Needing help in Rescue

We are hoping to put this transport together for Saturday February 24th. Cheryl Lamb has given us the route and legs from a prior transport back in December that successfully brought another GSP into rescue with Sasha's Den. This time there are three German Shorthair Pointers in need of the ride.

To offer help, please contact Marie-Christine Durocher mcdurocher@persona.ca [@persona.ca] directly, off list.

Your assistance in cross - posting and forwarding is also very valuable and appreciated.

Receiving rescue: Sasha's Den Rescue
Marie-Christine Durocher Rawdon, QC
www.lerepairedesasha.org
www.sasha.petfinder.com

Reason for the transport: tranfer to a Canadian rescue

Your Passengers:

Sister - Sweet young girl who was brought up to MI from GA in an ill-planned "rescue" that left several dogs without rescues once they arrived. Graciously kenneled and vetted by a MI kennel owner and Michigan rescue, Sister finally has a rescue of her own with Sasha's Den and the help she needs to gain the confidence to be made adoptable.
Breed GSP mixSex FemaleSpay / Neuter Status unaltered
Size about 25 lbs
Vaccinations given Rabies, bordetella, distemper, HTW test-negative, wormersecond dose due 2-26-07 (Pyrantel Palmoate, 1cc)
Health issues if any none known, looks healthy
Behaviorial issues if any shy and nervous, but settles into environment
Traveling with:a] collar will be wearing a collar with a Waggin Tails Dog Rescue Tag for safety
b] leash - yes
c] crate - yes, medium size

Casper
Breed GSP Sex MaleSpay / Neuter Status unaltered
Size 64 pounds
Vaccinations given DHLPP, HW test and Rabies will be done on Tuesday
Health issues if any Ear infection, being treated by vet
Behaviorial issues if any A little shy, but settles inTraveling with
:a] collar - Yes, with GSP Rescue tag
] leash - Yes
c] crate - Yes

Larry
Breed GSP Sex MaleSpay / Neuter Status unaltered
Size 62 pounds
Vaccinations given DHLPP, HW test and Rabies will be done on Tuesday
Health issues if any None that we know of
Behavioral issues if any Shy
Traveling with:
a] collar - Yes, with a GSP Rescue tag
b] leash - Yes
c] crate - Yes

Sister will be crated during the transport and is traveling with her own crate.

One of the two male GSPs MUST be crated as the two dogs do not know each other.

The legs for this transport would be as follow:

Ann Arbor to Taylor MI - Lorie ?

Montrose to Taylor MI - Kim ?

These two legs could be done on the Friday night if an overnight in Taylor is possible.

Taylor MI to Windsor ON-8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.-extra time for crossing the border FILLED

Windsor to Chatham-unfilled-9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Chatham to London-unfilled-10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

London to Guelph-unfilled- 1:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

Guelph to Mississauga-unfilled-12:15 p.m. to 1:05 p.m.

Mississauga to Port Hope-unfilled-1:05 p.m. to 2:35 p.m.

Port Hope to Belleville-unfilled-2:35 p.m. to 3:35 p.m.

Belleville to Kingston-unfilled-3:35 p.m. to 4:35 p.m.

Kingston to Ottawa-unfilled-4:35 p.m. to 6:35 p.m.

Ottawa to Hawkesbury-unfilled-6:35 p.m. to 7:55 p.m.

Hawkesbury to Rawdon QC-filled-7:55 p.m. to 9:35 p.m.

- Marie-Christine Durocher- If you can assist with this transport, please e-mail me directly at mcdurocher@persona.ca [@persona.ca] as soon as possible replying with your vehicle description, license plate number and home and cell numbers.

Thank you !
Marie-Christine Durocher
Le repaire de Sasha/Sasha's Den Rescue
www.lerepairedesasha.org
www.sasha.petfinder.com
Loading... No message is selected

WE are the CHAMPIONS!

I'm going to let Shasta write this post for me. After all, it wouldn't have been possible without her.

Have any of you ever watch Rocky where he runs up all those steps and once at the top he jumps around and raises his arms up cheering because he knows he is the going to be CHAMP!

That's what it felt like for mommy on Thurday, 22nd. I could feel her excitement from her and I was so happy that she was estatic.

Mommy has had a phobia of going on buses since 1994 or 95. For the longest time she couldn't bring herself to get on one at all, but several years ago, she finally was able to get on (with medication) if she went on with someone close to her. That way they could do all the thinking and told her when it was time to get off at the right spot. She still hated it when the bus became packed and she felt like she wanted to jump off, but as the people started to leave, she would begin to relax again.

On Thursday, she had an important doctors appointment, but it had snowed with also freezing rain. The friend that was suppose to drive her was afraid to drive in those conditions and asked if she could change her appointment.

Normally, that's what she would have done, and I was surprised when mommy dressed me up in snowsuit, boots, muzzle, service vest and we went to the bus stop and I sat there with her waiting. I had never been on a bus neither, so this was going to be a whole new experiance for the both of us.When the bus stopped, we got on and mommy tried to find an appropriate place to sit down so she could watch closely where she was to get off and transfer. She had me sit between her legs facing out so I didn't take up any extra room and nobody would trip just as we practiced at home. The bus driver smiled and so did a lot of other people.

I could tell when mommy would start to feel nervous, she would start to pat me more and more and as she calmed the need to pat me in the same way would stop and she only kept her hand on me.She had asked the bus driver to let her know when it was time for her to get off to transfer and when I was coming out right just behind mommy, the people waiting to get on were a little surprised to see me. Then we crossed the street to our next waiting place. I could sense mommy had so many different types of emotions going on in her body. She was nervous, yet proud, happy, but scared and determined all rolled into one.

The bus came and this time we both got on like a pro. One woman that was sitting beside us was talking to mommy and telling her what a wonderful way to promote a positive example for the bullie breeds and although she knew that mommy had problems of some sort, that it was wonderful to see a bullie as a service dog. She was so excited and mommy felt really proud of me.

Once off the bus, we had to walk to a part of London that is pretty rough and mommy hates going there, but that day was different. With me by her side, she felt confident and even more so becuz we had just taken two buses to get there. That's a lot of firsts in a matter of 45 minutes.

She told the receptionist she was there and while waiting she removed all mine and her snow gear. All she left on me was my boots, muzzle and service vest as we were still in a public area. Once her name was called, she told me to come and we went into the doctors office where his nurse asked her some questions. She asked if she could pat me and mommy said yes. Even though she was patting me and saying I was beautiful she saw I was still focused on mommy.

Once the doctor came in, he asked her, 'And who is this?' and mommy proudly said 'Shasta.' She told the doctor that the muzzle was a requirement by law in public, but in the privacy of the doctors office if it was alright with him, the muzzle was allowed off. She was hoping he would say yes, but instead he said, 'I prefer if you would leave it on.' Mommy told me to lay down as the two of them talked about her medications and her health. I never moved a muscle and stayed where I was told.

Once done, mommy had to use the washroom and that was just across the room that we were in, so she waited until it was free. Meanwhile, thinking we had left, she overheard her doctor telling some of the nurses, 'Those dogs are bred for one thing only and ONLY for that purpose.' No wonder he didn't want mommy to take off my muzzle. Finally the washroom was clear and we went inside, did her business and went back into the waiting room to put back on all our winter clothes. Mommy watched as the nurses were peaking at me and she was so glad my manners were EXCELLENT.

Soon as we got to the front door, it was storming outside again and we walked straight to the bus stop and she sat on the seat and had me sit like just on the bus while we waited. We had so many humans looking at me that day as I had never been downtown before just mommy and I.

Mommy thought about what the doctor had said and at first it bothered her, but after awhile she giggled inside knowing with repeat visits he will see how mannerly and professional I am that he may one day change his mind about me and the bullie breeds.

Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. The nurse in the office that was patting me asked mommy why she would choose my breed when they aren't normally used for service dogs, and mommy replied, 'Quite on the contrary. The pit bull breeds have been used as service dogs, therapy dogs for years that even Helen Keller used an American Put bull Terrier as her companion dog. The Staffordshires have been called The Nanny Dogs as they took care of children. It's only been through the years 2000 that the breeds have gotten a bad name due to irresponsible owners and criminals, but they have a very fine history if people would only take the time to read about them rather than what the media writes.' That probably was what was being discussed when mommy's doctor made that statement.

Going home on the bus was not nerve racking on mommy at all. Matter of fact, she barely had to pat me as often even though the bus was packed and people were standing. Someone even offered mommy their seat. This time she didn't ask the bus driver to tell her where to get off. People were talking to mommy from all directions and some asked if they could pat me.

Once we made it to our final destination, mommy felt just like Rocky! She wanted to jump up and down excitedly and raise her arms up in victory. She wanted to tell the world!!! A fear that she has held for so many years was broken! She even kept one of the bus tranfers as a keepsake of the day we overcame one of her worst phobias. We no longer have a 2K radius on good days. The skys the limit and WE are the CHAMPIONS!

*woof* Shasta

Animal rights crusade taken to Ottawa

Thanks to all of you that signed the petition for Bill C-373. Petitions were delivered to the House of Commons and if passed this will be a real win for Canada against the fight of animal abuse and cruilty. You can read the story in the Calgary Herald.

Animal rights crusade taken to Ottawa

Tamara Chaney of Didsbury, with her German Shepard Lee, collected 111,000 names on a petition seeking tougher animal cruelty laws.

Photograph by : Ted Rhodes/Calgary Herald

Emma Poole, Calgary Herald

Published: Monday, February 19, 2007

Tamara Chaney of Didsbury will find out today how much her efforts to protect the lives of animals have paid off.Chaney and her "teammates" have gathered more than 111,000 signatures on a petition calling for much tougher penalties for animal abuse.

Today, Wild Rose Conservative MP Myron Thompson will present the pages of signatures to the House of Commons.

"It's pretty surreal. It blows my mind, really," Chaney said in an interview Sunday.

"It was a very insane four months of my life."

The petition was created following the torture and near killing of a border collie-Lab named Daisy Duke, who had to be euthanized Oct. 8.The dog was found in the middle of a Didsbury street with horrific injuries.It's alleged she had been beaten and possibly dragged behind a vehicle.The dog's legs were bound with duct tape, and there was a tow rope around its neck. Its head was wrapped in a bag.

Daniel Charles Haskett, 19, whose family owned the dog, and his then 17-year-old friend, are facing a number of animal cruelty charges, including injuring or endangering an animal and causing unnecessary suffering. The younger teen can't be named due to his age at the time of the incident.

In November, Haskett's lawyer told the Herald it was panic, not deliberate cruelty, that led the teens to inflict near-fatal injuries on the pet.

Mark Takada said the pair were trying to put the dog out of its misery after one of them accidentally ran over it.

The petition, which supports Bill C-373, was circulated across Canada through veterinary offices and other pet-friendly organizations. The signed pages were then sent back to Chaney in Didsbury where they were collected, counted and handed over to Thompson.Bill C-373 would introduce a new offence of "killing an animal brutally or viciously, whether or not it dies immediately.

"Liberal MP Mark Holland tabled the bill in the Commons in October of last year. It calls for a maximum penalty of five years in prison and unlimited fines for indictable offences, or 18 months in jail and fines of up to $5,000 for summary convictions. The penalties would apply to the offender no matter if he or she owned the animal or not.

Currently, an animal cruelty charge for an adult offender carries a maximum penalty of a $2,000 fine or six months in jail, or both.

The petition push by Chaney and dozens of others after Daisey Duke's death originally sought about 10,000 signatures, but national interest in the case drew the response from more than 111,000 people.Paula James of Medicine Hat is one of the supporters

We've done what we could," said James.

"Now it's up to the politicians."

Chaney, who owns a dog grooming business in Didsbury, is hoping MPs consider adopting Bill C-373 and not Bill S-213 -- an amendment to current animal cruelty laws -- that critics say lacks teeth.Bill S-213, introduced by Senator John Bryden in April 2006, had its first reading in the Commons in December.

"My biggest fear is that they'll pick the other bill," said Chaney, adding she'll continue to fight for stronger animal rights.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I'll keep writing letters and on and on and on."

Thompson is expected to introduce the petition to the Commons around 1 p.m. MT.

The Herald was unable to reach Thompson on Sunday.

Haskett goes to trial on the charges May 23.

Chloe the Service Dog and Owner are Denied Access to Wal Mart

This is an outrage and against the law. Please people, sign the petition and pass this on to others. The disabled have it challenging enough without being told what breed of service dog is acceptable.

Chloe the Service Dog and Owner are Denied Access to Wal Mart
Target: Wal Mart Wal Mart, Service Dog Denied Access into Wal Mart



See Full Petition

We had a recent experience at Walmart that was very unfortunate and I would like to ask your help to receive news coverage to help ensure the dignity and rights of those individuals depending upon Service Dogs and hopefully educate the public and businesses of Service Dog rights and American Pit Bull Terrier prejudice. Here are the key points of interest:

1.Walmart’s Illegal Treatment of Service Dogs

•Two Walmart managers requested myself and my Service Dog to leave because of her breed stating there were children in the store and she is an unstable and vicious breed - They continued to asked us to leave EVEN AFTER being informed of our Service Dog legal rights and what they were asking was illegal!

Please send your comments

Chloe's website

Updated information

UPDATE: I contacted WalMart here in Canada and received their form letter stating they received my email and I will receive an email in a few days. That was shortly after this article was written and have never received a reply from them.
I'm going to take Shasta with me to our nearest WalMart and see if I have any problems and will update you again if I do.

Dog's Ear Cut Off, Glued Back On

While I believe that people should check the reputation of certain types of establishments, how often do we all search through the Yellow Pages or do a walk-in from the street without checking it out throught the BBB. This owner found out the hard way. Check it out in 10TV.

Dog's Ear Cut Off, Glued Back On
Feb 15 2007 8:10AM

Video From CNN: Dog's Ear Cut Off, Glued Back On

A Washington dog owner says she's been crying ever since she discovered that a dog groomer cut off her dog's ear and then super-glued it back on.

"And I saw the ear float away, and it freaked me out," said dog owner Anni Sheriffius. Sheriffius couldn't believe what she was seeing. She was trying to wash off what she thought was dirt on her dog Jasmine's ear, when the ear fell off.

Sheriffius rushed her dog to the veterinarian to learn that the dog's ear had been cut off by a dog groomer and glued back on.

Jasmine, a Shih Tzu, had to undergo treatment for an infection. Sheriffius said she still has the ear in a plastic bag, and has been crying for weeks at the thought of someone hurting her dog. Pierce County sheriff's investigators are looking into possible criminal charges against the unlicensed dog groomer.

"Once they tried to hide it and glued the ear back on, that's not good for the dog. There are all kinds of things that can happen, infection. It's cruelty to animals," said Detective Ed Troyer. The shop where Jasmine was injured, J'Raes pet grooming, appears to have shut down. "I'd like her never, ever to touch another dog. That's what I'd like to see," said Sheriffius.

Politicians Profiles Dog Breed Including Westminster Winner

Steve Dale tells how he got got fired from his job for speaking out for his views and still speaks out. Great going Steve! This article if from the WGN Radio page.

Steve was on John Williams’ show talking about this…
Politicians Profiled Dog Breed Include Westminster Winner
By Steve Dale

It’s ironic. The winning dog at world’s most prestigious dog show isn’t allowed in Denver (as I interpret the description of breed standards for dogs banned in their city code), and would be forced to wear a muzzle in Boston.

It’s as if the vociferous sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden was living in another world. They cheered wildly on Tuesday, Feb. 14 when Rufus, a spunky fun loving colored bull terrier won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Most likely they were not thinking about communities that ban the breed, and wouldn’t even allow Rufus to participate in a dog show.

Rufus is no stranger to dog shows. At Westminster, he beat out 2,621 other show dogs in 165 breeds and varieties. To win the Terrier Group, he overtook favorites Coco, a top winning Norfolk terrier; and a Dandie Dinmont terrier, named Fineus Fogg, who is co-owned by Bill Cosby.

Westminster is sometimes called the Academy Awards of the dog world. Well, what if the best movie of the year couldn’t be seen in some cities?

Breed specific legislation is spreading across the country as politicians respond to a perceived notion that some dog breeds are inherently dangerous. Some cities ban breeds their politicians target; others figure they’re somehow being more reasonable if they place restrictions on breeds. The most common restrictions are muzzling in public, and mandatory high-cost home owner’s insurance which isn’t either affordable or even available in the first place.

The breed most often outlawed is the pit bull.

Instead of seeking to understand the circumstances which prompt any dog of any breed or mix of breeds to attack, the politicians’ knee jerk response is to profile one or more breeds.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention once kept tabs on which breeds are most often involved in fatal dog attacks. But they stopped because of research (conducted by the CDC in conjunction with the Humane Society of the United States and the American Veterinary Medical Association) that concurs with what you’d think would be common sense. It’s far more important to determine why dog attacks happen – regardless of the breed or mix of breeds. Besides, the breed involved in an attack is sometimes misidentified.

That’s the thing; even a Best Show judge at Westminster couldn’t differentiate a well bred American Staffordshire terrier or Staffordshire Bull terrier from a pit bull. A well bred American bull terrier might look identical to many not so well bred pit bulls used by gangs. Most communities that ban pit bulls can’t define exactly what a pit bull is. Indeed, the typical street pit bull is amalgamation of breeds and individual dogs.

Some politicians respond by writing their breed bans or restrictions to include all ‘bully breeds,’ – so even the bull terrier – the breed that won Westminster, gets tossed into the mix.

The bull terrier was the Spuds McKenzie dog. To my knowledge, no people were attacked during the making of those commercials. Another ‘bully breed,’ the Staffordshire Bull terrier is legendary for it’s affinity to children, so much so, that it’s been called The Nanny dog for generations.

The simple truth is that among the final seven at Westminster being judged for Best in Show, one was Rufus the colored bull terrier; a second dog was a Shaka, a Rottweiler – another often banned or restricted breed – and Boomer the Dalmatian. There isn’t a community in the world that bans Dalmatians. Yet, for most pet owners, an outrageously energetic Dalmatian is harder to live with than either a colored bull terrier or a Rottweiler.

Dalmatians were bred to run long distances, and they require lots of daily exercise. If Dalmatians receive that outlet for their formidable energies, they’re great dogs. And, in fact, Rottweilers, bull terriers, Irish Wolfhounds, pugs – even golden retrievers - aren’t for everyone. No dog breed is one size fits all. But also, no breed is inherently dangerous.

I once got into big, big trouble and ultimately was fired (from my TV gig) for saying on live TV, “With young kids around, I’m just as comfortable with a well-bred, well-socialized Rottweiler with no long tail or long hair to pull, and a sort of stoic personality as I am with the ‘I need to be in your face’ attitude of many golden retrievers who can knock over children, and do have long hair and a long tail to yank on.”

I got yanked right off the air for that one. That’s how strongly some people feel. But I wish they’d pay attention to facts.

Listen, I concede there are a lot of dogs identified as pit bulls involved in serious attacks. Number one that’s because there are an awful lot of pit bull-type dogs out there. It’s no coincidence that’s the type you see most often these days in most shelters.

Also, there’s a certain cultural mentality that gang bangers and others find appealing about that look of dog which pit bull-type dogs have. The fact is that many of the fatal and generally serious dog attacks happen with dogs that are associated with dog fighting, gangs and/or some sort of criminal activity. Of course, the politicians must know this, but they’re sadly helpless to do anything about the crimes. So, they blame the dogs.

Dog attacks occur most often when owners are irresponsible, allowing their dogs to roam, tethering them for long periods of time and sometimes even encouraging them to be threatening. In Illinois, State Representative Mike Boland has a sensible plan to deal with these issues. If any dog of any breed or mix of breeds is responsible for a serious injury or death - and if the owner was deemed in some way responsible, that owner may be charged with a class four felony.

Our pets have become like our kids. Well, by law, as adults we’re responsible for what our kids do. We should also be responsible for what our pets do. It’s exceedingly rare for a well socialized, well trained and supervised bull terrier, pit bull, Rottweiler, collie, schnauzer or any dog to cause serious harm.

The dog who wins Westminster always gets tons of press attention. Maybe as ambassador for ‘bully breeds’ – including pit bill-type dogs - Rufus can teach us a lesson by example: Instead of profiling based on a general physical feature – we ought to look at the individual. It’s a shame we haven’t yet learned that lesson.

Is this just another discrimination against Pit bulls?

Is this just another discrimination against the Pit bull breeds?

Shasta and I have worked together through trial and error for her to meet my needs. I wasn't even aware I was eligable for a service dog since I suffered from Agraphobia and social phobias, just to name a couple. It was Shasta that got me out of both those phobias and gave me back my life again from phobias, and helped me with illnesses and disabilities I suffered with since 1994.

Through meeting diffeent people, I found out that I was eligable for a service dog and I right away phoned or emailed trainers to have her trained. All of them told me that over the years, without realizing it, I had taught Shasta to meet my needs and didn't require any further training from them. She had even earned her CGN which I didn't know then was a requirement for service dogs.

Once I did find answers on how to get her legally certified, we worked hard at getting those certificates too.



I was estatic when finally our last results came in as a congratulation letter, stating Shasta had passed and was now certified and life became so much easier for me with less stress as she was by my side 24/7.

My one doctors letter even stated that my panic attacks had dramaticly decreased since me using Shasta. My family and long time friends could see the vast diffeence in me from before to after I received her and unconcously worked together to make life easier for me. She was and is a willing and quick learning student.

It's like having two dogs in one. When she works, her complete focus is on me even if someone asks to pat her and I allow it. She sits mannerly, but the whole while she is still focused on me. Once off duty, she is like other dogs that run and play and make you laugh for hours. She's a real comedian and a loving sweetheart.

But should suddenly my health change for the worst, without me saying a word, she will go into working mode on her own and stay by my side doing things that I never taught her, but that she somehow taught herself. One being, if I'm sick and sleeping through my medication times, she will gently nuzzle me awake until I take my medicications and then we can go back to sleep.

The first time she did this, I didn't understand. It wasn't her usual way for asking me to take her outside to do her business, but I headed for the patio doors only she wasn't following. I told her to come and she refused. I was mumbling away frustrated and irritated that she woke me up for nothing and as I was going to go back to bed, I decided to look at the clock to see how long I slept for. I realized it was my medication time, so I took it. At that point, Shasta went and laid back down to bed. Of course I thought it was coincidence, until she did it again and I automatically looked at the clock and she was right on again. I took my medications and again we both went back to bed.

There are other things that she learnt on her own, like Alert and Resonse for if I'm about to go into a panick attack. She knows sooner than me and will alert me to calm down. Should I go into one, she knows exactly how to bring me out of it in the most gentliest way. I'm in awe on how she has leart these things on her own, but have been told that the bond between her and I are so great, that she can smell and feel changes in me that even I'm unaware of.

I feel completely safe even though I live alone with her with me and now with her certified, I felt all the more safer as I no longer needed to tie her outside which was very frightning and I'd forget what I went into the stores for. All I could think about was someone could steal or harm her and with her muzzle on she had no defence and I'd go into high anxiety that finally I'd just leave and go outside to make sure she was alright. She at the same time could feel my anxiety right from outside.

No longer did we have to go through that and I was confident and we would go out more as I got everything I needed. She would use her wagon or sled to pull my groceries or shopping home. Now life was much simplier.

At the end of 2006, it was time to get her new license. The bullie owners have to appear in person at London Animal Care Centre with all the approprate documentations and two recent mug shots of their dogs. Because we did this last year for the first time, I knew this year exactly what to bring and a good friend of mine gave me a ride there as it's far across on the other side of the city.

ACC was full of bullie owners trying to get their dogs registered and once it became my turn, it was already closing time and the staff locked the outside doors so nobody else could come in. The place was still packed.
I brought out all her papers and that was easy enough, and once processed I then brought out her letters and certificates showing she is a certified service dog. Guide dogs and certified service dogs are no fee.

The staff there was unprepared for registering a certified service dog and none of them were sure what to do. Rather than hold up the rest of the bullie owners, I opted to pay for her license and when not so busy we could remedy the situation then. At the same time, one of the staff members gave me a number to call at City Hall and who to see.

All government building were closed for the holidays, so I waited until January 2nd and took my chances rather than phoning, but to appear in person. My first stop was the licensing department where I showed them her documents and they gave me a license for no fee. If I had of known then what a hassel I would be getting, I would have kept that license and go after a refund for the one I paid for at ACC, but it never occurred to me the struggle I was going to get into.

I went to the 5th floor and saw who I was suppose to. He said he was under the impression that it was only guide dogs that were no fee and needed to research the bylaws and get back to me early the next week. When I didn't hear back from him, I called him at the end of the week. He appolized for not phoning but said this could take several months to sort out but out of good faith, he would refund me the $50 for the license for this year. I told him I had a letter that would answer his question from the goverment of Ontario and would send them to him if that was more hepful and he asked me to mail it to him.

I gave him more than enough time to receive the letter and to loook it over before I phoned him again. Now I was getting his voice mail and left numerous messages with no replies. Getting very frustrated, I looked up his email address from the City Hall directory on the net and sent him an email along with up-to-date information for 2006 - 2007.

When I received his email back, I was so shocked and frustrated at his responce. That was the first time it dawned on me this was nothing to do with certified service dogs, but a Pit bull issue even though it's not what he stated in his email He did however tell me that what I had was a legally registered Pit bull in accordance to the law and the money for the license was not something that was abliged to do, but was sending it to me in good faith. *CLICK* Now I realized this was a Pit bull issue and was not going to be an easy matter.

The next morning, I just wanted to really find out if I was correct. I called London ACC and asked the clerk is certified service dogs were no fee for their licenses the same as the guide dogs. The man answered, "Most definately!"

I then told him my name and told him I would like Certified Service Dog added to Shasta's files along with all her other information. It was at this point his tone changed from pleasant to gruff and he said there was a note stating that my case was being taken care of by Mr. So and so at City Hall and it was him I needed to contact. Now I was getting angry as well and I asked him directly, "Is this a Pit bull issue rather than a service dog issue?" Rudely he told me to keep in communication with Mr. So and so and he had nothing further to discuss with me!

I was so upset being so frustrated and knowing another battle was on hand that I cried for two days. By the end of two days, I regained my composer and just got fighting angry. Again the bullies are being discriminated against only this one had never posed a problem or even considered by them before. I'm afraid this waiting period is just a way of stalling while London makes a new bylaw that no bullies are allowed to be service dogs. I don't know, can they take her certification away from her? She's earned everything to bring her to this point and I would go back to square one if I wasn't avle to use her.

Am I scared? You better believe it! But I'm also fighting mad that I will fight for my rights as hard as I fight against the BSL.