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Dear Michael Bryant,
I've got an idea. Instead of outlawing 'pitbulls' in Ontario, why not enact a law banning ignorance? Granted, you'd have to move but here in Alberta we accept all kinds of questionable intelligence in our leaders.
You called pitbulls as a breed 'inherently dangerous'. Mr Bryant, any dog can be inherently dangerous if it is not brought up or treated properly. I interact with dogs everyday at my job and have so far been bitten by two Shih Tzus and a German Sheperd puppy who was a little too eager to receive his goodie from my fingers. Staffordshire Terriers and American Staffordshires were bred by people to fight other dogs for our entertainment. People started the problem behavior in these dogs and competant breeders since then have focussed on dispelling it, while retaining the breeds' courage and appearance.
More than a hundred years of history has passed since the laws changed and made dog-fighting officially a socially unacceptable pasttime. There dogs are not for everyone and responsible owners will agree. When they end up in the hands of a person who does not understand what owning them entails, trouble can brew. However, bully breeds can be perfectly fine with other dogs, kids, cats and other animals if they are well-socialized as puppies. This goes for any dog, really. Of course, this is a huge responsibility and some people are not up to the task, aware that they should or desirious of curbing any aggressiveness in the dog. The owners and breeders who ARE responsible are the ones who will suffer if Bill 132 is passed.
If you manage to ban bully breeds, irresponsible owners will find another breed to corrupt. You might as well start banning anything over 20lbs. I'm sure Ontario owners of German Sheperds, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, Great Danes, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Bulldogs are nervously watching this bill as well and wondering when it will be their dog that must go out to the dog park wearing a muzzle.
Banning pitbulls is the lazy, quick-fix solution to a human problem. Educating bully owners, having breeder's dogs temperment tested, outlawing the sale of these breeds or crossbreeds in pet stores are all possible answers to your perceived problem. Please do not pass this law because you are afraid of and misunderstand these dogs. There are many people who love them and you can't pass a law to muzzle them in public.
Yours Sincerely,
SJK
I've got an idea. Instead of outlawing 'pitbulls' in Ontario, why not enact a law banning ignorance? Granted, you'd have to move but here in Alberta we accept all kinds of questionable intelligence in our leaders.
You called pitbulls as a breed 'inherently dangerous'. Mr Bryant, any dog can be inherently dangerous if it is not brought up or treated properly. I interact with dogs everyday at my job and have so far been bitten by two Shih Tzus and a German Sheperd puppy who was a little too eager to receive his goodie from my fingers. Staffordshire Terriers and American Staffordshires were bred by people to fight other dogs for our entertainment. People started the problem behavior in these dogs and competant breeders since then have focussed on dispelling it, while retaining the breeds' courage and appearance.
More than a hundred years of history has passed since the laws changed and made dog-fighting officially a socially unacceptable pasttime. There dogs are not for everyone and responsible owners will agree. When they end up in the hands of a person who does not understand what owning them entails, trouble can brew. However, bully breeds can be perfectly fine with other dogs, kids, cats and other animals if they are well-socialized as puppies. This goes for any dog, really. Of course, this is a huge responsibility and some people are not up to the task, aware that they should or desirious of curbing any aggressiveness in the dog. The owners and breeders who ARE responsible are the ones who will suffer if Bill 132 is passed.
If you manage to ban bully breeds, irresponsible owners will find another breed to corrupt. You might as well start banning anything over 20lbs. I'm sure Ontario owners of German Sheperds, Rottweilers, Mastiffs, Great Danes, Rhodesian Ridgebacks and Bulldogs are nervously watching this bill as well and wondering when it will be their dog that must go out to the dog park wearing a muzzle.
Banning pitbulls is the lazy, quick-fix solution to a human problem. Educating bully owners, having breeder's dogs temperment tested, outlawing the sale of these breeds or crossbreeds in pet stores are all possible answers to your perceived problem. Please do not pass this law because you are afraid of and misunderstand these dogs. There are many people who love them and you can't pass a law to muzzle them in public.
Yours Sincerely,
SJK
Bill 132 is a proposal to ban pitbulls in Ontario. It's leading advocate, Attorney General Michael Bryant, supplied the the quote, fear supplies the fuel and a bunch of angry pitbull owners, breeders and fans supply the opposition. I'm here to add my two cents.
I never knew a pitbull personally till I started my (fabulous!) job in July. One of my co-workers has an American Staffordshire Terrier, one of the breeds commonly referred to as a pitbull. I had no idea what breed she was, just thought she was very handsome and well-mannered and was impressed by how well she listened to her owner. (My own dog, Rega, a Belgian Tervuren, has rather selective hearing even at 12 and a half.) Through my co-worker, I met several other AmStaff's and continued to be delighted by their personalities. Through work, I met a few English Staffordshires as well, smaller than the American version but with the same temperment.
Then I met Angel, the coffee-drinking Bull Terrier. That was the breed of dog I had always known as a 'pitbull'. She was manic, hilarious, sharp as a tack, playful and eager to learn and please her people. After a couple more visits by Angel to the store, I was smitten and went out and did my homework on her breed (and the Staffie and AmStaff since they all come from common ancestors).
I learned that they were bred originally for bull-baiting, then dog-fighting. After that was outlawed, breeders turned to breeding for a temperment that would make them into good companion dogs without losing their courage and loyalty. I learned that they are NOT the dog for everyone since they do require extensive training and socialization as puppies (well, all dogs do but for them it's imperative). I talked to owners whose bully breed dogs lived peacefully with other dogs of all sizes, cats, toddlers, birds and even rabbits. They told me about earning Canine Good Citizen Awards, therapy pet status and temperment testing.
Then I read this SHIT in the Edmonton Journal last week about banning 'pitbulls' in Ontario. I researched it. This meant banning the American Pit Bull Terrier (which from what I gather isn't an actual breed), AmStaffs and Staffordshire Terriers. Michael Bryant is quoted as saying, "Don Cherry's dog is safe!" Now, Don Cherry has typically owned Bull Terriers, which aren't included in the ban. Currently, Mr Cherry owns an AmStaff. His daughter owns Staffordshires.
I drew the Bull Terrier there before learning it wasn't included in the ban.
So, anyway, the following is my letter to our hysterical Attorney General stating my opinion. It took a couple re-writes to remove the snark and harsher comments on Mr Bryant's intelligence.
I never knew a pitbull personally till I started my (fabulous!) job in July. One of my co-workers has an American Staffordshire Terrier, one of the breeds commonly referred to as a pitbull. I had no idea what breed she was, just thought she was very handsome and well-mannered and was impressed by how well she listened to her owner. (My own dog, Rega, a Belgian Tervuren, has rather selective hearing even at 12 and a half.) Through my co-worker, I met several other AmStaff's and continued to be delighted by their personalities. Through work, I met a few English Staffordshires as well, smaller than the American version but with the same temperment.
Then I met Angel, the coffee-drinking Bull Terrier. That was the breed of dog I had always known as a 'pitbull'. She was manic, hilarious, sharp as a tack, playful and eager to learn and please her people. After a couple more visits by Angel to the store, I was smitten and went out and did my homework on her breed (and the Staffie and AmStaff since they all come from common ancestors).
I learned that they were bred originally for bull-baiting, then dog-fighting. After that was outlawed, breeders turned to breeding for a temperment that would make them into good companion dogs without losing their courage and loyalty. I learned that they are NOT the dog for everyone since they do require extensive training and socialization as puppies (well, all dogs do but for them it's imperative). I talked to owners whose bully breed dogs lived peacefully with other dogs of all sizes, cats, toddlers, birds and even rabbits. They told me about earning Canine Good Citizen Awards, therapy pet status and temperment testing.
Then I read this SHIT in the Edmonton Journal last week about banning 'pitbulls' in Ontario. I researched it. This meant banning the American Pit Bull Terrier (which from what I gather isn't an actual breed), AmStaffs and Staffordshire Terriers. Michael Bryant is quoted as saying, "Don Cherry's dog is safe!" Now, Don Cherry has typically owned Bull Terriers, which aren't included in the ban. Currently, Mr Cherry owns an AmStaff. His daughter owns Staffordshires.
I drew the Bull Terrier there before learning it wasn't included in the ban.
So, anyway, the following is my letter to our hysterical Attorney General stating my opinion. It took a couple re-writes to remove the snark and harsher comments on Mr Bryant's intelligence. © 2004 - 2024 greenglowingeyes
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Like us on facebook here.
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Like us on facebook here.
We're just setting up, but we'll have some awesome tshirts & such up for purchase soon.
All proceeds go to pitbulls in particular, in shelters. Just the support of liking our page & spreading words of current pitbulls in shelters with us would be great!