Toronto law: Pit bulls must die. Enter the Dog Owner

look at the cute pit bull with the now sad eyes: [link to www.thestar.com]

Owner fighting to save puppy

ROB BEINTEMA/MISSISSAUGA NEWS
Rambo, a pit bull puppy, sits in a cage at an animal control facility. His owner is waging a court battle to keep the dog from being put down. Email story
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Voices: Pit bull ban Speak Out: Pit bull ban Details of the ban


When did the amended Dog Owners' Liability Act take effect?

Aug. 29, 2005.

Which breeds are banned?

Pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and any other dog with traits "substantially similar" to those breeds.

What are the terms of the ban?

The legislation prohibits the ownership, transfer, import, breeding and abandonment of pit bulls.

Dogs that belonged to an Ontario resident when the ban took effect, or were born within 90 days after the ban, are allowed but must be spayed or neutered and muzzled in public. ("Public" includes everything but the owner's property.) The muzzle must be strong enough to prevent the dog from biting through but can't hinder the dog's ability to breathe, see, pant or drink.

The dogs may not be trained to fight and must be kept on a leash shorter than 1.8 meters.

What happens if you break the law?

The dog will be confiscated and euthanized.

The owner could face: up to six months in jail; a maximum fine of $10,000 ($60,000 for corporations); a court order to compensate a victim.
Rambo is the focus of court challenge of Ontario's pit bull ban

Jan 24, 2008 04:30 AM
Paola Loriggio
Staff Reporter

A pit bull puppy in Mississauga has won a five-week stay of execution, while his owner contests the charges, in one of the first challenges to Ontario's ban on the breed.

The 10-month-old dog, named Rambo, was caught by animal control officers on Christmas Day after he ran away from the back yard of his owner, Gabriela Nowakowska.

The puppy was born after a provincewide ban on new pit bulls took effect Aug. 29, 2005. By law, the city must put the dog down.

Nowakowska, 20, was charged last week with ownership of a prohibited animal. She has been raising money for a lawyer and is scheduled to appear in provincial court Feb. 29, where, to save her dog, she will have to prove he isn't a pit bull.

"This is the first time someone decided to stand up and fight for their dog," said Dulio Rose, manager of animal services. "Normally, they just abandon them. We've had owners actually drop the leash and run."

Rambo's case has revived public debate over the legislation.

"The law is an ass," said Councillor Carolyn Parrish (Ward 6), who plans to help Nowakowska cover the legal fees. "I always said we should prosecute the owners (of dangerous dogs), not the breed."

According to the Dog Owners' Liability Act, pit bulls born more than 90 days after the ban took effect must be put down.



Last year, after a constitutional challenge by a Toronto woman whose own dog was exempt, the Ontario Superior Court upheld the law but tightened the list of affected breeds. Last week, Parrish and fellow Councillor Pat Saito rallied to save Rambo and urged city staff to send the dog to a home outside the province, where he would escape the ban – and a death sentence.

The Toronto Humane Society also offered to relocate the dog but was turned down, said spokesperson Lee Oliver.

The dog can't leave city of Mississauga custody now that charges have been laid against Nowakowska, explained Elaine Buckstein, director of bylaw enforcement. Dog activist Julie King said she has been getting emails from community members concerned about Rambo and Nowakowska.

"It's so sad that a simple thing like your dog escaping can mean your dog is killed," said King, spokesperson for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier Club of Canada, part of a coalition that protested the ban. "It's incredibly heartbreaking for the people forced to live with the consequences of a bad law."


Animal control officials said Rambo's plight weighs heavily on everyone's mind, and they hope for a happy resolution.

"If (Nowakowska) wins, great," said Rose. "I didn't want this law. None of us did."