Alex & Hurley

I would like to talk about my APBT and how he came into my life. A very good friend of mine had two of them, Justice and Diamond, who were 2 of the nicest and most docile dogs I had ever been in contact with. I instantly fell in love with them and consequently the breed. I soon found out Justice and Diamond were going to have a litter of pups (my friend thought Diamond had been spayed) to the surprise of everyone which caused a problem. That problem turned out to be 6 beautiful APBT puppies in a city and a province that hates them (Ottawa, ON). So, now ensues a mad scramble to find good homes for the pups which was easier than anyone would have thought. Once the pups were of age to be re-homed they had all found excellent families to live with. The public seems to believe in the stereotype of "only gangsters and bikers have those dreadful beasts" but each one of there puppies with to average citizens. One to a enlisted man in the Canadian Army, one to a paramedic, and if I wasn't 2 weeks from leaving for basic training for 6 months at Depot Division at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police training academy in Regina, SK one would have been coming home with me. 

Now let's fast forward those 6 months. 

In my last few weeks of training I had made a trip to the Regina Humane Society with some dog food and supplies to donate. Being a dog person I was also there to check out any possible dogs for my future posting. I instantly fell in love with an old APBT who had come in as a stray. He was red nose but seemed to be more grey given his age. His name was Handsome Rob and he was not in the best shape as it had appeared to everyone that he had been on the street for quite some time. He was very skinny and had significant evidence of frost bite. Being that I was still a few weeks from graduation I was unable to give him a home right away but continued to visit and take him for walks and spoil him as much as I could. 

When the time came to bring him home, much to my disappointment, he was gone. He was an old dog and his fight had ended. Knowing how fond of the old guy I was the staff at the Regina Humane society introduced me to a 13 week old little brown and white APBT named Hurley who had been brought to the shelter by the Regina Police Service as what I was simply told was a seizure. When he got to the shelter he had a broken leg and a fairly severe skin infection. The day I met him he was as happy and playful as one would expect any little pup to be. He ran though everyone in the room and head-butted me in the shin and proceeded to looking me in the eye and giving me one single bark as if to say play with me. Needless to say I fell in love with him instantly and he had found his new home. 

Hurley is now 3 years old and is perfectly legal in the province of Saskatchewan, yet every single day people will walk on the other side of the street when they observe Hurley and I out for a stroll through this small town in the middle of the prairies. We have even experienced someone crouching down to pet him and when they are told he is a Pitbull they picked up their kids and walked away. Others look at me and say "you're a police officer and you have a pitbull?!?!" Most of this town now have a special soft spot for my little friend as I have spent countless hours walking him around town and stopping to chat with people and talking about how loveable and goofy the breed really is. I make sure to tell them a particular story about my friend's 3 year old (at the time) twin girls who were riding him like a horse and pulling on his ears like the harness and how happy he was to oblige their play time. 

I love Hurley as much as I would love my future children and someday when the law changes I will put in for a posting back to Ottawa where he will be able to live as a free as any other K-9 companion. The opinion of any other Police officer I have ever spoken to is that a dog is what you train him to be.. if you want a monster you will have a monster and if you want a loveable best friend... then you will have a loveable best friend. Breed has absolutely nothing to do with the upbringing of any dog. This is coming from Police Officers who are known to have German Shepherds, Rottweilers, dobermans and Pit bulls. 

- One person can make a difference.

Deborah

I do have something to say, although I don`t own a pittie, my extended family has, and because of BSL, they too have lost their family member because of BSL. My opinion when I see a dog wearing a muzzle to me it makes me think the dog is mean and vicious , when in turn its because the dog is a pittie, and assumed by Ontario Government aggressive and dangerous, the Ontario Governement has to get into the 21st century, and scrap the BSL Ban, Myself, and my 2 GSD`s Clover and Bella, do support Hershey`s Bill.

Rebekah, Shadow & Roxy

This is our story and how BSL has affected our lives.
Shadow is our 2 and half year old APBT (black) and Roxy is our 9 month old APBT (tan and white). My name is Rebekah and my fiance is Rey, and baby #1 on the way.
Shadow came into my life about 2 years ago. She has been through an abusive relationship with me and is my partner in crime. Shadow was hit constantly by my ex and also was screamed and yelled at. She is one of the best dogs I have ever known and has grown to bring people to love her dearly. I always thought that because of being hit that if Shadow had the chance and another dog started a fight with her that it wouldn't end nicely. But to my surprisment Shadow was attacked by another dog last year and all she did was stand there and look at me with a scared and helpless look in her eyes just screaming help me. It took a lot to get this other dog off of her and thankfully for her pink spike collar there wasn't any damage done to either dog. Unfortunately ever since that situation Shadow is very unsure of other dogs but is completely content with being with her human family and our other dog Roxy. According to the law here in Ontario both my dog's shouldn't be alive. I live in constant fear everyday that I will walk outside and have my dogs taken away from me.
Roxy wasn't supposed to stay permanently but I mean, you can't put a little puppy in someone's lap and say "OKay, we will give her back tomorrow, she just needs somewhere to sleep." Yeah, I didn't think so. As I previously said, Shadow was apprehensive of other dogs so I wasn't really sure that this would work, but we would keep a close eye on it. Well, Shadow took right to Roxy and loved her to pieces. She was a little rough at first but Roxy learned how to play back and they are best friends. Roxy loves every dog that comes around and all she wants to do is play. She's a little scared of people for reasons that are unknown to us but will play with your dog in a heartbeat. BSL has ripped families apart, and killed innocent dogs for no reason. Living in an apartment building I make sure that people I come into contact to know about my dogs, that they are friendly, that Shadow doesn't play with other dogs and Roxy wants nothing to do with you, but would love to play :) .
Roxy and I had a recent confrontation with my neighbor's wife. From what I understand from what my enighbor has told me, his wife has never been attacked or bit by a dog, has never known anybody that has been attacked either. So, Roxy and I walk into the hallway to bring her outside to use the bathroom and my neighbor and his wife happen to be in the hallway as well locking up their apartment. Roxy lets out a little bark letting me know they are there, ANDDDD then his wife starts screaming. Now just so you know I can hold my 50lb dog with no problem and she always sits the second she comes into the hallway. His wife keeps yelling in the hallway and Roxy tries to hide behind me, tailed tucked between her legs and trying to get away from this woman. It was completely unnecessary. Her fear is completely based upon the stories that she sees on the news and reads in the paper. She is only scared of PITBULLS. The golden retreiver that lives across the hall from her is perfectly fine, EVEN THOUGH the owners can't hold it whatsoever and are dragged everywhere by it. Little does this woman know that I could give her page upon page of information and research showing her that my dogs are just as dangerous as that golden retreiver. That according to temperment testing my dogs have a better rating than the majority of breeds in my apartment building. Ignorance must really be bliss. BSL is destroying Ontario and my fiance and I are really considering moving out of this province until they do something about this stupid law. If they hadn't noticed it hasn't reduced dog bites, it HASN't reduced the amount of pitbulls in this province, it is just simply putting a not needed fear into peoples eyes.
My dog's are not a dangerous breed if they were I wouldn't still have them, as we are expecting a child in December. What people need to realize is that the monster isn't the one with the collar around it's neck, it's the one at the other side with the leash in his hand. BSL is BS, it's like the holocaust where they tried to wipe out the jews but now they are trying to wipe out one breed of dog. It's racism for dogs, breedism if you will. Take a stand for the dogs that have no voice, speak for those that cannot.

"My kids are around pit bulls every day. In the '70s they blamed Dobermans, in the '80s they blamed German Shepherds, in the '90s they blamed Rottweilers. Now they blame the Pit Bull."
- Cesar Millan (The Dog Whisperer)

John and Rex

My family adopted a male puppy from the Niagara Falls Humane Society back in 1998 at the age of 3 months old . This dog was so cute and playful he was a Pit bull/Husky who loved children and his family.
I gave him the name Rex because it means King he was my best friend  for 14 years. In 2005 Ontario passed a law banning all "pit bulls" for the mistakes of humans. My dog was affected because now when i walked him i had to muzzle him out of fear. As he grew older his legs were starting to give out and he had cancer we had to let him go July 7 2012. As much as i loved my dog he couldn't be here living in pain. For the 14 years we had a loyal, smart and loving dog a dog is the way it's raised no matter the kind it is. How i am coping his death is by becoming a voice for all animals and attending protests to change this law. I can never replace this dog he holds a special place in my life.
End Ontario's ban on "pit bulls' and stop living in fear.