Random Access

yes, the ban is stupid. but i'm sorry, whoever purchased this dog, knowing the ban existed (apparently nowakowska's boyfriend) is the idiot. HE should be the one charged. Rambo should be placed in the home of a responsible breeder outside of Ontario and the purchaser should be heavily fined. the law is the law, regardless of how stupid it is. why should the dog suffer for someone's stupid decision to disregard the law, (no matter HOW stupid it is)?

it's because of irresponsible owners like him that the ban came into effect in the first place. pitbulls are a product of how they are raised. if raised properly, they are the perfect family pet. if their natural agression is encouraged, they become the subject of stupid laws like the one in Ontario. and what happens to the owners? what kind of accountability do they hold? NOTHING. it pisses me off that it's so easy to get a dog (of any breed) in the first place. That's why so many of them end up abused, in shelters, euthanized...

pitbull ban should be lifted. prospective owners should go through extensive screening process, including background checks and interviews. prospective owners should have previous experience of owning a dog. specified obedience classes should be a requirement. backyard breeders should do serious jail time. generally, it should be harder for people to own dogs, and maybe you wouldn't have joe schmoe show up at a breeder to pick out a dog he can put a spike collar on.

Does anybody know the address of the court where Nowakowska will appear because i'd like to go there to show my support for Rambo. This pitbull ban has got out of hand! Pitbulls are loving and wonderful dogs

“ If you could speak I bet you say unequal treatment on the basis of race !!!!!!!

The pit bull is typically a people loving, intelligent and fun breed. Many excel at obedience training and dog sports such as agility, weight pull, Frisbee, and fly ball. But Owners and homes need to be carefully screened to insure that the new owners understand and accept the responsibility of owning a pit bull or any other type of breed.

Media hysteria and bad owners have greatly damaged this breed and every incident involving a pit bull makes it worse for the entire breed and their owners.

Potential owners need to be informed of the pit bull's correct temperament, and need to be prepared to deal with the issue of dog aggression When dog aggression is showing this were a muzzle is brought in but not all pit bulls are aggressive .

Lets look through history many breeds were used for there strength, behavior or working class line even for entertainment, sport, war, hunting this goes back to when Christ was born. But through years with proper ownership they have become more set back but still have the trade mark of past history use and temperament.

Most pit bulls have a high prey drive and may chase small animals or livestock. The only way to repair the pit bull's bad reputation is to keep them in the hands of responsible owners. That would mean if you want to own a pitbull you must register it with animal control.

This will allow us to keep a close eye on the breed and its behavior. Even help try and change its environment from wrong owners to right owners plus also allow us to make sure the owner is a responsible owner that is aware of the reputation that has been damaged on this breed.

This will help bring the line and proper control on all breeds and dog owners. Also enforce the fines if requirements are not kept.

No other breed in history has been so misunderstood or made the villain as long or as often as the Pit Bull. Sadly, these trends continue 20 years after they started. It comes down to responsible ownership and training.

It's with media hysteria and BSL looming closer every day that Owners are finding them self endlessly having to defend the breed. Every bad story and headline damage our dogs even further.

This may seem to paint a grim picture of Pit Bull ownership, but the breed's very survival depends on new owners knowing what they are getting into, and ALL owners being responsible and protecting the breed's reputation.

Any animal can turn bite or attack. Bad habits can be broken and trained if in proper hands. Look at the working class line of dogs what were they breed and developed for?? To protect and guard. But does that mean they are a bad breed due to someone not properly training or protecting them.

People are now interbreeding the Pitbull to bring down its temper this is how dogs are and have been through the years developed. So must we pass judgment on one that is mixed and classify him as full breed and label him already vicious.

Its like saying when a baby is born he will become dumb due to parents don't have an education.

The Pitbull line has been destroyed by bad owners and media. Its the owners we should go after. Dog fighters should be jail and not able to have ownership of any animal.

what that old saying innocent before guilty !!!

Sad to see the breed go. It's a beautiful dog .

What I would like is that the judge that puts this puppy to death take him home and watch him grow. Then tell me is this a bad breed!!!

If a dog escapes your property and bites it’s mostly due to fear and not his domain its owner's fault. Its up to the owner of to provide a safe home for him and protect them with all there love and that means safety always comes first.

What Line of breed will be next??

You’re so beautiful Rambo it's sad to see your breed and rights taken away from you do to bad ownership through history. My prays are with u

Good Luck there are a lot of people that are standing behind you also send messages to your local member of parliament

Is their anyway we can help i.e petition signed or cash donations? We have the same kind of Family Dog and he IS a valuable member of this family.
Typical of successive Ontario Governments.When the Mayor and the Police call for a ban on handguns in Toronto we're told NO but no problem in banning certain dogs...

Please tell me that the story of Rambo is NOT true and that Mississauga is Not going to allow this wonderful, gentle puppy to be slaughtered because of the most unjust law ever put on Ontario's books? A law that takes away MY rights to be a responsible citizen. The kind of law that my grandfather, when he fought for Canada at Flander's Fields and Vimy went to war AGAINST. The kind of law that drove my father and uncle's to cross an ocean and fight against the Nazi's when THEY tried to exterminate the Jews. The type of law that cost MY family member's their lives.

How could Mississauga do such a horrible thing? These animal "control" officer's need to resign and so does the director Elaine Buckstein.

How could animal control officer's do such a inhumane act?

Did ALL the Germans agree when Hitler said to KILL ALL the Jews? NO. Some, paid the price for justice and just would NOT back an injust law.

Good for You Ms. Nowakowska in having the courage to do against this kind of discrimation. IF Rambo were human is WOULD be RACISM.

Mississauga will be forever remembered as a cruel and horrible place if Rambo is MURDERED.

WAIT , I have an IDEA. Let's Make Ms. Nowakowska the Director of Animal Services in Mississauga as she seems to be the ONLY one in Mississauga who cares about animals.

Be ashamed if Rambo is terminated, be very very ashamed.

Gabriela, I commend you on being so brave to fight for your dog. I think this law is ridiculous and have been waiting for someone to contest this ban. I want nothing more but to see the stupid Pitbull Ban overturned. I think it is wrong to kill any animal. All I can say to those in the government who supported this ridiculous ban is "MURDERERS" the blood of innocent dogs are on your hands. Can anyone write back as to where I can donate some money for Rambo's defense. Gabriela don't give up.

Dear Gabriella:
I don't have a dog myself but I think what they are doing to Rambo is just plain inhuman. I have to admit that I am afraid of big dogs like pitbulls but Rambo is a puppy and any pitbull or dog that is from a rough breed but is kind should not be put down. I always thought that law was stupid and would not last long before someone challenged it.
All the best:
MB
PS: I hope Rambo and you get through this okay and that dogs like him gets more rights and freedom. (:

I am a dog owner myself, and she is 5 years old. She is a Bichon Frieze and I would die if anyone tried to harm her. I think that what they are doing to poor Rambo is awful.
He didn't do anything wrong, and I think that any dog (pit bull or not) should not be put down for leaving the yard. It is unjust, cruel, and should never be taken seriously. I hope that Rambo and all dogs everywhere should someday have more rights, more freedom.
E.R

I want to know where we go to put a stop to this type of animal cruelty !!! Does anyone know specifically ? I am in Mississauga and find this Neandrathal mentality. Rambo did nothing .... but be a dog. For which he is a very good one.
If he is a pitbul or not is irrelevent. I AM SICK AND TIRED of animals being abused - by both individuals and society by these absolutely horrific laws. Oppressing people and animals. People need to take responsibility for their own actions _ NOT THE ANIMALS !!!!
I thought I liked Mississauga ...after hearing of this I think my husband and I will pack up and move. It has hit me that hard ! Where do we complain ???

Hello, I was a Pit bull owner and she is no longer with me. She was the sweestest and warmest dog I have ever had. It's funny, my puppy looked like Rambo.
Her floppy ears, beautiful hazel eyes and her wrinkle body. There are many Pit bull owners that are giving a bad taste in society's mouth about Pit bulls. However, they should consider that there are owners like Gabriela, myself and others out there are have the greatest respect for Pit bull and that includes love, family, food and shelter.
Give Rambo a chance to live.Why not be proactive and make a change by giving Rambo and other Pit bulls to have a chance to be apart of society and to be with their family.
Give him a chance.

Thank you so much, John, for your rational and balanced articles on Rambo.

If Rambo were any other shape, he'd have been returned to his owner with no repercussions.

Instead, he's on death row and Mississauga Animal Control is bullying a young dog owner into letting them kill her beloved pup.

Put down. Euthanized. They all mean, Kill.

Why should a dog that has done nothing wrong, die just because of his shape?

Ask Michael Bryant and the Ontario Fiberals. Who used hyperbole to promote an unfounded, unjust, vague and shoddy law. BTW, Bryant failed to identify the purebred American Pit Bull Terrier in a series of pictures of purebred dogs.

Guns on the streets and in the schools, fouled water, an uncertain electrical supply, a deteriorating health care system, and what do the Fibs do with our tax dollars? Chase law abiding citizens and their unoffending dogs.

[quote]The young dog owner should have "known better" and educated herself on the current misguided legislation.[/quote]

I consider myself quite educated on the current misguided legislation and I`m past the "young" stage in life.

Aside from "purchasing from the flea market" which is another issue,how could this person possibly know the lineage of this puppy?

There is ABSOLUTELY no way to determine the "breed" of
this dog.

Then there is the term "substantially similar"
That makes things as clear as mud!
What the %$%##$%@ does that mean?
I`m still waiting for an explanation on that one.

Let`s say I want to adopt a puppy.
Is there a place where I can take this puppy to either get an "SS" or a "NSS"(not substantially similar) designation BEFORE it accidentally gets out of the yard(which can even happen to poodle owners,I`ve heard)

If it`s "SS" will they kill it on the spot or allow me to send it out of Ontario?

Should every dog owner in Ontario be muzzling, because their dog might be "SS" or should every dog owner in Ontario be ignoring these fools(Ontario Fiberals)?

I hope we don`t end up with a tragic Taser incident (similar to the Vancouver Airport) because someone is only trying to protect a beloved pet.

Let`s keep our paws crossed.

Mississauga Animal Control should have interpreted the law differently.
The young dog owner should have "known better" and educated herself on the current misguided legislation.
Michael Bryant and his goons should have been laughed out of politics for even trying to implement such a ridiculous and baseless law.
All dog owners of Ontario should have rallied and recognized that this law affects them too.
If any of these would-a-should- a's had occurred, I would not be responding to this blog.

Give Rambo a break

If I had to recall Bill 132 was another reason why Tim Peterson and Child Physiologist Marie Bountrogianni were seriously deciding to leave their careers in politics altogether, the legislation hadn’t addressed the real issues behind dangerous dogs because it was rammed thru in typical Mike Harris majority fashion and refused to be recalled nor amended the way it was written ignoring public consultations.

Tax payers are still paying out billions afterwards in Ipperwash , Walkerton, Gomery, the Mulroney –Schreiber affair inquiries when the systemic $66 million a year Pooling spree are still in conflict with our fundamental Chartered Rights.

It makes my stomach hurl when a new government of the day figures a Kindergarten class would make a convenient publicity back drop but then turns it around to destroy their pets?

Wayne Nagy
Mississauga

Good post.

Just a small correction - there have been no fatalities in Canada attributed to the three banned purebreds - ever. There was a fatality attributed to an unregistered bulldog type in 1995 in Toronto. The circumstances were typically sordid. Stats dating from 1983 to the present show no other fatalities.

Since 'pit bull' is a slang term, as you point out, it is inaccurate to say there have been attacks by the 'breed'. Attacks by a shape or by dogs perceived to be of a particular breed would be more accurate.

Since the breed of dog is as irrelevant as the race of a human in terms of dictating behaviour, the whole 'pit bull' issue is bizarre beyond belief.

As for the fighting dogs, well, our dear friends at H$U$ actually contributed to the maltreatment of dogs when they tried to stop dog-fighting about 20 years ago. They repeated all the malarkey fed to them by street punks about gunpowder, etc, so the obvious happened. Other idiots followed those published instructions! The old-time dog-fighters treated their dogs well - it's all in the training and conditioning, you know. Who wants a nasty dog? Not those old reprobates - they had to actually live with the dogs and be in the ring with them, handle them, etc. The last thing they wanted was an unpredictable, hostile animal.

I'm totally against dog-fighting or any animal cruelty, don't get me wrong. I just happen to have researched it from the old-timers' standpoint. Colby'd Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier is a good place to start if you're interested.

An analogy to fighting dogs would be Schutzhund dogs - you know, the ones who attack the guy in the Michelin Man outfit, climb ladders, enter burning buildings, etc? Do you believe these dogs are intractable by nature and are born into these activities? Or do you believe that it takes patience, training and conditioning, along with selction for individual temperament traits to produce a Sch champion?

This whole thing is based on old wives' tales, myths and propaganda by groups determined to outlaw pet ownership. They have manipulated the media and politicians in order to entrench a belief in the impossible in the minds of the majority. They make no secret of it.

Keep up the good work, Mr Stewart - your report and this post were a breath of fresh air indeed!

Michael Bryant should be ashamed of most likely the worst piece of McGuinty legislation since Mike Harris and Hazel McCallion built this $66 million a year pooling “ Gaza Strip” between Hamilton and down the Niagara Peninsula and Toronto manufactured around the prohibition on affordable dwellings.

It just goes to show when the City’s systemic prejudicially run out of people to stigmatize, they’ll go after the canines just for the over kill and blood sport when you model the town around Thyssen Industries!

What a way for Rambo to start the new year. Did the dog attack the officer that picked him up? I think not or it would have been in the paper.Just let the dog go back to its owner.Common sense is a handy tool to have around and in this case should be applied 100% along with a heap of compassion
Ardith Lyon - animal lover

Hey there, John. Superb Blog entry!

You wrote:

"The law is now largely up to the discretion of enforcement officials. Some municipalities, such as Toronto and Oakville, says Costa, are much more lenient in interpretation than others like Mississauga. Here most pit bull look-a-likes are put down."

Being "put down". No surprise that Mississauga shows no leniency.

Human --animal, no matter. Mississauga --no leniency, Slash-and-Burn.

20-year-old Gabriela Nowakowska is naive in another way if she believes for a micro-second that Mississauga remotely gives a **** about caring.

Yes, the same municipality that had (what?) seven speakers speak on "Mississauga --a caring community" at the Mississauga Summit reveals its true evil empireness once again.

Now there are those who believe that Mississauga's Zero Tolerance approach is for the benefit of citizens.

Nope.

Just easy --and above all, efficient-- to "put down" any dog that looks pit-bull-y.

Last hint to Ms. Gabriela Nowakowska. Don't bother complaining --Mississauga keeps no record of complaints of any kind.

30 days after they receive her email? *Gone*

If it's a letter? Then there's Mississauga's spring cleaning "Record Actions Week".

*Gone*

Too bad about the dog. But if Mississauga considers exceptions... well, they'd be a caring community. And that's inefficient.

Efficiency Uber Alles!

Best wishes,
The Mississauga Muse