Tell Sarnia ‘Enough is Enough!’

/2 Comments/in /by
The city of Sarnia Ontario thinks THIS is a Pit Bull. Morons.

The city of Sarnia Ontario thinks THIS is a Pit Bull. Morons.

My own, personal opinion? Boycott Sarnia, starting now. Don’t cross their border, don’t shop in their town, don’t gamble at their casino. Hit them where it hurts – their pocket books.

Posted with permission —


The Dog Legislation Council has been dealing with an issue that, up until yesterday, was kept under the radar in the hopes that things could be worked out amicably between the dogs’ owners and Sarnia Humane Society.

The city of Sarnia is fast becoming one of Ontario’s most lethal cities for dogs , even when the owners can provide ‘proof’ of their genetics;

a.. The first occurred in March 2006.Tidus who was identified as a “pit bull” and ordered destroyed under the Dog Owners’ Liability Act. The dog’s owner took the case to court and, in April, the destruction order was set aside.
“This legislation is very vague because it doesn’t give direction,” said Justice of the Peace Helen Gale in making her ruling to release Tidus following the two-and-a-half hour trial. She noted that the Canadian Kennel Club does not even recognize pit bulls as being a specific breed. “There needs to be a clear definition,” said Gale. “There are some real problems with the act.”
a.. The second incident in Sarnia occurred also in April 2006, only a few days after the ruling. A Hungarian Vizsla (a purebred hunting dog) was identified as a “pit bull”. The owner had papers from the United States identifying the dog as a Vizsla. Ultimately, this dog was released to the owner on a “gentleman’s handshake” on the condition that the dog leave the province immediately.
b.. The third incident, which attracted attention across North America, occurred in June 2007. Sarnia Animal Control (again, Mr. Brad Loosley) confiscated three seven week old puppies and their mother (yes that’s SEVEN WEEKS OLD) who were identified as Staffordshire Bull Terriers and confiscated for being a “threat to public safety”. They were scheduled for destruction that same week.
The public outcry in this case, the significant assistance of their pro bono lawyer, Mr. Chris Avery, as well as offers of help from Advocates for the Underdog and the Dog Legislation Council of Canada, persuaded the city of Sarnia to eventually change their mind. Note, however, that even with that change of heart, the dogs still had to be shipped out of the province in order to stay alive, as was the case with the Vizsla.

a.. Now we have puppies whose breeding has been proven as required under DOLA to be that of a Labrador ( unregistered sire ) and a CKC registered Boxer (dam).
On the record, Mr Loosley glibly stated that they are euthanizing at least one “pit bull” a month.
Since the story hit the local newspaper yesterday, September 18, it’s now necesary to let everyone know what’s going on.

OK, so here’s the story:

http://www.chicobandido.com/2009/09/maddie-carter-capone/

In this latest case, it certainly seems that Sarnia Animal Control has gone on a “witch hunt” to confiscate and destroy all three of dogs, two are puppies and one being the father of said puppies. NONE of these dogs have shown any aggression or been involved in any biting incident and TWO of them were confiscated directly from their owners who were doing nothing different than what millions of dog owners across Canada do every day with their dogs.

According to previous reports, the Mayor of Sarnia, Mike Bradley, is not in favour of the breed-specific Dog Owners’ Liability Act. He and the city councillors need to be made aware of this situation immediately. They must intervene, not only in this case, but in their city’s Animal Control policy, to ensure that law-abiding citizens with safe, non-threatening dogs are left in peace to enjoy their pets.

First, the contact information for Sarnia .

Mr. Brad Loosley, Deputy City Clerk
bloosley@city.sarnia.on.ca
519-332-0330 ext 351

Mr. Loosley has been identified by the dogs’ owners as the Chief Animal Control Officer, although the city’s website identifies him as the Deputy City Clerk.

Mike Bradley, Mayor
mayor@city.sarnia.on.ca
519-332-0330 ext 312
519-336-8092

Dave Boushy, City Councillor
d.boushy@cogeco.ca
519-542-3109

Jim Foubister, City Councillor
jimfoubister@city.sarnia.on.ca
519-869-4701

Bev MacDougall, City Councillor
bevmacdougall@ebtech.net
519-344-5543
519-344-0768

Anne Marie Gillis, City Councillor
annemariegillis@city.sarnia.on.ca
519-542-0554
519-542-9728

Andy Bruziewicz, City Councillor
andybruziewicz@hotmail.com
519-332-2639

Jon McEachran, City Councillor
jonmceachran@hotmail.com
519-383-7200
519-337-7200

Mike Kelch, City Councillor
mjkelch@mac.com
519-339-4003
519-542-5682

Terry Burrell, City Councillor
terry@terryburrell.ca
519-336-5545
519-542-8826

If you choose to contact these people, keep in mind a few things:

1.. Other than Brad Loosley, the people listed above may not have any idea what’s going on.
2.. Treat them with respect and politeness, simply requesting their intervention in this matter.
3.. Point out that there is no requirement in the Dog Owners’ Liability Act for a city to identify a dog as a “pit bull”. The only reason to do so is to kill the dog, period.
4.. Stress that Alan Bennett has looked at these dogs and determined them to NOT be Staffordshire Bull Terriers or any other breed banned under the Ontario law. Mr. Bennett is a Canadian Kennel Club judge, qualified to judge ALL 175 breeds registered by the CKC, and a former Director of the Canadian Kennel Club.

FBDCA Nationals Close Monday!!

/in /by

Don’t forget! Entries for the 2009 French Bull Dog Club of America National Specialty close at noon Central Standard Time on Monday, Sept. 21.

You can enter online at www.enterdogshows.com
or you can Fax your entry to Show Secretary Theresa
Wilson (minibulls@alpinecom.net) at
1- 319-538-0401. Fax entries must be paid by credit card.

Registrations for clinics, seminars, and evening events will close on Monday Oct. 5. For more info about the clinics and seminars, click here.

Sarnia Ignores Expert – Still Claims Death Row Dogs Pit Bulls

/2 Comments/in , /by
Sarnia's New City Crest

Sarnia's New City Crest

The idiocy in Sarnia continues, with talking head Brad Loosley now claiming that Sarnia Animal Control Officers are “highly trained professionals”, with opinions that outweigh those of internationally respected breed experts with decades of experience judging and assessing Pit Bulls.

Alan Bennet has been a dog breeder for 30 years, and a show dog judge since 1993. In that time, he has, in his own words, “Judged (American Staffordshire Terriers) all over the world”. AmStaff, by the way, is the fancy kennel club name for the dogs the rest of the world calls Pit Bulls. Mr. Bennet recently donated his time and expertise to the owners of the death row dogs in Sarnia, examing the dogs, and submitting a written report to the city of Sarnia. The dogs, says Bennet, are NOT Pit Bulls, or anything ‘substantially similar’.

From the article in the Observer:

“These dogs definitely don’t look pitbullish. Their chests are too narrow and they’re much taller than the bull breed.”

Not good enough for Sarnia Animal Control, however, who won’t back down from their own assessment, and who claim that their own ‘experts’ knowledge of Pit Bulls outweighs that of a man who has been paid to travel around the world judging them professionally. No, Sarnia AC is sticking to its guns, and now also plans to murder the sire of the two puppies originally seized:

..the city has not returned the dogs despite Bennett’s input, says Sonya Pimentel, owner of an 11-month-old pup impounded by the city’s animal control officers nearly three weeks ago.

Her dog and another pup from the same litter, as well as the puppies’ father, will be euthanized unless the owners can prove their pets are not pitbulls or look “substantially similar” to one.

So, the owners have been told that they must ‘prove that their dogs are not Pit Bulls’, which they’ve attempted to do by retaining an actual, real live, honest to God expert on Pit Bulls. “Not good enough!” claims Sarnia AC.

I think that the only thing now that can possibly save these dogs is an outpouring of public anger and outrage. I suggest you direct yours to Sarnia City Hall, since Animal Control has obviously circled the wagons and is not backing down. I’ve heard that they’re no longer answering the phone in their department – a luxury that I doubt City Hall has.

Why not let them know how you personally feel about their city’s policy of seizing dogs off the street, unprovoked, and sentencing them to death?

Sarnia is a major border crossing between Canada and the USA – perhaps a refusal to use that crossing, with the concurrent drop in city income from travelers, might hold some sway with Sarnia’s powers that be. After all, are you willing to take the chance of driving through Sarnia with your dogs? Are you confident that your dogs could escape being labeled as ‘substantially similar’ to Pit Bulls, when ‘substantially similar’ for Sarnia Animal Control seems to mean only slightly blocky headed and short coated?

Contact information for Sarnia City Hall –

City Manager – Located on the 2nd Floor at City Hall

citymngr@sarnia.ca

Lloyd Fennell, City Manager

519 332-0330 Ext. 230

All departments report to the City Manager, by the way. Oh, and look what else I found – seems that Brad Loosley wears a few hats for the city of Sarnia.

Brad Loosley, Acting Deputy City Clerk

519 332-0330 ext. 258

That’s Brad’s direct line and extension. Go nuts.

Other people have stray dogs…

/4 Comments/in /by

Stray cattle

… We have stray cattle.

These guys have been wandering around since Sunday, when I first saw them milling around on our side lawn. Since then, we’ve almost run into them on the road, and they’ve been enjoying an all you can eat soybean buffet in the field across the road.

They got out of a field one concession north of us, possibly spooked right through the fence by coyotes, which have been getting worse in our area. The night before we first saw the stray cattle, I was awoken at about 2 in the morning by the sound of coyotes killing something – something that screamed. My neighbours were also woken up by it – it’s a sound you don’t soon forget, once you’ve heard it.

The farmer got eight of them back, but can’t quite catch up with these guys. Apparently, they’ve been bucket raised (hand fed feed out of a bucket), so they’re usually pretty people friendly, but these six young male Charolais are spooky after almost a week of being honked at by cars and waved at by strangers.

Tonight I caught their attention, and they were willing to cautiously head in my direction, but they spooked when Bunny (unnerved by seeing six rather strange looking and disturbingly large dogs heading towards us) barked at them.

That did it – they turned tail and ran for the woods.

I hope they get home soon – it’s getting cold, and I’m really worried that one of those idiot gravel truck drivers who sometimes speed down our road is going to careen around the bend and take out the whole lot of them.