miakoda
08-27-2005, 11:12 PM
City in for canine chaos?
Ottawa not ready to enforce provincial pit bull ban, bylaw staffer says
By MEGAN GILLIS, Ottawa Sun
THE pit bull ban might already be going to the dogs.
Days before it rolls out, city hall isn't ready to enforce a controversial new provincial law and veterinarians are staying out of it.
One animal advocate fears innocent dogs will pay the price.
"We're not ready -- no one is fully prepared for this," said Christine Hartig, president of the Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario and a city bylaw staffer.
TRAINING DAZE
City bylaw officers -- like municipal workers across Ontario -- haven't been trained yet to identify banned dogs or on other amendments to the Dog Owners Liability Act, Hartig said.
The Ministry of the Attorney General has refused to offer legal advice or respond to requests to pay for training.
Groups that represent municipal workers are banding together to offer training themselves, but not until late this fall.
Meanwhile, Hartig's association may tell members not to enforce the law until the province supports training.
But she urges pit bull owners to comply with the new law.
They don't have to sterilize, leash and muzzle their dogs for 60 days, but starting Monday their pets face destruction if they bite or menace anyone.
Pit bull owners should also license their dogs at city hall or online to prove they owned it before the ban took effect.
"It's in their own best interest -- and their dog's," Hartig said.
The legislation calls on vets to judge whether a dog is a banned breed or not, but they're refusing to take on the task.
"We've instructed our members they shouldn't get involved," said Dr. Tim Zaharchuk, past president of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.
"There's no definitive way of detecting a breed. I can say that looks like a pit bull but what does that mean? There's no genetic basis."
Vets are already having dog owners ask that the breed be changed on their pet's medical records.
Many dogs, such as boxers, look like pit bulls but aren't.
"The definition is so flimsy and vague you could qualify half the dogs I see," Zaharchuk said.
Pit bulls seized from their owners will be housed at the local humane society shelter, under contract to the city.
Six in 100 dogs at the shelter are pit bulls or pit bull mixes.
The good news for them is that the ban allows pit bulls to be adopted by new owners, outreach manager Sharon Miko said.
The society already does rigorous checks on adopters of pit bulls -- German shepherds, Akitas, Rottweilers and Chows as well -- and makes sure they're enrolled in obedience training.
TOUGH DAYS AHEAD
"We have been assured we won't be put in the position of euthanizing a healthy and adoptable animal," Miko said.
But she worries that enforcement of the breed ban will be difficult and contentious and animals will be warehoused for months during legal wrangles.
"We are going to see a lot of animals who are unfortunately caught up in court cases who will be confined," she said. "It's not good for the animals. Ultimately, it's an issue of the humane treatment of animals." megan.gillis@ott.sunpub.com <!-- Next and Previous stories -->
Ottawa not ready to enforce provincial pit bull ban, bylaw staffer says
By MEGAN GILLIS, Ottawa Sun
THE pit bull ban might already be going to the dogs.
Days before it rolls out, city hall isn't ready to enforce a controversial new provincial law and veterinarians are staying out of it.
One animal advocate fears innocent dogs will pay the price.
"We're not ready -- no one is fully prepared for this," said Christine Hartig, president of the Association of Animal Shelter Administrators of Ontario and a city bylaw staffer.
TRAINING DAZE
City bylaw officers -- like municipal workers across Ontario -- haven't been trained yet to identify banned dogs or on other amendments to the Dog Owners Liability Act, Hartig said.
The Ministry of the Attorney General has refused to offer legal advice or respond to requests to pay for training.
Groups that represent municipal workers are banding together to offer training themselves, but not until late this fall.
Meanwhile, Hartig's association may tell members not to enforce the law until the province supports training.
But she urges pit bull owners to comply with the new law.
They don't have to sterilize, leash and muzzle their dogs for 60 days, but starting Monday their pets face destruction if they bite or menace anyone.
Pit bull owners should also license their dogs at city hall or online to prove they owned it before the ban took effect.
"It's in their own best interest -- and their dog's," Hartig said.
The legislation calls on vets to judge whether a dog is a banned breed or not, but they're refusing to take on the task.
"We've instructed our members they shouldn't get involved," said Dr. Tim Zaharchuk, past president of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.
"There's no definitive way of detecting a breed. I can say that looks like a pit bull but what does that mean? There's no genetic basis."
Vets are already having dog owners ask that the breed be changed on their pet's medical records.
Many dogs, such as boxers, look like pit bulls but aren't.
"The definition is so flimsy and vague you could qualify half the dogs I see," Zaharchuk said.
Pit bulls seized from their owners will be housed at the local humane society shelter, under contract to the city.
Six in 100 dogs at the shelter are pit bulls or pit bull mixes.
The good news for them is that the ban allows pit bulls to be adopted by new owners, outreach manager Sharon Miko said.
The society already does rigorous checks on adopters of pit bulls -- German shepherds, Akitas, Rottweilers and Chows as well -- and makes sure they're enrolled in obedience training.
TOUGH DAYS AHEAD
"We have been assured we won't be put in the position of euthanizing a healthy and adoptable animal," Miko said.
But she worries that enforcement of the breed ban will be difficult and contentious and animals will be warehoused for months during legal wrangles.
"We are going to see a lot of animals who are unfortunately caught up in court cases who will be confined," she said. "It's not good for the animals. Ultimately, it's an issue of the humane treatment of animals." megan.gillis@ott.sunpub.com <!-- Next and Previous stories -->