Post by RealPitBull on Jan 18, 2008 16:23:09 GMT -5
Rambo has friends in high places
Staff photo by Rob Beintemp
By: John Stewart
January 18, 2008 11:47 AM - Mississauga politicians are asking City staff to explore options that would allow Rambo, a pit bull cross-breed puppy scheduled for euthanasia, to be shipped out of Ontario to a reputable rescue organization.
In separate interviews yesterday, Ward 9 City councillor Pat Saito and Ward 6 councillor Carolyn Parrish strongly criticized the provincial legislation aimed at eliminating new pit bulls from being owned in Ontario and said they're working with animal control staff to see if there are alternatives to killing the young dog.
"We're going to see if we can get the dog neutered and approve a 24-hour exemption for him to be shipped out of the province," Parrish said.
That would require his owner, Gabriela Nowakowska, 20, to sign over ownership of the dog to the City, to allow the special bylaw for this one dog to be passed.
Since the dog is still owned by Nowakowska and is a prohibited animal under the legislation, City staff say they do not have the option now of sending the dog to a responsible rescue organization in a jurisdiction where pit bulls are allowed.
Rambo, believed to be about 10 months old, was caught on Christmas Day by animal control officers. The dog had escaped from his owner's back yard.
"I'm told he's really a sweet dog and everyone at animal control plays with him. He's just a darling," said Parrish, who owns a bulldog named Lady Charlotte.
It is "perverse" to pass a law that bans animals based on the fact they look like a pit bull, said Parrish.
"There has got to be a humane set of rules put in place when the law is an ass," she added.
"Mr. (Michael) Bryant (who guided the legislation through Queen's Park) should have to put on gloves and come out here and use the hypodermic," to put the dog down, Parrish, a former MP, said.
Saito called the pit bull law, "terrible legislation that is poorly written and poorly worded."
Bans based on breeds do not work, she said.
"It should be based on temperament and the threat of the individual dog."
It's unacceptable that there are so few options for Rambo, whom the councillor said is very friendly.
"We should have more options than just to put the dog down," she said.
If the owner goes to court to fight, as planned, the dog will have to remain in a cage at animal control for months.
"I have a 10-month-old puppy at home and I know if she was put in that situation, she would just cry and cry," Saito said.
The City must be careful how it deals with the situation, warned Saito, because it doesn't want to create precedent for other dogs who could pose a public danger.
"The Province has given municipalities a terrible job to do," in interpreting and applying the legislation, Saito said.
Nowakowksa said she has almost raised the $500 she needs to meet with Toronto lawyer Anik Morrow to fight to have Rambo returned. The lawyer has indicated that Rambo could be "bailed out" until the trial, although that would seem to fly in the face of the legislation, which requires municipalities to seize and hold prohibited dogs.
Nowakowksa said her first option is to have Rambo back as a pet. If the courts rule that he is a pit bull and subject to the legislation, only then would she consider having him given to a rescue operation, she said.
She acknowledged that holding the dog in a cage for several months pending a trial would be hard on him.
City Hall and The News have been flooded with e-mails about the issue since it came to public attention. Several animal welfare groups opposed to the pit bull law see the case as a classic example of the flaws of Bill 132 and are renewing their battle against the legislation.
jstewart@mississauga.net
Staff photo by Rob Beintemp
By: John Stewart
January 18, 2008 11:47 AM - Mississauga politicians are asking City staff to explore options that would allow Rambo, a pit bull cross-breed puppy scheduled for euthanasia, to be shipped out of Ontario to a reputable rescue organization.
In separate interviews yesterday, Ward 9 City councillor Pat Saito and Ward 6 councillor Carolyn Parrish strongly criticized the provincial legislation aimed at eliminating new pit bulls from being owned in Ontario and said they're working with animal control staff to see if there are alternatives to killing the young dog.
"We're going to see if we can get the dog neutered and approve a 24-hour exemption for him to be shipped out of the province," Parrish said.
That would require his owner, Gabriela Nowakowska, 20, to sign over ownership of the dog to the City, to allow the special bylaw for this one dog to be passed.
Since the dog is still owned by Nowakowska and is a prohibited animal under the legislation, City staff say they do not have the option now of sending the dog to a responsible rescue organization in a jurisdiction where pit bulls are allowed.
Rambo, believed to be about 10 months old, was caught on Christmas Day by animal control officers. The dog had escaped from his owner's back yard.
"I'm told he's really a sweet dog and everyone at animal control plays with him. He's just a darling," said Parrish, who owns a bulldog named Lady Charlotte.
It is "perverse" to pass a law that bans animals based on the fact they look like a pit bull, said Parrish.
"There has got to be a humane set of rules put in place when the law is an ass," she added.
"Mr. (Michael) Bryant (who guided the legislation through Queen's Park) should have to put on gloves and come out here and use the hypodermic," to put the dog down, Parrish, a former MP, said.
Saito called the pit bull law, "terrible legislation that is poorly written and poorly worded."
Bans based on breeds do not work, she said.
"It should be based on temperament and the threat of the individual dog."
It's unacceptable that there are so few options for Rambo, whom the councillor said is very friendly.
"We should have more options than just to put the dog down," she said.
If the owner goes to court to fight, as planned, the dog will have to remain in a cage at animal control for months.
"I have a 10-month-old puppy at home and I know if she was put in that situation, she would just cry and cry," Saito said.
The City must be careful how it deals with the situation, warned Saito, because it doesn't want to create precedent for other dogs who could pose a public danger.
"The Province has given municipalities a terrible job to do," in interpreting and applying the legislation, Saito said.
Nowakowksa said she has almost raised the $500 she needs to meet with Toronto lawyer Anik Morrow to fight to have Rambo returned. The lawyer has indicated that Rambo could be "bailed out" until the trial, although that would seem to fly in the face of the legislation, which requires municipalities to seize and hold prohibited dogs.
Nowakowksa said her first option is to have Rambo back as a pet. If the courts rule that he is a pit bull and subject to the legislation, only then would she consider having him given to a rescue operation, she said.
She acknowledged that holding the dog in a cage for several months pending a trial would be hard on him.
City Hall and The News have been flooded with e-mails about the issue since it came to public attention. Several animal welfare groups opposed to the pit bull law see the case as a classic example of the flaws of Bill 132 and are renewing their battle against the legislation.
jstewart@mississauga.net