Rambo got a death-row visit from his lawyer last week.
After her brief, and frustrating appearance in provincial court Friday, lawyer Anik Morrow and assistant deputy defence attorney Carolyn Parrish made a quick visit to the nearby Mississauga Animal Control so that Morrow could meet the alleged pit bull she is fighting for in court.
It's always good to meet your client in person, or in dog as the case may be, before the fur flies in court.
Morrow's real client is 20-year-old Gabriela Nowakowska. She owns Rambo, who is a mutt who looks like a pit bull — therefore is a pit bull unless proven otherwise by his owner — under the convoluted thinking of the Ontario Dog Owners' Liability Act.
Morrow has an interest in animal law and has obviously taken on this case because it is a classic example of the flaws of the law. A puppy who is by all accounts good-natured and loving and has never attacked a single solitary soul is going to be executed unless his owner can prove he is not what his appearance suggests to some people, "a pit bull-type breed."
Meanwhile, as any number of dog experts will tell you, a pit bull isn't even a breed.
Morrow met privately with Nowakowska before she took the case to make sure that she was sincere in her love for the dog. It takes about two seconds of conversation with Gabriela to prove that.
The young woman probably drove the animal control staff crazy with her several-times-a-day desperation calls pleading to see her dog.
Morrow probably wanted to see the other half of the defence equation as well — to see with her own eyes exactly what this dog looked like, if he displayed the classic look of a pit bull and if he was aggressive.
The only way he could possibly be construed as vicious is if you got in the way of his seriously wagging wayward end, says Parrish. "He wiggled his behind off and he licked my face. He hasn't got a mean bone in his body."
He has obviously been well cared for by Manager Duilio Rose and his animal control staff who have provided a separate glassed room and often play with the dog to keep him well-socialized. Volunteers walk him regularly.
After the matter was put over last week because a crown has yet to be assigned to the case (could it be that no one wants to touch it?) Morrow expressed concern that the longer Rambo is separated from Gabriela, the more the bond between the owner and dog is broken. "It's a crucial period to his development," she said.
It wasn't exactly O.J. Simpson's black glove, but the lawyer brought along a pair of Gabriela's gloves on her visit and let Rambo have a sniff.
That set off another wagging marathon. The dog hasn't forgotten.
Tomorrow, if the crown has its act together and decides that the City has jurisdiction to consider doggie bail, and Morrow can convince a Justice-of-the-Peace that a home sentence, given Rambo's clean sheet, makes sense until a full trial can take place, then you might see the supreme full-body wag when dog and owner are reconnected.
Comments (12)
Regarding petitions:
Online petitions are useless and cannot be submitted to parliament.
They largely tend to be more of an opinon poll and are often just a way to collect email addresses.
I ignore them.
If you want to submit a petition, it has to be a hard copy with original signatures, names and addresses of supporters.
Otherwise you are out of luck.
Posted by Caveat | March 28, 2008 12:11 PM
Posted on March 28, 2008 12:11
Rambos new Dogumentry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniQcFl43to
Posted by Wayne Nagy | March 23, 2008 9:28 AM
Posted on March 23, 2008 09:28
What is going on in Ontario? Our tax dollars are paying for the slaughter of our beloved family pets by our provincial government. While our personal AFTER TAX dollars are being used towards the fight to save our canine friends. Only under the insanity of BSL and the inept leadership of McGuinty and Bryant could this have occurred.
Posted by Liz Sullivan | March 22, 2008 2:51 AM
Posted on March 22, 2008 02:51
WE`RE HERE
WE`RE TERRIER
GET USED TO IT ONTARIO.
WE`RE NOT GOING AWAY!
Posted by Mac`s Gang | March 20, 2008 2:44 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 14:44
Apparently a "Terrier-ist" has landed!
http://caveat.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/20/3592288.html
Posted by Mac`s Gang | March 20, 2008 1:39 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 13:39
I hope a corporation or a wealthy individual steps forward to help pay for this individual case or even if they would make a loan to this young girl that she could pay back slowly over her working life.
I suspect that she would be willing to do that because it`s obvious she loves this dog.
$7000+ may seem like a lot of money but trust me,some of us are willing to pay a lot more than that in an attempt to save our dogs.
Memories are more important than money.
Gabriela will remember Rambo when she`s 90,she won`t remember the money.
It seems to be impossible to squeeze $20,$10,$5,$2,even a quarter out of most of the people that say they oppose BSL in this province and that`s for the only Legal Challenge to this law.
Who do people think are funding the challenge to Bill 132?
Thank you to those that have donated to
www.bannedaid.com
The rest of you???
Posted by Mac`s Gang | March 20, 2008 12:54 PM
Posted on March 20, 2008 12:54
I'd be wishfully hoping the Petition's Committee would read Jasmine’s petition and decide to throw Gabriela's case out?
Posted by Wayne Nagy | March 20, 2008 9:36 AM
Posted on March 20, 2008 09:36
Rambo sits in prison because the Mississuga Crowns office hasn't assigned anyone to the case yet????? They have only had since December to get their act together..
Apparently they are to busy with people who have been caught smoking in their cars while their kids were present..
At the first court apperance I noticed the woman from the Crowns office was having a good giggle while Gabs lawyer was arguing her point.. Funny stuff, the imprisonment and exectution of innocent Beings...
Posted by Kerry | March 19, 2008 3:24 PM
Posted on March 19, 2008 15:24
It’s McGuinty’s second day back on the job and there’s nothing in the order papers on Rambo’s petition yet.
Maybe we have to go back into face-book and keep poking all the riding association buttons to push the orders thru?
The first poach is always the hardest!
http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/house-proceedings/house_detail.do?Date=2008-03-17&Parl=39&Sess=1&locale=en
Posted by Wayne Nagy | March 18, 2008 3:52 PM
Posted on March 18, 2008 15:52
And I`d like to add this
[quote] In Peterborough, the humane society manager wanted all ‘Pit Bulls’ to have pictures taken for their files. Some owners refused, some agreed with me being one of the latter. I didn’t really see the harm.[/quote]
Register/license your dog as a mutt,a mongrel,Heinz 57 or Canis Familiaris unless it is a Pure Bred dog registered with a recognized Kennel Club.
Do NOT allow the city to take "Pit Bull" pictures for their files.
If you guessed at "Pit Bull"
before the Gov`t made it a dirty word,well it was just a guess,so this year take another guess.
We all know that "Pit Bull" is a good thing.They don`t.
And personally I would NOT purchase a tag for my dog until a designation is provided stating whether your dog is "substantially similar" to the 3 banned Pure Breeds in Ontario.
That`s the reason Gabriela is in court!
Give your city another headache....chasing down responsible dog owners that USED to buy their dog tag.
Let the Gov`t build more doggie jails as we clog the courts.
And if you have been charged under Bill 132,have a case pending or have had a dog slaughtered by the Ontario Fiberals,please contact the Ontario bloggers,we want to tell your story and show the public, pictures of your dog.
Posted by Mac`s Gang | March 18, 2008 2:13 PM
Posted on March 18, 2008 14:13
I was at the court house in support of Gabriela and saw her hand her gloves over to Ms. Morrow in hopes that Rambo would know her scent. I had tears in my eyes then as I do now reading your column and realizing that maybe Rambo kinda "got it".
I cannot understand how we have accepted a Bill that discriminates based on looks. We are now subject to search and seizure and have become 2nd Class Citizens by owning a dog that LOOKS a certain way. I am wondering what we are now teaching our children. I feel I am in a backward time machine spinning out of control. Am I only one of a few that realizes this is about citizens rights?
Posted by Fran Coughlin | March 17, 2008 7:19 PM
Posted on March 17, 2008 19:19
Gabriela your dog won`t forget you no matter how long they keep him away from you.
I took my dog back to see someone who dogsat her while I went to school for a year.
I took her back 13 years later and she practically bowled this lady over when she saw her.
Hopefully commonsense will prevail and your dog will go home shortly but don`t worry about Rambo forgetting you.
He won`t.
[quote]After the matter was put over last week because a crown has yet to be assigned to the case (could it be that no one wants to touch it?)[/quote]
Do you think they`re pulling straws on this one?
I wonder which loser will pull the short one?
Remember folks,Rambo is one dog.
Thousands have already been slaughtered and many more are waiting for their date with the needle.
Please help overturn this law.
www.bannedaid.com
And here`s one alleged "Pit Bull" who fought them and he`s now a court certified Mongrel!
http://caveat.blogware.com/blog/_archives/2008/3/13/3579220.html
Keep your dogs in Ontario and fight them every step of the way!
Posted by Mac`s Gang | March 17, 2008 6:27 PM
Posted on March 17, 2008 18:27