Today in the Toronto Star, there is a heartwarming survival story of an Oshawa woman and her beloved dog. Essentially what happened was that Scarlett, the cutie pictured above with her owner, got loose and ran into her neighbors yard. The dog was believed to be a pitbull, and was apprehended by the Oshawa Animal Services. For the past year and half, the owner has been battling with the courts to get her dog back. This dog has absolutely no history of aggression, but because of the current Pit Bull ban in Ontario, dogs with pit-like traits are often exterminated.
This story has a happy ending, well, sort of. The owner claimed that the dog was not a pitbull at all, but a boxer/Rhodesian mix. Someone from the Canadian Kennel club had to testify that this dog was likely a boxer mix, and not a pit bull. So, finally, this pup is returning home.
But wait a second.... if this guy had testified that Scarlett was a pitbull, she would have been killed. For simply being born with certain physical characteristics. Most dog people know that really a pitbull is not that different from a boxer, American bull dog, or Staffordshire Terrier to name a few. So really now, why is it considered ok to euthanize an innocent pitbull, but not ok if it's a boxer or some other breed?
First of all, in Ontario, pit bulls are not even recognized as a specific breed but instead a type. Many people say that pitbulls are bred to kill or fight. This is simply not true at all. Pit bull terriers were originally bred in England as cattle dogs. They came over with settlers to the USA hundreds of years ago. In the USA and Canada, they became popular police and therapy dogs. They were known as excellent family pets, and because of their gentle disposition they were even given the nickname the "Nanny Dog".
But, as we all know, at some point some idiots started forcing dogs to fight to the death for their own entertainment (and to profit off betting on the dogs). Pitbulls became a favourite for these assholes. So, for a few decades now, the "nanny dog" has been horribly abused in the hands of sociopaths like Michael Vick. Some dog fighting rings have been busted, but who wins at the end of the day? Vick is still a free man making millions in the NFL, and the dogs caught up in this mess mostly get euthanized.
So today in Ontario, pit bulls are illegal due to ridiculous breed specific legislation. Even though experts agree that these dogs are not inherently "bad" or "aggressive" any more than all other terrier breeds, they continue to suffer, be taken from their owners, and many perfectly good dogs are killed for no reason. Unfortunately, this trend is catching on and many states and provinces are following Ontario and banning pit bulls. Personally, I believe making Pit bulls illegal because they are "aggresive" is like saying asians shouldn't drive because of their skin colour, or that black people shouldn't be trusted because they "steal". Dogs aren't born bad, same as people aren't born bad. They are a product of their environment: if they are abused, they will be abusive back. Why is there not harsher punishments for animal abusers? Why do we continue to blame the victims? It's complete bull shit.
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