KC DOG BLOG

There are always others - more stories and statistics come out in Brampton

Last week, I noted that two dogs, Brittany and Rambo, were finally allowed to return home from the shelter in Brampton, Ontario. The dogs, held for 97 days by the city under the provincial breed ban were finally allowed to return home after an independent veterinarian ruled that the dogs were not 'pit bulls' banned unter the ordinance.

The dogs were allowed to return home because one of the dogs' owners was financially able and willing to fight the city to get the dogs back.

But unfortunately, there were others that weren't so lucky. There always are.

The Brampton Guardian -- which has done a great job of covering the breed mis-identification struggles of their city under the Dog Owners Liability Act - had a story late last week that notes that the seizures of Brittany and Rambo were not isolated incidents. But that in the past, the dogs have been taken from homes never to return because the owners could not afford legal representation.

In early 2009, Gail Crocker's boxer mix Rosci, and another dog in the home, were confiscated from her home. Rosci had been licensed with the city for 7 years as a Boxer mix, and then, one day, the dog was taken. There was no warrant, the dog was just taken right off her front porch. "Right out of my arms," said Crocker. The Animal Control officer involved was the same one that took Brittany and Rambo. "It just seemed to become personal." said Crocker.

Crocker paid a $800 medical bill for the dogs to be spayed and microcipped -- and the city told her the dogs would be killed if she did not find a home for them outside of the province. Crocker shipped the dogs to a home she found for them in Newfoundland -- at even more expense to the owner.

Meanwhile, in January, just 7 days after Brittany and Rambo wer taken, Animal Control showed up at Angela Rodriguez's door, and confiscated her dog Missus. Even Rodriguez had paperwork from her vet showing that Missus was a Boxer/American Bulldog mix, the city never gave her a chance to show the paperwork. After paying the city vet $400 to spay and microchip Missus (and in the process, aborting Missus' 11 puppies), they were forced to send Missus to Newfoundland to live with a relative. "What they did has affected our entire family," said Rodriguez. "Our two other dogs seem to be lost without her. My five-year-od daughter could not stop crying."

In the past 4 years, 55 'pit bulls' have been confiscated from people in Brampton under DOLA. Of those, 31 of them were seized in 2009  -- a 138% increase over the number in 2008. Of all of the seized dogs, only 2 have been deemed pure bred dogs -- the rest were all mixes that may or may not have been really 'pit bulls' at all. And Peel Health Statistics show that there has been no change in the number of dog bites over the past 7 years -- with the numbers fluctation only slightly between 280 - 300 dog bites per year.

The Brampton City Commissioner of Community Services Jamie Lowery blames the legislation for the city's problems. "It's not the city, it's the legislation," he said. "That is clearly the biggest problem we have. That DOLA is very vague and ambiguous. It speaks to certain breeds, but also brings into question about characteristics, so we are charged with trying to enfore or interpret the legislation. It's vague at best and the worst part is there really is no relief valve in the legislation for an appeal."

Lowery also said municiple procedue is to "work with the owenrs" when the breed of dog is in question.

Like, apparently holding the animals for 97 days while they have to pay for lawyers to get the animals out - -and preventing the owners from even seeing the dogs for 2 months or allowing other owners to show paperwork proving their dogs were not 'pit bulls' before being forced to be shipped to Newfoundland.

Brampton continues to show us why Ontario's Dog Owner Liability Act is failing, and why all breed specific legislation fails.

- Breed ID for mixed breed dogs is virtually impossible

- It continues to break up families who own dogs that end up being targeted even though the dogs are not of the targeted breeds

- Taxpayers end up paying a large share of the burden to enforce the law

- And in the end, the overall public safety of the area is not improved.

Also, great work by the Brampton Guardian for digging below the surface to get the real story to what is going on in their community in violations of seizure laws, forgoing due process, and the breaking up of families from their family pets.

 

Breed Bans = vague laws that impact good people

 Shortly after I finished Thursday''s post, I got an update about Leonard Shelton.

Mr. Shelton is the member of our military that came home from serving our country in Iraq, and then had to deal with the city of Lakewood, OH,badgering him about the type of dog he was walking because they claimed the dog was a pit bull (which are banned in Lakewood). They confiscated his dog.

I'm happy to report that Mr. Shelton and his dog Roscoe are back together...and that Mr. Shelton has moved from the city of Lakewood so he will no longer be harrassed.

While it is great that they are back together, and Shelton can go on trying to get back to life as usual, it's appalling that one of our war veterans would be harrassed by animal control because of the way his dog looks...and be forced to move because of it.

Amazing. I'm sure everyone in Lakewood can hold their heads high over the way the law is being used and defended.  I know I'd be embarrassed, and livid, if I lived there.

One would think the very act of harrassing a someone who served and defended our country because of his dog would be enough to in a post by itself. And it probably would be.  But there's more to this.

During this whole process, Mr. Shelton went out and got the DNA test done on his dog. The net result?  No traceable amount of any of the "pit bull" breeds in Roscoe's DNA. None.

And while Shelton was told that Roscoe was  a Boston Terrier mix (which is why he didn't think he would be affected by the law), there is no traceable amount of Boston in him either.

And this is exactly why every single one of these laws, that claims a dog to be banned, or dangerous, or automatically aggressive, based on the way it looks if it looks too much like a "pit bull" should be struck down based on vagueness.

According to our legal Void for Vagueness Doctrine, a law is considered "vague" if a person of ordinary intelligence cannot determine what persons are regulated or what conduct is prohitbited. It is also designed to prevent arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of laws.

In this case, how would someone who owns a dog with zero trace of a pit bull in him would still be restricted under an ordinance that restricts a breed of dog that he does not own? 

Just this week, Animal Farm Foundation and the National Canine Research Council released a new "find the pit bull" sheet -- this time containing the results from actual DNA tests to go with the pictures.

Can you guess which ones carry significant amounts of "pit bull" breeds? 

Do you trust that animal control in a city with a ban on 'pit bull' breeds can tell the difference?

Does the fact that they can't -- but could deem your dog a 'pit bull' anyway and take it and kill it (without any due process in the state of Ohio) seem like a problem to anyone else?

And in spite of all of this, even if they could accurately tell if a dog was really a 'pit bull', that it still wouldn't indicate that the dog was actually aggressive.

So why have we stuck with BSL for so long? Why do we allow our governments to enforce vague laws against good people in the world like Leonard Shelton who become unsuspecting victims of these laws. Why not focus all of our energies on people who actually have dogs that behave aggressively, instead of harrassing good people and forcing them to have to move from their homes because of an arbitrary law that they didn't even break? 

We'd all benefit if we used our limited animal control resources more wisely than that.

And Lakewood, OH -- shame on you.

-- When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace -- Jimi Hendricks

BSL Again Affecting Good Owners

Here's a tragic story from Fox News in Cleveland.  A member of our military, Leonard Shelton, who spent two tours of duty in Iraq and Kosovo, came home suffering from post-tramatic stress symptoms -- mostly over losing several friends in the line of duty. After some advice, he went out to get a dog -- that when he walks, helps him meet new people and helps him talk to strangers.

He was told the dog, Roscoe, he was adopted was a Boston Terrier mix.  However, when his community police officer in Lakewood, OH, which recently passed a ban on pit bulls, saw him with the dog, the animal control officer took the dog from the veteran.

The animal control officer admits on film for the cameras, that it doesn't matter if the dog is well cared for, well trained or how careful the owner of the dog is:  "The intent of the ordinance was to eventually have no more of these types of dogs in the city of Lakewood."

Shana Klein, of For the Love of Pits, who has been working with Shelton and Roscoe, said it best:

"Vicious is not the way a dog looks, it's a behavior."

 I find it hard to believe that anyone who watches this story can thinksthat breed specific legislation is the appropriate solution -- so men like Leonard Shelton, who have done more for our country than 99% of the people out there can get harrassed and have their companion taken away.  It's ridiculous.  And it's wrong.

It is time that we as a country start seeing vicious as a behavior, not as a shape.

Yeah, your breed ban is really great, thanks

Here's a cute little girl from Independence, MO.  She was confiscated from her home when some neighbors called and said she was there in violation of the city's 'pit bull' ban. Now, even though she was once in a good home, the shelter is looking for a new home for her. 

The folks at the shelter are desperately looking for a new home for her because they can't stand the thought of her being killed.  She's apparently a very loving and sweet dog.  She's also 100% housebroken.

She's also blind.  Probably terrified and has no idea what has happened to cause her to have to leave her home - -or even truly understanding where she is.

Thanks Indy for protecting everyone from her.  Sheesh.

These are the victims of BSL.  Loving dogs in good homes.  Now she's in danger of becoming yet another statistic of death from BSL.  Thanks to the great folks at the shelter, she may get a 2nd chance.  

If you know of a home for this sweet girl, please let me know. I can direct you to the right place.  Time is of the essence -- she doesn't have much of it left.

And if you're in the government in Independence -- THIS is what happens. It's not increased public safety. It's not stopping bad owners.  It's good dogs, from good homes, that end up affected.