Can't support relocation of pit bulls to the Untited States

Remember the article about relocating the 6 bullie puppies out of Ontario? Well it seems that Jack van der Meer in Huntsville disagrees and believes Ontario is shipping vicious dogs to the states.
Here are some of the comments her received back in the Huntsville Forrester.

Can't support relocation of pit bulls to the United States
Re: Pit bull pups set for trip south, Forester article, September 6.

Do I understand this correctly?

There is a ban on pit bulls in Ontario, presumably because the breed (which was developed for its aggressiveness and ability to kill other dogs in the dog fighting ring, or ‘pit’) has proven itself to be unpredictable, and has been implicated in a number of vicious attacks on people and other animals.

It is illegal to breed pit bulls (i.e. produce and raise puppies), or to bring pit bulls into Ontario.

Pit bulls already in Ontario must be sterilized, and leashed and muzzled in public.

Six pit bull puppies have been seized in Huntsville, and, for five months, have been nurtured (raised) by the Huntsville Animal Shelter.

A pit bull advocate from the United States has travelled all the way to Huntsville to test these animals and found them, surprisingly, ‘well-behaved’ and that the dogs “had such good temperaments.”

‘Bullies in Need’ and ‘Albany Rescue’ and, I guess, the Huntsville Animal Shelter are looking for homes for these pit bull puppies, likely in the United States. The three males will have to be neutered before this can happen, but apparently the three female puppies will not have to be spayed.

Huntsville Animal Shelter is looking for donations to help with the costs of looking after these pit bull puppies.
What can we conclude from all of this?

Obviously, pit bulls are not a problem outside of Ontario.

Once outside the province, only male pit bulls can pass on the aggressive genes of the breed, since female pit bulls apparently do not need to be sterilized before they are relocated.

If you want to get a good report about the nature of your pit bulls, make sure the expert evaluator is from an organization dedicated to saving the breed.

And how will we react if we see a headline a year or so from now, ‘Pit bull relocated from Huntsville attacks …’?

Sorry, Huntsville Animal Shelter. This is not a cause which I can support.
Jack van der MeerHuntsville

Editor’s note: According to Barb Mooney, the Town of Huntsville’s animal control bylaw officer, the female dogs have already been spayed.

Reader Comments :

Should Cruelty be Ontario's Middle Name?
In response to Mr van der Meer and his lack of support for Huntsville Animal Shelter's effort to relocate some pit bull puppies to the United States I say, shame on you. Before you spout off about the dangers of pit bulls and rescue groups endagering the lives of Americans, learn a bit more about the topic.

Breed specific legislation is not an answer to problems it is a knee-jerk reaction that is used by local politicians to give the community the facade that it is safe. It is a reactionary measure taken in response to fear and hype created by the media and animal rights group to target specific breeds and segments of dogs and their owners.

Dog bites and attacks are the result of irresponisble dog ownership and lack of education. Instead of putting money into bite education and dog onwership programs, communities choose what they think is the easy way out.

Guess what? It ALWAYS backfires. Every community that has enacted BSL to date has seen it fail miserably.
Just this summer in a local community here in the states, a woman was killed because BSL did not work.

The only people that end up being punished in the case of BSL are law abiding people that love their dogs, take an interest in the breed and would never jeapordize their families or their communities. People that work in breed rescue know better than anyone else the characteristics of their breed and they are typically very fair in their judgements of whether or not a dog is adoptable. I have worked with shelter dogs and rescue dogs for some time and I would never place a dog in a home that was questionable in any manner.

People in Ontario should be thankful that the Huntsville Animal Shelter has enough compassion and knowledge to realize that there is no reason these pups should not have the chance at having safe and loving homes.

Unfortunetly, because some community governments in my country are no smarter then yours, there is every chance that at some point they could be labeled as monsters, just for being born.

As a non-pit bull owner, but dog lover, I applaud these rescues and this shelter in taking action to right a very significant wrong. Perhaps one day, communities all over the world will wake up and understand that the only crimes dogs have ever been guilty of are loving and respecting humans.

What kind of lessons in responsiblity are we teaching our children when we allow people with no respect for life or the law to walk our streets after their dog has mauled a child; while we instead focus on killing the dog? If we want to keep communities safe, then we need to stregthen and eforce laws that punish the real animals in these crimes, humans.

Marla StoutKansas City, MO, USA

Sep 13, 2006 at 8:54 PM
"Pit bull" puppies
Mr. Van Der Meer appears to have been misled by the media hysteria and cheap politicking surrounding a type of dog. "Pit bull" is not a breed, it is shorthand for a dog with a broad head and short, close coat. Please remember that Attorney General Michael Bryant, the architect of Ontario's breed specific legislation, could not identify the "pit bull" in a series of pictures.

There are many urban myths about “pit bulls”. I ask you to look at the facts about these dogs.

There are "pit bull" service dogs, trained and dedicated to serving their owners. There are "pit bull" therapy dogs certified as to obedience and temperament – dozens, possibly hundreds lost to therapy programs because of breed specific legislation. There are "pit bull" search and rescue dogs, some of which were at the 9/11 site and the Columbia space shuttle recovery. There are "pit bull" K9 officers. The top drug-sniffing dog in the United States, Popsicle, is a "pit bull". Neville, a dog banned in Ontario and sentenced to die because of the way he looks, is now a K9 officer with Washington State Police. Then there are the tens of thousands of happy, friendly, couch-potato "pit bulls".Are these dogs assets to society, or a danger solely because of their shape?

Karen Delise has done sterling research into the issue of dog bites and attacks, published in her book Fatal Dog Attacks. Her research into over 30 years of dog attacks identified three factors that appear to contribute to canine aggression towards humans. None of these are breed. The prime cause for the three factors is human – the irresponsible owner.

The testing of over 26,000 dogs by the American Temperament Test Society indicates that the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and Staffordshire Bull Terrier have temperaments equivalent to common family breeds such as the Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever, and superior to the American Cocker Spaniel, standard Dachshund(s), Wheaten Terrier, Shetland Sheepdog and Jack Russell Terrier, among many others.

As to the myth of the dog's jaw strength and "locking", I paraphrase the findings of Dr. I. Lehr Brisbin, Ph.D., Emeritus Faculty at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory by saying: Not so. The jaw and musculature of a "pit bull" is no different from that of any dog of comparable size and build, and there is no evidence of a mechanism for a "locking jaw".

A National Geographic scientist tested domestic dogs of three breeds, among other creatures, and found that a dog has an average bite pressure of 320 pounds per square inch (psi). The American Pit Bull Terrier had the least amount of pressure of the dogs tested. For perspective, this study showed that a human has bite pressure of 120 psi while a snapping turtle has 1,000 psi.

Research proves that there is no reason or fact supporting breed specific legislation ("BSL"). BSL is driven by media hysteria and politics. It is a knee-jerk solution to a complex problem.BSL makes law abiding, responsible, tax paying and voting dog owners into second-class citizens.

History proves that targeting the responsible owners of particular breeds does not serve public safety. BSL has been a failure in the jurisdictions in which it has been tried, most notably the United Kingdom and Germany. The United Kingdom, after 14 years of BSL, has admitted its failure and is unwinding the legislation. The United States has at least 12 states where BSL is prohibited by law. The evidence presented in 2005 to Ontario’s Standing Committee on the Legislative Assembly proved that BSL is ineffective, unworkable and fiscally irresponsible. All of the canine experts and 80% of the presenters opposed BSL.

This evidence presented at the Ontario public hearings may be read at http://www.ontla.on.ca/library/bills/381/132381.htm . Please scroll down to “Committee” and read the presentations on January 24th and 27th, and February 2nd and 3rd. The evidence presented by proponents of the ban should be tempered by the knowledge that these people were specifically invited to attend, and at the least their expenses were paid.

The Ontario Liberal government pushed through its unfounded, unjust, vague and shoddy BSL, without foundation in fact and against all expert advice and experience.

Ontario’s BSL affects not only residents of Ontario but also tourists and travellers such as truckers, who may have their dogs seized and killed if an authority determines the dog is a “pit bull”.

Considering the facts, expert advice and the experience of other jurisdictions where BSL has failed, I do not understand how anyone can possibly come to the conclusion that BSL is necessary, effective or workable.

A letter from a provincial government official stated that the courts must resolve the lack of definition within Ontario’s BSL. Ontario’s failure to promulgate clear and workable legislation is now to be remedied by court battles over definitions of terms within the legislation, yet another cost to be borne by taxpayers. Further, the legislation has been brought before the Canadian courts in a constitutional challenge, and we await the judge’s decision.

I point you to the recent Ohio and Englewood, NJ court decisions that BSL is unconstitutional in the U.S. BSL perpetuates prejudice, discrimination, violent behaviour towards and false accusations against responsible dog owners. Responsible dog owners have been assaulted and injured, their dogs assaulted and injured. They are subjected to physical and verbal harassment, had bottles thrown at them from cars, they are denied housing and insurance, just because of the way their dogs look. The witch hunt is well underway in Ontario.

Why should responsible, voting dog owners live under the threat and in fear of legislated vigilantism? These responsible dog owners are parents, doctors, nurses, lawyers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, office workers, social workers, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and many, many others. These are responsible, law-abiding citizens who have been slandered by the media and legislated into second-class citizenship, just because of the way their dogs look.

There are common sense recommendations for improved public safety with regard to dogs, presented over and over again –which were ignored by the Ontario Liberals. These recommendations include promotion of spay/neuter of "pet" animals, strict enforcement of leash and licensing laws, bite prevention education for children and adults, strict enforcement to reduce backyard breeding, stricter laws governing breeders and trainers, funding to municipalities for dangerous dog control, and a centralized dog bite registry.

I ask you to clearly define a "pit bull terrier” - which is not a breed. Is a dog owner to assume that if his or her dog has short hair and a large head, it's a "pit bull"?

Do you realize that the definition includes Labrador retrievers, boxers, mastiffs, Great Danes, shar-peis, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Cane Corsos, and numerous other pure breeds of dogs? That does not begin to touch the crossed and mixed breed dogs of uncertain heritage that people may claim are “pit bulls”.

The Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta has stated that breed identification is the great confounder in dog attacks

.Every dog has teeth. Any dog can bite. No one wants to be bitten by any dog. A bite or attack by a dog of any breed is serious. The responsibility for preventing a dog bite by a dog of any breed rests solely on the dog's owner.

Criminals, who by definition do not obey laws, only continue to hide their "pit bulls" or turn to other breeds for their purposes. Irresponsible owners will dispose of their "pit bulls" through pounds, shelters or rescues, unwilling to do what is required to maintain a "pit bull". These same criminal and irresponsible owners will only acquire and mistreat or neglect dogs of other breeds, continuing to create vicious and dangerous dogs. This has already started in Ontario; in my neighbourhood, German Shepherd dogs now appear to be the breed of choice.

Meanwhile, responsible "pit bull" owners will labour under unfounded and unjust restrictions, attempting to keep their beloved dogs safe. BSL has caused people to move from their place of residence to keep their beloved dogs safe.

Thirty years ago, German Shepherd dogs were the demon breed. Then Dobermans. Then Rottweilers. Now, “pit bulls”. Which breed will be next to be demonized and targeted for legislated extermination? Will it be yours?

Any dog that is untrained, unsocialized, tethered, allowed to roam, neglected or abused has the potential to go one of two ways – either to bite, or not. Breed is irrelevant.

It is the owner’s deed that should be the issue and the subject of any law. Not the shape of the dog.

Taxpayers must demand that the Ontario Liberal government answer why it passed unfounded, unjust, vague and shoddy BSL that has been proven to be ineffective, unworkable and fiscally irresponsible, and why the Liberals rejected clearly defined and easily enforced all-breed dangerous dog legislation that would be effective, workable and best serve public safety.

Sep 13, 2006 at 11:15 PM
pit bull type pups
I would like to take this oppurtunity to thank the Huntsville animal shelter for their support to these dogs who have done nothing wrong only to be born an apparent breed type.

We have shipped out many dogs labeled "pit bulls" due to this legislation..and yes, some have actually made headlines, such as the case with Neville http://www.lawdogsusa.org/k9neville.html

Clearly, pit bulls aren't a problem outside of Ontario when owned by responsible people. Neither are they here...show me a responsible pit bull owner, or ANY responsible dog owner, you will never see a headline...unless it is a good one.

Lets hope these pups have a good outcome and make it out of Ontario and into safety. We thank people for any support they can offer to aid in this effort.

Sharon Hewitt
Bullies In Need

Sep 14, 2006 at 12:55 AM
Thanks Canada!!
Dear Mr. Van De Meer,You don't have to wait, Pit Bulls relocated from Canada are already making headlines in the US.

Meet Neville who was thrown away by your country and is now working with Washington State troopers on the front lines. Very few dogs have what it takes to make it in this tough and arduous field, many that are bred for it don't. However, Toronto's little stray did and is happily doing his job protecting the American public by sniffing for drugs and/or bombs and licking the faces of children.

I say Thanks Canada! Your my opic views have greatly contributed to our safety!

Sep 14, 2006 at 1:37 AM
Ontario's prejudice
Mr. Van Der Meer, have you had any direct experience with this breed? Opinions based on ignorance aren't credible and most likely incorrect.Of course only a person experienced with this breed is going to take the responsability to do an evaluation.

To make sure that dogs are what this breed is supposed to be.Safe, loyal, trustworthy.It is no surprise that this person is also supportive of the breed

.It happens when intelligent people decide to look farther into things instead of listening to those who speak out of ignorance.

If you had any direct experience with the breed you would use your time in a more productive manner.I am sure that Ontario has more important issues to worry about."And how will we react if we see a headline a year or so from now, ‘Pit bull relocated from Huntsville attacks …’?"

And how do you personally react to the fact that a pit bull out of an Ontario shelter is now working with the Washington State Patrol Detection Dog Program? This was one of those "bad" pit bull whose fate was to die alone, in Ontario.This dog is now working to keep people safe, for the US Homeland Security.And he is good at it.

Several other pit bulls are succesful in this program and they were chosed for their endless dedication and heart.

How bad can these dogs be when a law enforcement agency is using them?

Here are more information for you, these "bad" dogs are doing a heck of a job.http://www.lawdogsusa.org/

Sep 14, 2006 at 8:41 AM
relocation of pit bulls
Dear Mr. Van der Meer:

Although I was disturbed by your obvious wish to have innocent dogs put to death, I do appreciate that you used the word "presumably" in regards to the danger of these dogs.

Unfortunatly, your presumption is like many other's. The media jumps on every incident involving any dog that may even look like a "pit bull", (not a breed. Ontario never had a "pit bull" problem. Ontario has a dangerous dog problem of all breeds.

The Ontario government would like everyone to "presume" that they are making our streets safer by eliminating a look of dog, but research and experts disagree. They want us to "presume" so we do not look into the facts.All dogs can be dangerous and all dogs can bite Mr. van der Meer.