Hit Vick, Feed a Homeless Pet

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20070721_breen

Main Line Animal Rescue of Washington, DC, USA, placed an ad in the Washington Post, promising to donate 5 bags of dog food to a local animal shelter each time football player Michael Vick is tackled during the Philadelphia Eagles’ match with the Washington Redskins, October 26.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer –

Each time the Eagles’ new gadget guy-backup quarterback is tackled during the Oct. 26 away game against the Redskins, five bags of dog food will be donated to a D.C. animal shelter.

“Because there are no second chances on an empty stomach,” the ad says.

It also encourages people to volunteer at a shelter on game day, perhaps even “hugging a homeless Pit Bull.”

Vick served 18 months in prison for funding a dogfighting operation where pit bulls were killed.

In signing Vick to a two-year deal, the Eagles said he’d served his time and deserved a second chance.

“I think we’re all getting tired of the ‘Does he deserve a second chance?’ kind of thing,” said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of the shelter, which is near Valley Forge. “Maybe it’s about time that the million pit bulls euthanized every year got their second chance.”

“It’s such a misunderstood breed. . . . They’re great dogs,” he said, adding they’ve gotten a terrible stigma “because of people like Michael Vick.”

The ad’s main aim is to bring attention back to the needs of dogs, he said.

“I think we just need to raise public awareness, and this is a good way to do that,” he said.

“It may be funny. It may be clever. It may not,” he said.

“I think we just need to raise public awareness, and this is a good way to do that. It may be funny. It may be clever. It may not,” –  Bill Smith, founder and CEO of the shelter.

I know a few people who’d likely offer to BUILD a shelter if you can promise to knock him unconscious.  Twice. With a brick.

The Great Dogs Are With Us Forever

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Two great dogs were lost this week —

Gina Spadafori’s beautiful Heather

Heather Lives Forever

and Hope and Fran Saidel’s Golly, inspiration for their “GollyGear” shop.

Hope and Fran's Golly

Hope and Fran's Golly

Gina’s tribute to Heather is here, and ‘s for Golly is here. Like all great dogs, they leave holes in the lives of everyone who knew them.

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

Khalil Gibran

Caiman Caught in London

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london_caiman

London, Ontario residents recently found something more interesting than ducks and beavers at their local reservoir – a five kilogram common Caiman, relative of the Alligator.

Locals had spotted the Caiman over the weekend, but Animal Control were unable to catch it.

Area resident John Stephan had heard about the creature, and decided to have look for himself while walking his Shih Tzu, Gunner, near the reservoir last evening. The film crews were apparently a dead give away that something out of the ordinary was going on.

From the London Free Press –

“I asked what was going on and I was told there was a small crocodile or alligator in the pond,” he said. “There had been sightings and it had been filmed.”

Stephan decided to look for the creature on the south side of the pond, “because I noticed it was reedy over there.”

When he got to the reeds, he followed a slithery trail in the muck until he found an alligator sunning itself on a bed of weeds.

Stephan is apparently quite the amateur crocodile hunter, because his first reaction on spotting the caiman wasn’t to run screaming in circles (my probable reaction), but rather to simply reach down and grab it.

“It wasn’t moving,” he said. “I came up to it from behind, reached down and grabbed it with my bare hands.”

“I think it was a bit listless because of the cold. But when I picked it up, it struggled to free itself. I wasn’t going to let go, though. I’ve got big strong hands and I kept a tight grip on it.”

Stephan walked with the caiman, a relative of the alligator, about 75 meters to an A Channel truck, where he asked television reporter Nick Paparella to get some duct tape and tape the mouth of the creature shut.

The Caiman was later “identified by an exotic wildlife specialist as a “spectacled or common caiman”. It’s been speculated that someone bought it as a pet, and turned it loose in the pond when it grew too large.

*Shortly after the Caiman was caught, Sarnia Animal Control Officer Brad Loosley arrived on the scene and insisted that the Caiman was actually a Pit Bull.

“Check out those locking jaws!”, a frothing at the mouth Loosley exclaimed to bemused television crews. “That’s a Pit Bull, alright. The beady eyes give it away”.

When Loosley was informed that reptile specialists had identified the creature as a Caiman, he scoffingly replied “Those guys aren’t experts on Pit Bulls – me, I’m a Pit Bull expert. I’m an Animal Control officer, dammit. Bow to my authority”.

Loosley then noticed Gunner, Mr. Stephan’s Shih Tzu, and attempted to nab Gunner with a snare pole. When asked what on earth he thought he was doing, Loosley shrieked that Pit Bulls come in all sizes, and that Gunner was obviously a miniature, long haired Pit Bull. “Oh, sure – they look like family pets”, a wild eyed Loosley was heard to exclaim. “Until the day they snap and savage your ankle, and then it’s all over, buddy”.

An A Team technician then wrestled a hysterical Loosley to the ground and duct taped his mouth shut, commenting that he ‘seemed a little bit irate, and was ranting something about being denied his due measure of death dealing. He seems a bit nuts, honestly’.*

Read more →

The dogs are safe – for now

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Media release:

Dear Members of Council,

The City of Sarnia is arranging for the release of the three mixed-breed dogs that were detained on the basis of having similar characteristics to a “Pit Bull” as outlined by the Dog Owners Liability Act (DOLA).

Following the detentions, the dogs Capone, Maddie and Carter were examined by an expert of the owners choice and one of the City’s choice.

Both examinations found that the dogs were not “Pit Bulls” nor do they have the appearance or physical characteristics of the “Pit Bull” breed.

While the dogs were detained, extensions were given to the euthanasia of the dogs to allow for the examinations.

The City wanted to get the necessary information to ensure the right decision was made and that is now the case.

Following discussions with the owners’ lawyer, the dogs will be released to their owners subject to them being spayed and neutered in accordance with the recommendations of the owners’ expert.

The city is satisfied that the release of the dogs back to their owners is the right decision and will work with the owners to ensure that the recommendations are followed in the release.

Lloyd Fennell
City Manager

We can’t any of rest easy, however. The law which allowed – encouraged! – this stupid, money sucking, owner and dog traumatizing circus o’ stupidity still stands, and until it’s knocked down, none of us are safe.

You’re not even safe if you’re just traveling through Ontario, on your way to someplace else, as this letter posted on the DLCC website, from former Ontario tourism minister Jim Bradley, makes abundantly clear.

Ministry of Tourism and Recreation
Minister
9th Floor, Hearst Block
900 Bay Street
Toronto, ON M7A 2E1
Tel: (416) 326-9326
Fax: (416) 326-9338

File Reference Number: XXX

April 7, 2005

Dear Ms. XXXXX :

Thank you for your e-mail messages about the Ontario government’s new legislation banning pit bulls. I appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns, and I apologize for the delay in responding to you.

Ontario’s Public Safety Related to Dogs Statute Law Amendment Act, 2005 became law on March 9, 2005, and it amends the Dog Owners’ Liability Act. The new legislation will come into effect on August 29, 2005, banning pit bulls and their importation into Ontario. The new law also places restrictions on existing pit bulls and toughens penalties for the owners of any dog that poses a danger to the public. Pit bulls already legally resident in the province before the date the law comes into force may remain legally in Ontario, subject to certain conditions, such as compliance with leash, muzzle and sterilization requirements. Accordingly, law-abiding owners of existing pit bulls in Ontario need not give up their dogs.

Importing pit bulls into Ontario will be prohibited after August 29, 2005. Pit bulls not legally resident in Ontario prior to this date will be subject to seizure, and persons found to have imported a pit bull into Ontario will be in violation of the law and may be subject to fines and/or jail. There are no exceptions for tourists, including those simply passing through Ontario with their pit bulls, apart from a limited exception for individuals participating in a recognized dog show. You can find further information about the legislation on the Ministry of the Attorney General’s website at: www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca

Ontario greatly values its visitors from Canada, the United States and abroad. We are proud of the many world-class tourism attractions and experiences in Ontario, and we are working hard to provide a safe and welcoming province for visitors and residents alike. For more information on traveling in Ontario, please visit www.ontariotravel.net, or call toll free 1-800-Ontario (1-800-668-2746).

Again, thank you for advising me of your concerns, which I will share with my Cabinet colleague, the Honorable Michael Bryant, Attorney General of Ontario.

Yours sincerely,

Jim Bradley
Minister

You’re not safe in Ontario, no matter what breed you own, and no matter how much you want to believe that this law has nothing to do with you. It is, quite simply, a concerted effort to curtail our rights to own the dogs of our choice, and to exterminate the dogs that the puppet masters find ‘unacceptable’.

Sarnia is still on my ‘do not visit list’, and I suggest they stay on yours, too. In fact, that might apply to the entire province, if this kind of stupidity keeps up.

Sarnia Ignores Expert – Still Claims Death Row Dogs Pit Bulls

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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.