COURTUS INTERRUPTUS

Bowser at 8 weeks

We showed up on Monday for court to support Danny and Bowser.  We had a fantastic lawyer and were well armed and ready to fight the "pit bull" designation that had been applied to Bowser by Mississauga Animal Control back in December, 2008.

Unfortunately for those of us who were looking forward to a good rumble, but fortunately for Danny, the Crown wanted to cut a deal.

They dropped the charge under Ontario's Dog Owners' Liability Act (DOLA) of owning a prohibited "pit bull" (in this case a dog that was too young to be in Ontario) and asked Danny to plead to the lesser charge of owning a dog that "...has behaved in a manner that poses a menace to the safety of persons or domestic animals" (Section 4. 1(b) of DOLA).  With this came a fine, which on hindsight we probably could have bartered down, but that's not a big deal since I don't have to pay it.

This was a win for Danny and Bowser, for dog owners in Ontario and for organizations such as the DLCC that have been quietly helping dog owners get through the nightmarish process of fighting to save their dogs all over the province.

The court has decided that Bowser is NOT a "pit bull" within the meaning of the law but is substantially similar to a Boxer-Rottweiler mixed breed dog.  This precedent can help other dog owners whose pets may resemble Bowser.

In dropping the whole "pit bull" part of the charge, the Crown basically said it didn't have enough to defend the designation.  They had no experts on deck. An Animal Control officer was present but he is not considered an expert.  This was nicely summarized in the Miami decision posted by Brent last Friday and according to our lawyer, there are Canadian precedents that concur with that decision.

We had expert testimony in the form of an excellent letter from a veterinarian with decades of experience, as well as a letter from a CKC (Canadian Kennel Club) licensed all-breed judge also with decades of experience both in Canada and abroad.  In a nutshell, the vet said that in his opinion, Bowser was substantially similar to a Boxer-Rottweiler mix.  The judge pointed out the many areas where Bowser did not fit the standards of any of the three breeds banned in Ontario.

*

A few points I'd like to mention:

1. There has been a hue and cry, especially on Facebook, with people wanting the name of the vet clinic that originally ratted Danny out to Animal Control for owning a prohibited "pit bull".  They didn't get it from me two years ago and they won't get it from me now.

I suspect that because people are angry and frustrated over the "pit bull" legislation, they are looking for someone to blame, someone to punish.  I say look no further than Dalton McGuinty - he is the one who should have leashed and muzzled his then-Attorney General.  He is the one who should have listened to the overwhelming opposition to his scheme in the Legislature, in public opinion polls and correspondence and especially at Committee where many expert organizations and individuals spent time and money appearing to explain why the "breed" (lol) ban was the wrong route to dog bite prevention.  Dalton McGuinty and his minions MUST be voted out in October.  If you are angry, show up and vote.

I personally won't be held responsible for vandalism or other mischief that may befall that clinic.  Since they obviously didn't want to testify in favour of the designation - remember, the Crown had no expert witnesses  - for all we know it was just a staff member who called it in.  That person may not even be working there anymore.

Anyway, ultimately they did dog owners in Mississauga a favour because Bowser is NOT a "pit bull" in that city.

2.  We were chatting with the Animal Control officer after the hearing.  I asked him what people could do to protect themselves, since most people have no idea that they own a "pit bull". All you have to do is look at how different all the dogs are that have been identified as "pit bulls" by authorities.  You can see just a few of them in my slideshow, left sidebar right under the search box near the top.

He said they should get a note from their vet stating that their dog is, for example, a Labrador retriever-Boxer mix, and carry it with them.  That's good enough for Animal Control in Mississauga if they stop someone.

Yes, it does sound rather Naziesque - "Veer ah yo papuz?" but so what?  This is Nazi-type legislation, discrimination based not on behaviour but appearance, so like it or not, if you see your vet and get such a note you will be protected.  This applies in Mississauga but in my view, it couldn't hurt no matter where you live in Ontario if you own a short-haired, medium-sized mutt.  Remember, under the law vets can identify dogs as "pit bulls" which means they can also identify dogs as not "pit bulls".

*

Anyway, congratulations to Danny for standing up and getting through the past two-plus years with your dignity intact.  I'm glad we could help in a small way and I hope you and Bowser have a great time together from here on in.  It was a pleasure to work with you on this case.

I'm a Rabbit too.  So this is our year!

If you want to congratulate Danny, visit this page on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=61941358224

Almost forgot!  Brindlestick has a post about this as well, you can read it here.

Bowser in June, 2010

THE WINTER OLYMPICS

I just wanted to briefly comment on the Vancouver games because I'm furious at the way people are behaving.  This is being written by a non-sports fan, just so you know.  I did used to ski a lot when I was younger, though, and my brother was even on the ski patrol.

Canadian sports fans, you're embarrassing me.

At first, our hope was to win one gold medal, since Canada hadn't won a gold at either of the games we previously hosted - summer games in Montreal in 1976 (which was when lotteries came into being, they were so in debt they legalized lottery games for that one time only lol) and winter sports in Calgary in 1988.

Alexandre Bilodeau won the first gold medal for Canada with a jaw-dropping performance in men's moguls.  Everybody was happy and excited and proud of this charming young athlete who had finally broken our bum record.

Then the whining started.

Media talking heads began irresponsibly hyping every event and every Canadian athlete as a shoe-in for a medal.  When that didn't occur, the tone changed to 'What happened?  What went wrong?'.

Nothing went wrong, you wankers, real life got in the way.  This isn't a video game or a movie set where you do 100 takes if need be until you get it right.  This is once out of the gate and down the hill or around the rink.  As I say, real life.

These kids are playing their hearts out on the hills and ice and I certainly hope they are ignoring the media coverage because it's disgusting.

The culmination, for me, was when I read on the front page of last Saturday's Toronto Star that we were promised lots of medals and it wasn't happening, so everything sux. Waaah.  Melissa Hollingsworth was supposed to get gold in Skeleton and she only got 5th place, so OwnThePodium.ca and everybody on the Olympic team are big, fat liars.  Waaah.

That article infuriated me, but it got worse.

Melissa Hollingsworth held a press conference to apologize, tearfully outlining how she had let the country down, what a failure she was, etc. She appeared to me to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

I was shouting at the TV  "Kid!  You're a champ!  Placing fifth these days is like placing first!  You didn't let the country down.  These are games, get it?  They're supposed to be fun!  Somebody has to place first, somebody has to place fifth.  Cut yourself some slack!"

The difference between first place and fifth place in Women's Skeleton was .96 of a second.

Get it?

I think we have a few problems here.

1.  The ability to measure distance and time is exact to such minute quantities that it's almost become meaningless.  Maybe we should be giving out more medals, expanding to 10th place or something.

2.  The human body has obviously  not kept up with technology.

3.  The over-hyping and phoney patriotism* have put nearly unendurable pressure on the kids competing at the games, especially those representing Canada since we are hosting it.  Maybe some of these media wankers who are criticizing people's performances would like to try an event.  That's if they can pry their weak, doughnut-eating selves away from their keyboards and actually gear up for some outdoor exercise, which is a big 'if'.


Let's try to retain the spirit of the Olympic games - clean competition by the best athletes each country has to enter (I wonder how the Snow Leopard from Ethiopa is making out?).  Let's try cheering for the winners, even those dastardly Americans, who finally beat us at hockey after a 50-year dry spell. 

Maybe there's hope for the Leafs after all.

*

*I say phoney because people are singing the national anthem (off key, of course) and aren't standing.  Shows a lack of familiarity with protocol.  Screaming zt the top of our lungs isn't the usual way we show patriotism in Canada, folks.  And the whining?  Don't get me started.  Try toning it down a bit, will you? 

On the upside, all these newly minted patriotic Canadians might actually start to realize what a fantastic country this is.  That could mean they'd start paying attention to what slimeball politicians such as the McGuinty Liberals are doing to erode their rights.  They might even make a fuss, maybe even vote them out of office.

Yeah, I know, I'm a dreamer.

IS THIS HOW WE WANT TO LIVE?

And another oldie from the bin.   Now I'm fresh out and will have to start working again.

Seriously, is it?

Do we want kennel clubs to be afraid to put their breed standards online in case some demented politician or stupid shelter worker decides that some animals are more equal than others?

Do we want people who work in pounds to be considered 'experts' by the courts on dog breeds and behaviour?

Do we want breed standards, which are not used for identification but for judging purposes, something quite different, put into the hands of people who don't know their purpose, don't understand the terminology, don't have any experience or credentials in the purebred dog fancy?

Do we want our provincial government to railroad people just so they can prove that legislated discrimination will stand the judicial test?

Do we want dog owners to be afraid to walk their dogs in public because media- and government-driven hysteria has turned pet dogs into a threat to 'public safety'?

Do we want to allow vapid, showboating politicians who don't understand an issue to force the enactment of useless, downright dangerous laws that turn innocent people into criminals?

Do we want the liars and fear-mongers, the ignoramuses and followers dictating public policy?

Well, do we?

Because that's what we've got - and don't blame me, I didn't vote for them - either time.

YOU MIGHT BE A NUMBNUTS IF....

Another oldie I decided to post.

You want to ban 'pit bulls' - but own a  'shepherd';

You think that 'pit bulls' are crowding the shelters because of overbreeding, not because they are being seized and taken to the shelters by you-know-who;

You believe dogs can be bred to fetch slippers, heel and jump hurdles;

You think 'pit bull' is a breed;

You think that media stories are equivalent to scientific evidence, facts and data;

You think dogs named 'pit bulls' have locking jaws and super-canine powers;

You believe all the bravado nonsense posted on internet forums by guys who are so macho they sit and type all day;

You know that 'pit bulls' weigh over 100 pounds;

You are nodding your head in agreement right about now.

SITTING ON THE SIDELINES

Prepared earlier, posted today.

"You," he said, his voice a low, contained whisper.  "You are the one who is consumed by bullshit."

His sudden ferocity scared me.  I pulled away.

"You," he continued, grabbing my wrist.  "All of you, from the safe world, with your air bags and your tamper-proof packaging and your fat-free diets.  You are the superstitious ones.  You convince yourself you can cheat death, and you are absolutely offended when you learn that you can't.  You sat in your nice little flat all through our war and watched us, bleeding all over the TV news.  And you thought, 'How awful!' and then you got up and made yourself another cup of gourmet coffee."

--Geraldine Brooks, People of the Book, p. 37

ANY CRITICS IN TEH HOUSE?

I managed to start and finish this oil of my friend's dog over the summer and fall.   I painted it from a photo.  I've never painted dogs before.  I'd like to try some more of these, it is a relaxing way to spend time.

I finished this one of another friend's dog, Ivy, this summer.  It's in acrylic, you can see the difference in paint, can't you?  The dog is from a photo, the background is invented.

These pictures are Copyrighted material and are not to be copied or used without permission.

WHERE THE F*** HAS CAVEAT BEEN?

I'm not dead.  Yet.

I've had the worst year of my life.  I don't do the 'pity me' thing, this is just an explanation.  I've disabled comments for this post because I know my friends wish me well and my enemies - well, I couldn't care less what they think.

I've been debating whether or not to write this post but I thought maybe if I did, other people would be sure to take better care of themselves than I have.  I'm one of those cowgirls who goes to doctors  maybe once every ten years or so, is never sick, always feels great, has it all tightly wrapped - lights on, somebody home.  I keep a stiff upper lip.  I close my eyes and think of England.  I take a licking and keep on ticking.

That should all be in the past tense now but I'm too lazy to rewrite it.

Here's what happened to me since the All About Pets show last Easter (it's almost time for the next one, and I plan to be at our booth, even if briefly).

I had a stroke a couple of days after the show.  I recovered quickly, it was really a wake-up call to stop living on caffeine and nicotine and takeout food while worry-warting to the max about the 'pit bull' ban and fundraising to pay the lawyers.  The week before the show, I was working on my display board - which was, if I say so myself, wildly successful.  It was a lot like the slide show I've posted at the upper left with the picture of the 'pit bull' (lol) pups, in case you want to check it out.  First one I've done so it's not as smooth as I'd like, but anyway...

I'd been staying up late, getting up early the week before the show.  I didn't want to do the booth, it's around 150 miles round trip from here to Toronto airport and I was sick of doing booths for the previous few years almost non-stop with Lori and the gang.  I was living on coffee and cigarettes and ordering hamburgers and junk like that from the restaurant a couple of doors down.  Easter Sunday at the booth, I gunned down three of Horton's breakfast biscuits in about a minute because I had been too tired to eat the night before.  Etc, etc, etc.  I know what you're thinking right about now - who knew I was such a health nut?

Anyway, too much detail but the point is, don't do what I have done.  Son.

After the stroke, from which I recovered within about 8 hours, I was cruising along and had finally found a general practitioner (they can be rare up here, specialists are everywhere but GPs, not so much).

Then the ulcerative colitis hit - because I had quit smoking, dontcha know,  (again) the day before the stroke. It was a very severe case this time, I'd had it in remission for almost ten years.  How, you ask?   Simple, by starting to smoke again, works like a charm.  Talk about Hobson's choice:  racing yourself to the can and not always getting the gold, if you know what I mean, or threatening yourself with a host of incurable and chronic and/or fatal diseases.

Anyway, I had a bad case and didn't eat any solid food for over three weeks.  I was getting pretty weak and skinny.  My kid flew over from Scotland and somehow wangled an ambulance (I'd been turned away from Emerg twice and my new GP wouldn't see me without a half hour appt, which meant about 3 - 4 weeks out.  According to her dried-up old crone of a secretary, that is.  If you know me, you can just imagine her, eh?

Ended up in hospital for a week on massive doses of steroids and a see-though diet and I'm not talking about Martinis.

Came home on big steroids to taper over many weeks.

Had a very bad drug reaction about ten days in.

Two more weeks in hospital.

The rest of the summer I spent reading detective novels and staring into space to recover, to try to calm down and escape reality.

Fast forward to the end of October.  At my GP's for a physical.

She found a lump.

Let it be benign.  Two needle biopsies later, nope, it's The Crab.

Let the lumpectomy be successful and let the lymph node, the sentinel node, be clear. It never skips, apparently, always goes to the first node first.  Yup to the lump, nope to the node.

Second surgery four weeks later to check some more nodes.  Let there be no activity.  Nope, in all, two out of four nodes (including the sentinel) were infested.

Had my first chemo treatment on Feb 16.  Felt OK for 1-1/2 days, but then the barf-o-rama started because I couldn't get the wildly expensive anti-nausea pills for a couple of days.  Got 'em now, don't feel too bad overall.  Luckily I have a drug plan.

I'll be getting chemo every two weeks for 16 weeks, ie 7 more treatments, then 16 hits of radiation.  There's other fun stuff they've lined up for me, such as nurses coming to the house to change dressings on the PICC (look it up, loads of laffs) show me how to inject the recomb DNA E. coli serum that keeps the white cells pumping.  Then there are the tests where they make you radioactive so they can  peek inside and here's what really fries my 'taters - I never get to see the films.  As the leading lady, I resent that.

Did I mention I lost all three dogs last year?  I still can't talk about it.  People have called and asked me how 'the Boyz' are and I've just been saying 'Fine' and changing the subject.  Only my closest friends knew until now.  Chokes me up just thinking about it.

So that's why I've been a bit quiet.

Things are about to change, though.

The Brampton wankfest has brought me out.  Nice 'pit bulls', A-holes.  That's what happens when the ignorant legislate and then charge the - ahem - undereducated with enforcement. Trust me, every dog with short hair is a 'pit bull' in that dirty town, I've seen those wackaloons in action at our booths. Brampton used to have a rep as home base for head-breakers, bagmen, bikers and pushers back in the 60s and 70s.  I don't know whether it was true or not, except anecdotally, but.

My best bulldog Lori has been keeping a great little blog called Brindlestick. She used to post at Wag the Dog but we ditched that one.  Check it out, she's been doing yeowoman service over there.

Oh, one more thing.  RIP Daddy, you champion, you.  Not only were you as cute as a button, you had a one in a million personality.  Lori has a link to Cesar's page if you want to offer condolences.

Over and out for now, but I plan to try to write my blistering editorials a little more often than once every five  #$%@-ing months.

Your friend, down but not out by a long shot,

Caveat the Blogger

Thanks for keeping the faith.

SO THAT ' S HOW ' BREED ' (HA HA) BANS GOT STARTED...

Finally, a video that explains how breed-specific legislation got its start.   Thank you, Ryan O'Meara, for putting this together.

If you have been wondering what sort of person could possibly have thought that discriminating against dogs by shape was an idea with even a molecule of merit, wonder no more.

If you suspected all along that dog-killing laws were born in a dark, damp, foetid place far removed from the light of reason, here's your proof.

Watch the video from K9 Magazine by clicking here.

h/t Social Mange, who has a nice editorial piece about Brytler this week.  Read Navigator's Purple Kool-Aid and Bryant's Legacy of Death. Gee, I guess Soche is a bit pissed off.  Or something :>)