my letter to the editor submission

[Mom_Of_Two_Dogs]

To the Hamilton Spectator, I wrote:

To those dog owners who support Bill 132, which is the proposed pit bull ban and dangerous dog law, wake up. By supporting this law, you could very well inadvertently send your dog to its early grave.

Even if you own a dog whose breed even slightly resembles a pit bull, it will be affected by this unjust law. Any dog of any breed that is deemed menacing could be taken away by authorities by whatever means necessary, and either euthanized or worse, sent to a laboratory for experimental testing. There is no definition for what is menacing for Bill 132. The behavior can be as simple as startling somebody by barking, or chasing away a cat in its yard.

Another problem with Bill 132 is that it encourages animal cruelty and assault. Already, there have been many cases with dog owners and their dogs are being brutally harassed and assaulted. We must band together to stop this madness before the situation gets even worse.

Hope they print it, like they've done with my other letters.

[lezzpezz]

Excellent. Short and to the point. I would not change a thing. Bravo

[Mistruzzi]

That is a good letter, because it will get owners of other breeds of dogs concerned about their own dog and will get us more support in our fight against BSL.It is proven that other breeds are affected,such as the woman in Cincinnati whose American Bulldogs were taken from her when they claimed them as being pit bulls.Cincinnati's breed ban was overturned,because of all the lawsuits and enforcement costs related to the BSL.

[mastifflover]

I agree very direct and to the point. I have found that a lot of dog owners do not realize this affects them and their whole attitude about BSL does a 180 when you say that it is up to them to prove that their dog is not a pit bull. I find the fact that police with an easily obtainable warrant can come in to your home and take your pets if they have complaints about them even if it is from a neighbour who just dislikes your dogs. This really gets people the invasion of your home, the one place you could feel safe.

[Schwinn]

I've been trying to find the article about the incident last week. Apparently, somewhere there was a guy with bulldog puppies (the british kind), who had them seized, and he had to find his papers to prove they weren't pitbulls. Absolutely brutal. Oh, and an FYI for the moron-general, it was the animal control people who seized them, the ones he says would know a pitbull when they saw one.

[Sheriffmom]

I have an Eng. Bulldog puppy, and we've had comments a few times about our "pitbull"!! Scary stuff.... the funny thing is though.... he's not anywhere near 150lbs, so I don't understand why he's confused with a Pitbull!! LOL