Pet peeve time.
This is a bad time for Pit Bulls and the like in Ontario. BSL is not fair to anyone. It has been a death sentence for many dogs and media fear mongering has some people in a panic over a group of dogs that is renowned for their loyalty to their owners and their gentleness with children.
So what is the pet peeve? It is the rescues and humane societies who insist on relabeling these bully mixes that would fall under the BSL banner as boxer mixes, vizsla mixes, and today I saw one labeled as a boston terrier mix.
Naming them such does not change the appearance of the dog which is what BSL targets to a great degree. (Any muscular dog with a broad head and short coat resembling a Pit Bull.) What it does do however is put these other breeds at risk of also being included in Ontario's BSL list in the future. (God forbid this stupid legislation doesn't get overturned.)
Please let's be honest about the dogs you are rescuing and rehoming. I understand that by creating these labels you feel you are safe to adopt these dogs within Ontario and that it may make the general public more likely to adopt one, however it doesn't change what the dog looks like. It doesn't change the fact that if there is a complaint against the dog it will still fall into the category of a dog resembling a Pit Bull. But now it has the label of another breed attached to it and that could in turn affect the other breed.
I feel that this is a big reason that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier ends up being included in BSL. Well meaning rescues who were not overly familiar with the purebred bull terrier dogs constantly got Staffies, Am Staffs and Pitties mixed up. I have seen 60lb, 20 inch dogs listed as staffies.
Please help to insure that this does not happen to so many other lovely breeds. Please try to be as accurate as possible in labelling the dogs you have. And if your not sure just call it a mix breed. Don't go labelling them as some other breed mix.
So to all the kind hearted rescues who are trying to help these dogs, please remember that your efforts could affect other breeds in the future if BSL is not repealed.
This is a bad time for Pit Bulls and the like in Ontario. BSL is not fair to anyone. It has been a death sentence for many dogs and media fear mongering has some people in a panic over a group of dogs that is renowned for their loyalty to their owners and their gentleness with children.
So what is the pet peeve? It is the rescues and humane societies who insist on relabeling these bully mixes that would fall under the BSL banner as boxer mixes, vizsla mixes, and today I saw one labeled as a boston terrier mix.
Naming them such does not change the appearance of the dog which is what BSL targets to a great degree. (Any muscular dog with a broad head and short coat resembling a Pit Bull.) What it does do however is put these other breeds at risk of also being included in Ontario's BSL list in the future. (God forbid this stupid legislation doesn't get overturned.)
Please let's be honest about the dogs you are rescuing and rehoming. I understand that by creating these labels you feel you are safe to adopt these dogs within Ontario and that it may make the general public more likely to adopt one, however it doesn't change what the dog looks like. It doesn't change the fact that if there is a complaint against the dog it will still fall into the category of a dog resembling a Pit Bull. But now it has the label of another breed attached to it and that could in turn affect the other breed.
I feel that this is a big reason that the Staffordshire Bull Terrier ends up being included in BSL. Well meaning rescues who were not overly familiar with the purebred bull terrier dogs constantly got Staffies, Am Staffs and Pitties mixed up. I have seen 60lb, 20 inch dogs listed as staffies.
Please help to insure that this does not happen to so many other lovely breeds. Please try to be as accurate as possible in labelling the dogs you have. And if your not sure just call it a mix breed. Don't go labelling them as some other breed mix.
So to all the kind hearted rescues who are trying to help these dogs, please remember that your efforts could affect other breeds in the future if BSL is not repealed.
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