Faceless
March 6th, 2005, 10:16 AM
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/Toronto/Bob_MacDonald/2005/03/04/949422.html
Fri, March 4, 2005
Political persistence pays off
By BOB MacDONALD -- For the Toronto Sun
Hats off to Attorney General Michael Bryant for pushing through legislation this week to ban pit bull dogs from Ontario -- the first province or state in North America to do so.
"I would anticipate that other states and provinces across North America will pursue it when they see that, in fact, in Ontario it got safer with this bill," Bryant said.
"Mark my words, Ontario will be safer," he predicted.
As one who has called for such a ban for more than a decade, I'm well aware of all the flak and vitriol Bryant would have taken during the past months while the legislation was being put together and debated. Pit bull owners, breeders, some veterinarians and other special interest groups bombarded him with criticism in defence of the dogs.
However, Bryant persisted. And, especially after receiving more than 4,000 e-mails from Ontarians, was even more convinced that pit bulls are a menace.
The AG was spurred into action late last August after a particularly vicious attack by two pit bulls in Toronto. He said:
"We are very concerned about pit bulls, the proliferation of pit bulls and the danger that they may pose to Ontarians."
In the attack, the dogs turned on a 25-year-old man walking them. Despite desperate efforts of himself and bystanders, the dogs persisted in their attacks with their powerful jaws.
"I guess once one of the dogs got a sense of the blood, they both just went nuts," one eyewitness said.
Police who were called to the scene had to fire 16 shots into the animals before killing them. Even while badly wounded, the dogs kept attacking.
The young man survived, but required dozens of stitches, plastic surgery and rehabilitation of a badly chewed arm. In launching his campaign, Bryant explained:
"I have had constituents come into my office with concerns and complaints about pit bulls and their effect not only on a community, but with respect to other animals and the harm that they may cause to other animals."
As he and others have noted, the problem with pit bulls is that they were originally bred for bull-baiting and then for dogfighting. Unfortunately, such traits still lurk within today's versions of the dogs.
For instance, on the first day of hearings, Louise Ellis told how her 5-year-old daughter, Lauren, was permanently scarred by a pit bull attack 10 years ago while strolling with her family on Toronto's Danforth Ave. The little girl required five hours of surgery and 300 stitches just to close the wounds.
"The animal rights activists will try to tell you that pit bulls don't harm people. Lord, how I wish the owner had bitten my child instead of his dog," the mother said.
"Please don't forget the victims of pit bull attacks."
Unfortunately, they are many and continuing. Such as:
n A pit bull attack 15 months ago on 4-year-old Ryland Fowler when his mother fought furiously to drive off the dog outside their Rushton Cres. home in Toronto. Only the heroic efforts of a neighbour saved the child.
"The dog wanted my son. That's all it was interested in," his mother Deborah said. "Without provocation, the pit bull grabbed him. It didn't even growl."
n Two years ago, two pit bulls attacked 43-year-old Rajinder Hans as he walked home from work in his Toronto neighbourhood. The dogs had escaped from a backyard.
He suffered severe wounds to his face and head, plus had an ear almost torn off. They pulled him down and only the efforts of a burly younger man saved him.
"I thought I was going to die," Rajinder said. And yet one of the dog's owners said they had been brought up with kindness as "loving pets."
Under the new legislation, present pit bull owners can keep them as long as they are spayed or neutered, plus muzzled and leashed in public.
Also, it sets fines of $10,000 for owners of dangerous dogs and allows a jail term of six months. That should cover those who want vicious dogs and try to develop those traits in other breeds.
As for turning to another dog developed for fighting such as the still rare Canary Dog -- or Perro de Presa Canario -- that breed can also be added to the provincewide ban in the future.
Meanwhile, the victims and spared future victims of pit bull attacks can thank Michael Bryant for having the courage and persistence to see this legislation through. The rest of Canada should thank him and follow suit.
Fri, March 4, 2005
Political persistence pays off
By BOB MacDONALD -- For the Toronto Sun
Hats off to Attorney General Michael Bryant for pushing through legislation this week to ban pit bull dogs from Ontario -- the first province or state in North America to do so.
"I would anticipate that other states and provinces across North America will pursue it when they see that, in fact, in Ontario it got safer with this bill," Bryant said.
"Mark my words, Ontario will be safer," he predicted.
As one who has called for such a ban for more than a decade, I'm well aware of all the flak and vitriol Bryant would have taken during the past months while the legislation was being put together and debated. Pit bull owners, breeders, some veterinarians and other special interest groups bombarded him with criticism in defence of the dogs.
However, Bryant persisted. And, especially after receiving more than 4,000 e-mails from Ontarians, was even more convinced that pit bulls are a menace.
The AG was spurred into action late last August after a particularly vicious attack by two pit bulls in Toronto. He said:
"We are very concerned about pit bulls, the proliferation of pit bulls and the danger that they may pose to Ontarians."
In the attack, the dogs turned on a 25-year-old man walking them. Despite desperate efforts of himself and bystanders, the dogs persisted in their attacks with their powerful jaws.
"I guess once one of the dogs got a sense of the blood, they both just went nuts," one eyewitness said.
Police who were called to the scene had to fire 16 shots into the animals before killing them. Even while badly wounded, the dogs kept attacking.
The young man survived, but required dozens of stitches, plastic surgery and rehabilitation of a badly chewed arm. In launching his campaign, Bryant explained:
"I have had constituents come into my office with concerns and complaints about pit bulls and their effect not only on a community, but with respect to other animals and the harm that they may cause to other animals."
As he and others have noted, the problem with pit bulls is that they were originally bred for bull-baiting and then for dogfighting. Unfortunately, such traits still lurk within today's versions of the dogs.
For instance, on the first day of hearings, Louise Ellis told how her 5-year-old daughter, Lauren, was permanently scarred by a pit bull attack 10 years ago while strolling with her family on Toronto's Danforth Ave. The little girl required five hours of surgery and 300 stitches just to close the wounds.
"The animal rights activists will try to tell you that pit bulls don't harm people. Lord, how I wish the owner had bitten my child instead of his dog," the mother said.
"Please don't forget the victims of pit bull attacks."
Unfortunately, they are many and continuing. Such as:
n A pit bull attack 15 months ago on 4-year-old Ryland Fowler when his mother fought furiously to drive off the dog outside their Rushton Cres. home in Toronto. Only the heroic efforts of a neighbour saved the child.
"The dog wanted my son. That's all it was interested in," his mother Deborah said. "Without provocation, the pit bull grabbed him. It didn't even growl."
n Two years ago, two pit bulls attacked 43-year-old Rajinder Hans as he walked home from work in his Toronto neighbourhood. The dogs had escaped from a backyard.
He suffered severe wounds to his face and head, plus had an ear almost torn off. They pulled him down and only the efforts of a burly younger man saved him.
"I thought I was going to die," Rajinder said. And yet one of the dog's owners said they had been brought up with kindness as "loving pets."
Under the new legislation, present pit bull owners can keep them as long as they are spayed or neutered, plus muzzled and leashed in public.
Also, it sets fines of $10,000 for owners of dangerous dogs and allows a jail term of six months. That should cover those who want vicious dogs and try to develop those traits in other breeds.
As for turning to another dog developed for fighting such as the still rare Canary Dog -- or Perro de Presa Canario -- that breed can also be added to the provincewide ban in the future.
Meanwhile, the victims and spared future victims of pit bull attacks can thank Michael Bryant for having the courage and persistence to see this legislation through. The rest of Canada should thank him and follow suit.