Friday 30 September 2016
THE BEAR'S BLOG: AN EMAIL LETTER TO MAYOR DENNIS CODERRE
THE BEAR'S BLOG: AN EMAIL LETTER TO MAYOR DENNIS CODERRE: This week I decided to restart my Pitbull related blogs. This was after last weeks uneducated, ill-advised decision in Montreal'...
AN EMAIL LETTER TO MAYOR DENNIS CODERRE
This week I decided to restart my Pitbull related blogs. This was after last weeks uneducated, ill-advised decision in Montreal's decision to ban all large dog breeds specifically centering on "Pitbulls." So if I was standing in front of Mayor Dennis Codere this is what I would ask him.
So Mr.Coderre you were elected in 2013 as Mayor of Montreal right? Why then did you not look at the first dire situation of your dog bylaw. It was extremely apparent at that time only 14 per cent of Montreal's population had dogs registered.Why did you not immediately, change that situation by getting your animal control officers to enforce the bylaw better. Why did you not hire extra bylaw officers to get a hold of this dire situation?
When that boxer/lab that attacked and killed Christine Vadnais, you knew that the owner had a criminal record, plus that specific dog had bit 2 other people as well. Why was that owner not fined and why on the second dog bite did that dog not be quarantined and put down for aggressive behavior. This should have been on Montreal Animal Control's radar. Surely there should have been some intervention before this escalated into such a terrible tragedy.You failed the people of Montreal Mr. Coderre because nothing was done!
If you actually visited the joke of any resemblance of a fence, that was in place to secure such an aggressive, unsociable dog, again you would have had your bylaw officers do something about it.
Why Dennis Coderre, did you not thoroughly research other places in the world that had instituted BSL, when study after study, specifically proved it doesn't work!
Areas of the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy,Germany and Spain have all come to the conclusion that they were wrong in BSL. It does not make communities safer because other dogs are still biting people there too.
So instead you followed a failed BSL system in Ontario. What a complete idiot you are to have done that. Do you not know that over a decade later Toronto's dog bites are actually higher than before BSL was in place.
In 2013, 1,400 registered Pitbull owners licensed their dogs there, and only about 300 are now registered in a city of millions of people. Moreover, in 2004, there were 576 dog bites reported, but in 2014 a whopping 767 bites. What does that tell you Mayor Coderre, when BSL was in place, maybe Pitbulls were not the ones originally to blame right? I repeat to you Dennis Coderre, BSL bans do not work and never will!
In point of truth, in the USA over 164 towns and cities have repealed breed based laws. Over 20 states have state-wide exemptions on these type of archaic laws now too.
So why Mayor Coderre did you not follow a successful model like Calgary, Alberta, Canada has in place. They instilled a responsible ownership bylaw because in 2014 they realized they had a real Pitbull problem. They figured out it was those problematic, uneducated owners that made an increase in dog bites, and if you focused your attention on them, then the problem simply decreased.
Why did you not consult our Mayor Nenshi on how he fixed that specific issue, instead of steamrolling your BSL immediately after the death of a woman not attacked by a Pitbull. In fact, no DNA was ever found to be in that hound of hell, that did the fatal damage.
The only conclusion I can come to is that thing called money! Your city stands to make hundreds of thousands of dollars by bleeding about $700.00 out of each family or person that owns a large breed dog, including the Pitbull. I mean they have to have the dog spayed or neutered, a special license, a "Silence of the Lambs" type muzzle that does not allow them to drink water, very easily. Another huge factor is putting up a fence that's over 7 feet tall. Not to mention the money a certain kill shelter, we will not mention any names, stands to make thousands of dollars on the deaths of unadoptable or surrendered Pitbulls. Also let's not forget, the ones that own the large breed dog, ie Pitbull have to also have a criminal background check done now too. If they do have a criminal record,no matter what it is, their large breed dog will have to be surrended to an animal shelter to be put down. Hmm, I recall Adolf Hitler did something about that in the genocide of thousands of Jews.
You, Mayor Coderre, are an absolute disgrace to your office, and have you no conscience, your responsibility is to the Montreal Citizens? What a joke, maybe a responsibility to your pocket book, your pension and oh yes, your grand stand of getting the title "World Mayor".Well, I give you this, you will go down as World Mayor allright, World Mayor of the death of innocent loving dogs, including my beloved breed a Pitbull. Think about that Dennis Coderre as you sleep on your silk pillows tonite?
Wow, to lighten up the mood, as I spit the venom from my mouth eluding from that idiot, I leave you with an excerpt from my third book, "Road History" from a happier time with our deceased Pitbull Sampson. Enjoy your week.
On that following weekend before my next big long hauling adventure, with the new company, I made a call to a local vet in Lacombe and set up an appointment for Sampson. If we were going to be traveling with him, Carol told me, we needed to get all his shots up to date. We accomplished that, plus Sampson now had his very own passport made there, with a photo of him on it, along with all his vital statistics. So now the three of us were ready to go trucking on some new adventures.
The blame should be put on the owner and not the dog. It comes down to breed practices and proper education.
So Mr.Coderre you were elected in 2013 as Mayor of Montreal right? Why then did you not look at the first dire situation of your dog bylaw. It was extremely apparent at that time only 14 per cent of Montreal's population had dogs registered.Why did you not immediately, change that situation by getting your animal control officers to enforce the bylaw better. Why did you not hire extra bylaw officers to get a hold of this dire situation?
When that boxer/lab that attacked and killed Christine Vadnais, you knew that the owner had a criminal record, plus that specific dog had bit 2 other people as well. Why was that owner not fined and why on the second dog bite did that dog not be quarantined and put down for aggressive behavior. This should have been on Montreal Animal Control's radar. Surely there should have been some intervention before this escalated into such a terrible tragedy.You failed the people of Montreal Mr. Coderre because nothing was done!
If you actually visited the joke of any resemblance of a fence, that was in place to secure such an aggressive, unsociable dog, again you would have had your bylaw officers do something about it.
Why Dennis Coderre, did you not thoroughly research other places in the world that had instituted BSL, when study after study, specifically proved it doesn't work!
Areas of the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy,Germany and Spain have all come to the conclusion that they were wrong in BSL. It does not make communities safer because other dogs are still biting people there too.
So instead you followed a failed BSL system in Ontario. What a complete idiot you are to have done that. Do you not know that over a decade later Toronto's dog bites are actually higher than before BSL was in place.
In 2013, 1,400 registered Pitbull owners licensed their dogs there, and only about 300 are now registered in a city of millions of people. Moreover, in 2004, there were 576 dog bites reported, but in 2014 a whopping 767 bites. What does that tell you Mayor Coderre, when BSL was in place, maybe Pitbulls were not the ones originally to blame right? I repeat to you Dennis Coderre, BSL bans do not work and never will!
In point of truth, in the USA over 164 towns and cities have repealed breed based laws. Over 20 states have state-wide exemptions on these type of archaic laws now too.
So why Mayor Coderre did you not follow a successful model like Calgary, Alberta, Canada has in place. They instilled a responsible ownership bylaw because in 2014 they realized they had a real Pitbull problem. They figured out it was those problematic, uneducated owners that made an increase in dog bites, and if you focused your attention on them, then the problem simply decreased.
Why did you not consult our Mayor Nenshi on how he fixed that specific issue, instead of steamrolling your BSL immediately after the death of a woman not attacked by a Pitbull. In fact, no DNA was ever found to be in that hound of hell, that did the fatal damage.
The only conclusion I can come to is that thing called money! Your city stands to make hundreds of thousands of dollars by bleeding about $700.00 out of each family or person that owns a large breed dog, including the Pitbull. I mean they have to have the dog spayed or neutered, a special license, a "Silence of the Lambs" type muzzle that does not allow them to drink water, very easily. Another huge factor is putting up a fence that's over 7 feet tall. Not to mention the money a certain kill shelter, we will not mention any names, stands to make thousands of dollars on the deaths of unadoptable or surrendered Pitbulls. Also let's not forget, the ones that own the large breed dog, ie Pitbull have to also have a criminal background check done now too. If they do have a criminal record,no matter what it is, their large breed dog will have to be surrended to an animal shelter to be put down. Hmm, I recall Adolf Hitler did something about that in the genocide of thousands of Jews.
You, Mayor Coderre, are an absolute disgrace to your office, and have you no conscience, your responsibility is to the Montreal Citizens? What a joke, maybe a responsibility to your pocket book, your pension and oh yes, your grand stand of getting the title "World Mayor".Well, I give you this, you will go down as World Mayor allright, World Mayor of the death of innocent loving dogs, including my beloved breed a Pitbull. Think about that Dennis Coderre as you sleep on your silk pillows tonite?
Wow, to lighten up the mood, as I spit the venom from my mouth eluding from that idiot, I leave you with an excerpt from my third book, "Road History" from a happier time with our deceased Pitbull Sampson. Enjoy your week.
On that following weekend before my next big long hauling adventure, with the new company, I made a call to a local vet in Lacombe and set up an appointment for Sampson. If we were going to be traveling with him, Carol told me, we needed to get all his shots up to date. We accomplished that, plus Sampson now had his very own passport made there, with a photo of him on it, along with all his vital statistics. So now the three of us were ready to go trucking on some new adventures.
As it turned out, our load wasn’t going to be ready until later that Monday afternoon, so we headed up early to put our stuff in the new truck. Actually, I had my satellite radio to install with the antenna and whatnot, plus we had our microwave oven, TV, DVD, and cooler with us as well. Apparently, it was going to be a larger double-bunk Volvo that was coming from Toronto, but when we got to their yard, it was nowhere to be found. My new boss Abe, had given me some bullshit story that the truck wasn’t there because it was held up in Toronto for some reason; that should have been our first clue to bail out!
Next, I met the yard person Leroy, who went around looking for the keys to a temporary unit for us. Now before I met this guy, Abe had told me he was in his trailer in the yard, so I went to go look for him. Well, I knocked on the door of this beat up old “Winnebago” Motor Home parked in the back of the yard, sandwiched between two broken down 53-foot trailers. When this older fellow, invited me in, to meet him, well there parked in the front of the cab, was half of a diesel engine, strewn all over in dirty, greasy truck parts! I think most of you reading this probably would have turned tail and got out of there as fast as possible and looking back on it now, I probably should have, but I didn’t.
If truth be told I really didn’t have any other job, I could fall back on and besides, this was all for Sampson. Now if that wasn’t bad enough, despite the atrocious housekeeping, this fat, greasy looking guy , gets up from some nasty torn mattress in his underwear! Needless to say, they weren’t clean or even in one piece either. Well, this guy apologizes to me for the way he looks, as he tells me it's his only day off, nor was he aware I was going to be here today, to pick up a load. So he tells me his name is Leroy, and reluctantly, I shake his dirty greasy stained right hand. He starts to boast to me that nothing leaves “his” yard unless he says so. First, he says that we need to find me a truck to use for this load going to Missouri, so out the trailerI go, following this “God of the Right Speed Yard!”
Well, he finally locates this old relic of a blue Kenworth tractor parked at an area of the yard that you can only guess why it was sitting there in the first place. It was a 2005 model, and talk about a small sleeper berth, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Seriously I think it was called a super-sized single, which is just a more fancy term for a 7-foot long bed that only fits in college campus dorm rooms and of course tractors used in shitty trucking companies such as this one. Luckily it did have a top bunk, so we used the top portion of the bed to put all our boxes that contained our clothes, office supplies, food, weather related items, and whatnot that were essential when we went trucking.
Next thing Leroy does is he has me pop the hood, because he needs to show me something very important.
“This old girl has a problem starting sometimes” he adds.
“Oh okay “I reply back to him, thinking that maybe this wasn’t such a hot shit idea to begin with.
“If she won’t turn over in the mornings, take a quarter with a flat head screwdriver and just insert it here “he shows me.
Whatever the hell, he was explaining to me appeared to be a faulty solenoid that was connected to the starter system that was acting up and needed to be replaced. However, because I was about to embark on this load, they did not have the time to get this truck repaired, nor did they have any other available truck for me to use. Maybe that should have been another warning sign that I should just walk away from this company, but stupidly, I did not. In fact, I think if you had to decipher Leroy’s message it would be something like this.
“We really don’t give a shit about what you’re driving, take the fricken truck with the meat load, get it to Missouri, so we can make enough money to fix the damn thing when you get back!”
“We need you to do this so we can get some other East Indian Schmuck to drive this, that way when you get the white truck coming back from Toronto you’ll be a happy camper!”
“That about sums it up, right?”
Things got progressively worse when this truck wouldn’t start so good ole Leroy had to go grab the yard truck to give a boost. Previous to what I had just witnessed, a normal person probably would have changed his mind. Keep in mind we are talking about a really different trucking company here, and I kept reminding myself, that I was doing this for Sam! Nonetheless, I can remember that Carol said that we had to film our first trip in this truck with the “Jazz Camcorder” as this was going to be a memorable one, we would never forget. You know what; she couldn’t have been more accurate to what was going to transpire with just one trip. Now to my surprise we managed to cross the Coutts/Sweetgrass Mt border all right, and meat inspection seemed to be a breeze.
Sampson’s first trip into the USA was pretty much easy with the one border inspector even giving him a “Milk Bone” dog biscuit treat at the guard shack. That good boy was now sitting on the bed of the sleeper while Carol and I were in the front of the cab doing our thing. Carol pulled out the Camcorder and started filming our little adventure. So she starts filming the front of where I am driving, the usual introductions of where we are, and where we are going and whatnot.
“We are actually waiting to get a truck” she speaks into the tiny camcorder microphone.
“This one sucks! Look at the size of this sleeper? I mean really” as she now aims the camcorder at the back of the sleeper with Sam just sitting there looking into the camcorder.
“She’s pretty tiny, and she’s quite the pig!”
“And how many miles does it say Bri?”Carol now questions me.
“Let’s see” I pause.
“Just over a million miles!” is my reply to Carol’s question now.
Carol then lets everyone now in camcorder-land that she has had only about three and one-half hours of sleep but that she’s got her big cup of coffee to help her cope for the day.
“It would be nice to get a truck” she reiterates.
“This is not a truck, it is a lumber wagon” she adds.
So that brief explanation, pretty much sums it up, how this trip is going to go, but it was more horrible that both of us could ever have imagined. I managed to make it all the way to Hardin, Montana, and fuel up there as well. Next thing I did was to park for the night at a really small “Flying J” truck stop.
Carol went over to the local McDonald’s there to get us some food, as we couldn’t possibly cook in this truck as there were no electrical outlets in it. Meanwhile, I went to take Sampson out for his nightly business, as he was enjoying sniffing all the unusual smells in the area. After we ate our Big Macs and all, we both tried to get some sleep on a stupid undersized single bed for two. Needless to say, it was not an easy task, so Carol pretty much sat up most of the night, sitting in the passenger seat. She knew it was vital for me to get my sleep to drive safely in the morning, so she had placed Sampson down at the foot of the bed as well. That’s my Carol, always thinking of the other person; even it meant further depriving her of sleep.
In the morning around 7am, I knew we needed to get an early start on the day, but that never materialized either. When I went to start that pig, the damn thing wouldn’t turn over as previously mentioned by Leroy, so I followed his procedure he had taught me. Needless to say, that didn’t work, so now I had to make a call to “Right Speed” dispatch and see what they could do about getting somebody out here to fix this situation. Now even more bad luck was to follow when I couldn’t even get hold of their dispatch as they shut the phone off till nine-am, according to a prerecorded voicemail message. This time, I quickly got an epiphany of the true fact I had made a huge mistake working for this company.
Finally at nine-am that morning, I got a hold of dispatch, but after another hour of a complete runaround, I got in touch with the Operations Manager, Abe that could make such a vital decision. That decision being, whether he could authorize a mechanic to drive out from Billings Montana to fix the dam thing! This guy even had the audacity that he wanted me to pay for this, as he couldn’t get it authorized by the “President of Right Speed Trucking.” He said that he would pay me time while waiting for the guy to get here, and maybe some hourly wage he would discuss with me when I got back. I relayed Carol this information and she told me to tell him a flat out No! He needed to get somebody from his end to arrange to fix this. Well, he said, to call him back in an hour and that he would try to get hold of a mechanic to come out from Billings to help me out.
“This is quickly becoming an adventure in futility!”, I thought to myself. The blame should be put on the owner and not the dog. It comes down to breed practices and proper education.
Saturday 17 September 2016
THE BEAR'S BLOG: ...
THE BEAR'S BLOG: ...: THE BREED OR THE DEED Last Saturday, we talked about how the general public a...
THE BREED OR THE DEED
Last Saturday, we talked about how the general public are now seeing the pitbulls in a racist kind of way.Nonetheless my blog this week, focuses on the cause of most pitbull attacks and your either going to agree with me or disagree on this, but it's about 99 per cent of the time, the owner. I say that because, let's face the truth, there are bad pitbulls out there, no matter how you try to reform them.So where does all this panic, and turmoil for a pretty wonderful breed come from? Yes, it starts with the owner and the type of people or persons they are. So to start with, what is a bad owner or an irresponsible owner? I know what your saying, "its not me, that's for sure," but let's research those thoughts for a minute.
Owners who don't take or understand the responsibility of owning such a powerful dog would constitute a bad owner.
Owners who have to do the fighting for their dogs by making them appear tougher wearing spiked collars, cropped ears and tails, would mean a bad owner.
People who do not research the traits of pitbulls before owning them are also the culprits.
Owners who leave their pitbulls outside all the time, thus not allowing them to socialize with other people or animals in their home are ticking time bombs. I mean think about it, if you were left outside all the time, wouldn't you have a tendency to snap or be pissed off?
Owners who yell at or demean their pitbull dogs in public or in their households on a regular basis.
People who physically discipline their dogs and beat them as a way of controlling them regularly are bad owners!
People that have low self-esteem get pitbulls for a status thing to say "Hey look at me, I own a pitbull, don't mess with me, I am a bad ass!" another definite attitude of a bad owner!
Owners who get a pitbull, and then let them run around in yards with small, lower footage fences are bad owners!
People who walk their pitbulls on just a leash attached to a collar is unacceptable, another bad owner! A pitbull being as intelligent as it is, can easily slip its head through a collar and then you'll have a real problem!.A harness is more effective and restrains the dog better, which puts the owner in control.
Another thing, although this might be up for debate, is people usually get pitbulls 2 or 3 years old, but these dogs are usually set in their ways, especially if there was no prior training with them.
Irresponsible Owners such as the "Michael Vicks" out there who train these dogs to attack or fight for their own selfish financial needs. Any dog can be trained to kill or fight, regardless of the breed.
Inbreeding cause bad pitbulls most of the times as they are interbred with Rottweillers, Labs, Sheppards and even Whippets. I know this to be true as my other rescue dog Okee, is in fact, a Whippet/Pitbull Mix, but not a more sweeter dog could you find in her.
Generally, these dogs are not genetically sound in their brains, which can lead to madness as it puts pressure on their brains, in certain circumstances. Keep in mind, these are the types, you do have to be careful more so with and on your guard more often when people or other animals are around them.
You have to socialize these dogs usually at younger ages and get them around people and other dogs.Then more than likely they will turn out just fine. Pitbulls by their very nature are protective animals. If you socialize your dogs, generally they won't be aggressive and another very important thing is to have them spayed or neutered as soon as possible. If people take time with their pitty's showing love, affection, understanding, and training, then their pitbull pet dog will give back the same to them.
While it is understandable that seeing pitbull attack reporting on the news gets viewers all scared and riled up, hating the breed, it is wrong! Think about it, when was the last time you saw a newscast on a border collie attack, poodle or even a chihuahua? No, because, that is not what the newscasters want their viewers to see, and besides it does nothing for ratings. Everyone knows that the media tells us what we want to see whether it's fully researched or reported right?
The fact that pitbulls have stronger jaws than most dogs doesn't mean they are going to use them.
The only thing I worry about with our new rescue 2-year-old pitbull Jewel about using her jaws on our blankets, pillows and recently my blue tooth headset which she decided was a chew toy. She loved the sponge earpiece especially which was to her liking.
We find that our rescue pitty Jewel sees feels and reacts to things that Teryl and I are sometimes oblivious to or slow to notice. She is completely aware of her surroundings and in tune to such small things as a dog barking on our TV or even a video on our cell phone of wolves howling.
It is the dog's owner's responsibility to implement psychological and physical boundaries for all their pets. This is for both to protect potential harm to others and to protect their pitbull dog. Every dog, regardless of the breed is unpredictable. No more than a factory worker who suddenly loses his job, picks up a rifle and shoots a store clerk for not having his brand of cigarettes.In conclusion, the only thing I can leave you with is please try to see your pitbull dog for what he or she is, not for what you want them to be.
Once again, I leave you with another excerpt from one my 3rd book "Road History, when we actually did own a pitbull Sampson that was involved in an attack. As you read on, you will find out that things were not as they appeared to be. Have a great week and go get yourself a pitty as a pet.
The next day I picked up a load of flowers from a nursery in Chilliwack, destined for the “Western Grocers” company, that’s right, the same people that own Loblaw’s. When we arrived in Calgary, the next day I dropped that load off at the appropriate destination. As usual, it was time to reset my hours, so that meant we would get to see our buddy, Sam, once again. I picked him up, as usual, whereby he was rip-snorting and panting when he saw us, just all too happy to see his Mom and Dad once more. This time, I had proposed to Carol to rent a hotel room for the 48 hours, with just our little family and she agreed to that as well. Sam was so happy to spend time with us, and as usual Carol had bought him another stuffy which he absolutely loved. It was a wonderful two days, with ordering in take-out food, spending time with our Sam, watching some TV, and just generally relaxing for a change. When you drive up to 10,000 miles a month like I did, it sure took a lot out of me mentally and physically. As for Sampson, he would now get to spend that time with Carol and the family, so that was nice. Moreover, I just hated taking him back to that kennel, but this time, it might be different when we arrived back there.
Last Saturday, we talked about how the general public are now seeing the pitbulls in a racist kind of way.Nonetheless my blog this week, focuses on the cause of most pitbull attacks and your either going to agree with me or disagree on this, but it's about 99 per cent of the time, the owner. I say that because, let's face the truth, there are bad pitbulls out there, no matter how you try to reform them.So where does all this panic, and turmoil for a pretty wonderful breed come from? Yes, it starts with the owner and the type of people or persons they are. So to start with, what is a bad owner or an irresponsible owner? I know what your saying, "its not me, that's for sure," but let's research those thoughts for a minute.
Owners who don't take or understand the responsibility of owning such a powerful dog would constitute a bad owner.
Owners who have to do the fighting for their dogs by making them appear tougher wearing spiked collars, cropped ears and tails, would mean a bad owner.
People who do not research the traits of pitbulls before owning them are also the culprits.
Owners who leave their pitbulls outside all the time, thus not allowing them to socialize with other people or animals in their home are ticking time bombs. I mean think about it, if you were left outside all the time, wouldn't you have a tendency to snap or be pissed off?
Owners who yell at or demean their pitbull dogs in public or in their households on a regular basis.
People who physically discipline their dogs and beat them as a way of controlling them regularly are bad owners!
People that have low self-esteem get pitbulls for a status thing to say "Hey look at me, I own a pitbull, don't mess with me, I am a bad ass!" another definite attitude of a bad owner!
Owners who get a pitbull, and then let them run around in yards with small, lower footage fences are bad owners!
People who walk their pitbulls on just a leash attached to a collar is unacceptable, another bad owner! A pitbull being as intelligent as it is, can easily slip its head through a collar and then you'll have a real problem!.A harness is more effective and restrains the dog better, which puts the owner in control.
Another thing, although this might be up for debate, is people usually get pitbulls 2 or 3 years old, but these dogs are usually set in their ways, especially if there was no prior training with them.
Irresponsible Owners such as the "Michael Vicks" out there who train these dogs to attack or fight for their own selfish financial needs. Any dog can be trained to kill or fight, regardless of the breed.
Inbreeding cause bad pitbulls most of the times as they are interbred with Rottweillers, Labs, Sheppards and even Whippets. I know this to be true as my other rescue dog Okee, is in fact, a Whippet/Pitbull Mix, but not a more sweeter dog could you find in her.
Generally, these dogs are not genetically sound in their brains, which can lead to madness as it puts pressure on their brains, in certain circumstances. Keep in mind, these are the types, you do have to be careful more so with and on your guard more often when people or other animals are around them.
You have to socialize these dogs usually at younger ages and get them around people and other dogs.Then more than likely they will turn out just fine. Pitbulls by their very nature are protective animals. If you socialize your dogs, generally they won't be aggressive and another very important thing is to have them spayed or neutered as soon as possible. If people take time with their pitty's showing love, affection, understanding, and training, then their pitbull pet dog will give back the same to them.
While it is understandable that seeing pitbull attack reporting on the news gets viewers all scared and riled up, hating the breed, it is wrong! Think about it, when was the last time you saw a newscast on a border collie attack, poodle or even a chihuahua? No, because, that is not what the newscasters want their viewers to see, and besides it does nothing for ratings. Everyone knows that the media tells us what we want to see whether it's fully researched or reported right?
The fact that pitbulls have stronger jaws than most dogs doesn't mean they are going to use them.
The only thing I worry about with our new rescue 2-year-old pitbull Jewel about using her jaws on our blankets, pillows and recently my blue tooth headset which she decided was a chew toy. She loved the sponge earpiece especially which was to her liking.
We find that our rescue pitty Jewel sees feels and reacts to things that Teryl and I are sometimes oblivious to or slow to notice. She is completely aware of her surroundings and in tune to such small things as a dog barking on our TV or even a video on our cell phone of wolves howling.
It is the dog's owner's responsibility to implement psychological and physical boundaries for all their pets. This is for both to protect potential harm to others and to protect their pitbull dog. Every dog, regardless of the breed is unpredictable. No more than a factory worker who suddenly loses his job, picks up a rifle and shoots a store clerk for not having his brand of cigarettes.In conclusion, the only thing I can leave you with is please try to see your pitbull dog for what he or she is, not for what you want them to be.
Once again, I leave you with another excerpt from one my 3rd book "Road History, when we actually did own a pitbull Sampson that was involved in an attack. As you read on, you will find out that things were not as they appeared to be. Have a great week and go get yourself a pitty as a pet.
The next day I picked up a load of flowers from a nursery in Chilliwack, destined for the “Western Grocers” company, that’s right, the same people that own Loblaw’s. When we arrived in Calgary, the next day I dropped that load off at the appropriate destination. As usual, it was time to reset my hours, so that meant we would get to see our buddy, Sam, once again. I picked him up, as usual, whereby he was rip-snorting and panting when he saw us, just all too happy to see his Mom and Dad once more. This time, I had proposed to Carol to rent a hotel room for the 48 hours, with just our little family and she agreed to that as well. Sam was so happy to spend time with us, and as usual Carol had bought him another stuffy which he absolutely loved. It was a wonderful two days, with ordering in take-out food, spending time with our Sam, watching some TV, and just generally relaxing for a change. When you drive up to 10,000 miles a month like I did, it sure took a lot out of me mentally and physically. As for Sampson, he would now get to spend that time with Carol and the family, so that was nice. Moreover, I just hated taking him back to that kennel, but this time, it might be different when we arrived back there.
The dogcatcher, Tim had arranged to have the mother of the 14-year-old girl, meet with us as well as our dog Sampson. Was something up? or had the judge finally made a decision on Sam’s fate? Carol and I had both reluctantly agreed to finally face the consequences as towards Sampson’s actions regarding the attack. Nonetheless, I pulled up the driveway of the kennel that morning, not really knowing if we were ever going to see our Sampson again. We introduced ourselves to the young woman, along with showed her, as to one of the perpetrators on her 14-year-old daughter which was our dog Sam. What we found out that morning astounded all us, even shocked the dogcatcher, Tim, I might add. When the lady started to explain to us the story from her daughter towards the attack, I must say we were stunned, but extremely relieved. It seems that on that day when both dogs had gotten out of our back fence, they were running wild. When “Big Sexy” Sandi’s former dog had come upon the 14-year-old girl walking down the sidewalk that afternoon, he lunged at her. Sampson was thinking that they were having fun, so he pounced on the poor girl, but that’s where it all changed.
Big Sexy, started to bite and attack the girl, but when Sampson realized his nephew was not fooling around, well things changed fast. Sampson was actually trying to pull his nephew away from the attack and in so doing, ended up scratching the girl across the stomach. However our dog, Sampson did not continue the assault on the girl, nor did he bite her in any way shape or form either. I asked the young lady how she knew of this, and she told me those were the words spoken from her very own daughter! I can’t begin to tell you how Carol and I were relieved to hear this startling information, as it most certainly would assure of Sampson’s life to be spared or so we hoped.
Tim, let us know that he would immediately resubmit new court documents, so hopefully now, Sampson’s life would be spared. It ripped my heart apart to place my dog behind bars that morning before we left, but I now had some hope for Sam’s survival at least. Unfortunately, we had to head to Calgary to get back on the truck, but this time, we were definitely in a better mood about it. Therefore, I grabbed another load from High River this time and headed south down to the United States with it. Our next load was heading for somewhere in Washington, I can’t seem to recall exactly where at the moment. I mean I can’t tell you how many times Carol and I would be driving on the I-90 West route on our way to Vancouver. There we would be driving over the legendary Columbia River while gazing at fire-red sunsets while traveling down the open road. We would also see large tugboats pushing these gargantuan barges with “god knows what containers” floating down that mighty river. This time, it was nice to travel a different way and see some truly really different sights for a change. When we arrived in Seattle there were always crazy sights I passed by such as a giant inflatable sun wearing enormous black sunglasses near a K-Mart.
One time when we were getting fuel at a Flying-J Truckstop in Washington we saw the oddest thing. There were these Barbie and Ken dolls tied to the roof rack of an SUV just leaving the parking lot, as I pumped the diesel into “Beauty” that day. Chalk it up to just a few of the odd things you see on the open road trucking. We were well into the fall of 2007, and the trips with Dial were starting to get a bit more varied in where I was going now.
I remember we had more freight of beef going to Nebraska at first, but we picked up a trip from there by heading right back to the Dial yard in Akron Iowa. That load was going to Brampton, Ontario so once again I would get to stop in on my brother Chuck and his family. I would probably catch my Dad and his new wife too, as well as my Mom, there always seemed to be at least one day to do this with on these trips.
Well as it was, I did see a good portion of my family, only, this time, it was a bit different when we unloaded at the drop point in Brampton. We picked up another empty trailer when we switched out a trailer with another driver at a Husky Truckstop in Mississauga this time round. This new trip was quite the opposite, as we were heading to New Jersey of all things. As it was I had to drive passed the Welland Canal on our trip through to Buffalo, so we made a half day tour out of the canals there.
Sunday 11 September 2016
THE BEAR'S BLOG: PITBULL BREED RACISM
THE BEAR'S BLOG: PITBULL BREED RACISM: After seeing the different posts on my facebook this past weekend,it was quite evident to me that there were more than 1,000 demonst...
PITBULL BREED RACISM
After seeing the different posts on my facebook this past weekend,it was quite evident to me that there were more than 1,000 demonstrators that had taken over the streets of Old Montreal last weekend.
Actually, the implementation of these bylaws have absolutely nothing to do with public safety. There are already dangerous dog bylaws in place that have proven to be ineffective since they were enforced there too.
What started this hate on Pitbulls in Montreal was a very serious and critical dog attack. the story goes that a Madame Vadnais was killed by a city known dangerous dog due to previous attacks where the owners was neither cited or warned. This registered Boxer dog was actually a Boxer/Lab Mix. In fact, no Pitbull type in his DNA was ever found,but again never acknowledge by the City of Montreal either.
Why wasn't the owner of the dog charged in the first place? Another question why did the media not report it as a Boxer/Lab instead of once again going to the scapegoat breed the Pitbull. I'll tell you why, because it doesn't sell papers? that's why, but stick the word Pitbull in it, and every hater of the breed glams onto it.
In point of truth, with the last 6 dog attacks in Canada in the last year the majority of them were Husky related. In reality, even qualified vetrinarians cannot positively identify a Pitbull mix without DNA testing. Therefore 98% of reported attacks in hospitals by victims are mostly incorrect!
Certain Politicians that are in favor of BSL protect their own interests because of political longevity in their riding. That's right, god forbid, if they lose their quarter of a million dollar salary pension.
The bottom line here is the administration such as Mayor Dennis Coderre's back is against the wall. He refuses to budge on the issue, accepting false information and outdated stats on dog attacks, thus realizing that Montreal's leadership is sorely lacking right now.
If you asked a Pitbull owner regarding everybody's attitude it would be "Generally there are no bad dogs, just very bad owners!"
It is also a proven fact that Ontario's Pitbull Ban has been ineffective over the last 15 years since it was implemented. It hasn't even reduced the number of dog bite incidents. Why is Mayor Coderre taking his lead on this from Ontario's archaic Pitbull Ban when it is proven it doesn't work?
The Ontario bylaw penalizes a specific breed solely, thereby thinking that will eliminate the unnecessary dog bite problem. There are many large breeds of dogs in that province, so they really shouldn't target one breed more than any other, but unfortunately they do.
Shouldn't he look at the Province of Alberta, specifically Calgary, and why it does work?
The Calgary model is based on proper education and training of the Pitbull breed. Animal Control Officers go out and enforce the bylaw here. They educate people and explain why the dogs have to be on leashes and harnesses. They instill licensing and why it is important, along with microchipping, proper animal ownership, spaying and neutering of the breed as well.
In this way people don't neglect their dogs, thereby making the animals behavior better, more relaxed and laid back. They instill the thoughts that owning a Pitbull is not a privilege but a responsibility.
Sadly it is even worse for the Pitbull in the United States, as they pretty much declared genocide on the Pitbull. Each year 1.2 million dogs there are euthanized and approximately 40% of them are Pitbulls. Nearly half a million Pitbull-Type dogs are unnecessarily killed in shelters annually. Pitbulls are by far the most likely to be put down as they are the 3rd most likely pet to be adopted.
There are two primary reasons for Pitbulls intake in shelters being as high as it is and the main one is over population. Due to backyard, casual and just plain breeding there is financial gain to be made when an owner decides to do this. Despite all the negativity in North America surrounding this dog, a Pitbull is still quite a popular dog to own. Another problem is over population of the breed as Pitbulls do tend to have large litters of puppies, anywhere from 6 to 12 per litter on average.
BSL creates prejudice against them, which makes it extremely difficult for families to take in and keep a Pitbull. Currently, there are 28 states across the country that outright ban the ownership of them. In fact overall, it has been statistically proven that BSL does not work. Study after study has shown that banning Pitbulls doesn't decrease dog bites but increases them in breeds such as Husky's, Labradors, Boxers and other mixed breeds with a Pitbull.
All things being equal, Pitbulls rate incredibly high in temperament tests. In fact higher than even Golden Retrievers, German Shepards, and Rottweilers. In point of truth, a Pitbull rated 86.8% in low aggression, panic, and avoidance testing.
In conclusion, 84% of dogs involved in fatal attacks, they were neglected or abused. Also 86% of fatal dog attacks involved unneutered dogs. It all comes back to the owner as they are specifically targeted as the problem.
Prejudice against these dogs will continue through poor uneducated grandiose media reporting with incidents of dog bites involving non-pitbull bred dogs.
It has gotten to the point where now even many landlords refuse to rent to families with Pitbulls. Many insurance companies allow the denial or cancellation of coverage if a homeowner owns a Pitty.
Sometimes families who own them lose their homes and they find it next to impossible to find "Pitbull Friendly" renting accommodations. Tragically, that leads them to surrendering their beloved pets to animal shelters where they are on borrowed time.
My wife and I have now owned 4 Pitbulls throughout our 23 year relationship and not one of them were ever proven to be vicious. They are amazing, loyal affectionate dogs you tend to fall in love with. Once you have such affection for them, then you want to love everyone of them you meet. Generally, they just want to be part of a family, want to lick your whole face and just be your best friend! I think I have said enough, and time to get off my soap box about the Pitbull, but I can tell you this, I will never stop fighting for such an awesome breed that God put on this earth.
Here is another excerpt taken from my 3rd book Road History regarding owning a Pitbull, enjoy.
As I pulled into the lot, I focused my eyes on what could only be an abandoned white stuffed teddy bear lying there on the pavement. I don’t know why I did it, but I stopped my truck, got out and picked up this little guy and placed him on the floor in front of the passenger seat in my truck. He was dirty, had a bit of grease on him, and he smelled of diesel, but that was okay. My first idea was I would clean him up and maybe give him to my future grandchild that would be born in the upcoming month of May. However after I had washed him at the laundry-mat they had at this particular truck stop I decided to keep him. I named him “Highway Bear” and placed him up in the right corner of my windshield. I grabbed him a pair of black sunglasses I had a second pair of; furthermore I made sure he wouldn’t fall off from where I placed him.
Actually, the implementation of these bylaws have absolutely nothing to do with public safety. There are already dangerous dog bylaws in place that have proven to be ineffective since they were enforced there too.
What started this hate on Pitbulls in Montreal was a very serious and critical dog attack. the story goes that a Madame Vadnais was killed by a city known dangerous dog due to previous attacks where the owners was neither cited or warned. This registered Boxer dog was actually a Boxer/Lab Mix. In fact, no Pitbull type in his DNA was ever found,but again never acknowledge by the City of Montreal either.
Why wasn't the owner of the dog charged in the first place? Another question why did the media not report it as a Boxer/Lab instead of once again going to the scapegoat breed the Pitbull. I'll tell you why, because it doesn't sell papers? that's why, but stick the word Pitbull in it, and every hater of the breed glams onto it.
In point of truth, with the last 6 dog attacks in Canada in the last year the majority of them were Husky related. In reality, even qualified vetrinarians cannot positively identify a Pitbull mix without DNA testing. Therefore 98% of reported attacks in hospitals by victims are mostly incorrect!
Certain Politicians that are in favor of BSL protect their own interests because of political longevity in their riding. That's right, god forbid, if they lose their quarter of a million dollar salary pension.
The bottom line here is the administration such as Mayor Dennis Coderre's back is against the wall. He refuses to budge on the issue, accepting false information and outdated stats on dog attacks, thus realizing that Montreal's leadership is sorely lacking right now.
If you asked a Pitbull owner regarding everybody's attitude it would be "Generally there are no bad dogs, just very bad owners!"
It is also a proven fact that Ontario's Pitbull Ban has been ineffective over the last 15 years since it was implemented. It hasn't even reduced the number of dog bite incidents. Why is Mayor Coderre taking his lead on this from Ontario's archaic Pitbull Ban when it is proven it doesn't work?
The Ontario bylaw penalizes a specific breed solely, thereby thinking that will eliminate the unnecessary dog bite problem. There are many large breeds of dogs in that province, so they really shouldn't target one breed more than any other, but unfortunately they do.
Shouldn't he look at the Province of Alberta, specifically Calgary, and why it does work?
The Calgary model is based on proper education and training of the Pitbull breed. Animal Control Officers go out and enforce the bylaw here. They educate people and explain why the dogs have to be on leashes and harnesses. They instill licensing and why it is important, along with microchipping, proper animal ownership, spaying and neutering of the breed as well.
In this way people don't neglect their dogs, thereby making the animals behavior better, more relaxed and laid back. They instill the thoughts that owning a Pitbull is not a privilege but a responsibility.
Sadly it is even worse for the Pitbull in the United States, as they pretty much declared genocide on the Pitbull. Each year 1.2 million dogs there are euthanized and approximately 40% of them are Pitbulls. Nearly half a million Pitbull-Type dogs are unnecessarily killed in shelters annually. Pitbulls are by far the most likely to be put down as they are the 3rd most likely pet to be adopted.
There are two primary reasons for Pitbulls intake in shelters being as high as it is and the main one is over population. Due to backyard, casual and just plain breeding there is financial gain to be made when an owner decides to do this. Despite all the negativity in North America surrounding this dog, a Pitbull is still quite a popular dog to own. Another problem is over population of the breed as Pitbulls do tend to have large litters of puppies, anywhere from 6 to 12 per litter on average.
BSL creates prejudice against them, which makes it extremely difficult for families to take in and keep a Pitbull. Currently, there are 28 states across the country that outright ban the ownership of them. In fact overall, it has been statistically proven that BSL does not work. Study after study has shown that banning Pitbulls doesn't decrease dog bites but increases them in breeds such as Husky's, Labradors, Boxers and other mixed breeds with a Pitbull.
All things being equal, Pitbulls rate incredibly high in temperament tests. In fact higher than even Golden Retrievers, German Shepards, and Rottweilers. In point of truth, a Pitbull rated 86.8% in low aggression, panic, and avoidance testing.
In conclusion, 84% of dogs involved in fatal attacks, they were neglected or abused. Also 86% of fatal dog attacks involved unneutered dogs. It all comes back to the owner as they are specifically targeted as the problem.
Prejudice against these dogs will continue through poor uneducated grandiose media reporting with incidents of dog bites involving non-pitbull bred dogs.
It has gotten to the point where now even many landlords refuse to rent to families with Pitbulls. Many insurance companies allow the denial or cancellation of coverage if a homeowner owns a Pitty.
Sometimes families who own them lose their homes and they find it next to impossible to find "Pitbull Friendly" renting accommodations. Tragically, that leads them to surrendering their beloved pets to animal shelters where they are on borrowed time.
My wife and I have now owned 4 Pitbulls throughout our 23 year relationship and not one of them were ever proven to be vicious. They are amazing, loyal affectionate dogs you tend to fall in love with. Once you have such affection for them, then you want to love everyone of them you meet. Generally, they just want to be part of a family, want to lick your whole face and just be your best friend! I think I have said enough, and time to get off my soap box about the Pitbull, but I can tell you this, I will never stop fighting for such an awesome breed that God put on this earth.
Here is another excerpt taken from my 3rd book Road History regarding owning a Pitbull, enjoy.
As I pulled into the lot, I focused my eyes on what could only be an abandoned white stuffed teddy bear lying there on the pavement. I don’t know why I did it, but I stopped my truck, got out and picked up this little guy and placed him on the floor in front of the passenger seat in my truck. He was dirty, had a bit of grease on him, and he smelled of diesel, but that was okay. My first idea was I would clean him up and maybe give him to my future grandchild that would be born in the upcoming month of May. However after I had washed him at the laundry-mat they had at this particular truck stop I decided to keep him. I named him “Highway Bear” and placed him up in the right corner of my windshield. I grabbed him a pair of black sunglasses I had a second pair of; furthermore I made sure he wouldn’t fall off from where I placed him.
Highway Bear became my truck mascot, so he was my little confidant, I talked to when I was lonely driving through the night. I know that almost sounds like I was losing it, but I bet you there’s not a truck driver out there who hasn’t talk to himself. I guess if you answer yourself back from the question you ask, maybe you’re going “road crazy” I’m not sure. One thing I do know is you see lots of stuffed animals in people rigs in the United States especially when you’re fuelling up.
The following month I returned back home to Sylvan Lake to discover a few things had taken place.
For one thing, Carol now had a roommate that had come to live with her named Madeline. I guess Carol had knew her from when she was cleaning rooms at Chateau Suites. Speaking of where Carol worked, she had left that place to go work with one of Jack’s best friends, Cole. He was this rich kid, whose parents were loaded and that had lived in Marina Bay with his Mom and Dad. I guess he had persuaded his old man to give him a substantial amount of cash to start up a landscaping and irrigation business. Cole needed workers desperately so he gave Carol a job digging holes working the irrigation system job. The money was obviously too good to pass up, so Carol had suddenly quit her long-time employment with Chateau Suites for a better opportunity. It was quite apparent to me that Carol seemed to go on with life without me now, as she needed to pay the costs in that small cottage we were living in. I have to say again, it was because of the lousy money I had previously been making hauling cars that this 50 year old woman now was subjected to this. Carol told me that she had to make a couple of trips to the local food bank prior to her even getting the job. The reason was that she couldn’t manage any of our debts coming into the household now, along with the fact, we were now in a few collection agencies at the time too. The following week I left Carol to fend for herself, as well as her new roommate Madeline.
In the meantime, it was very tough for her working plus watching over Brodi’s pregnancy. She was due any day now to birth her first litter of pups. When I saw her that evening Brodi had on this blue sash that was attached to a diaper. She looked absolutely ridiculous, but I guess that is what she needed as she was now spotting, obviously, due soon. I guess they were even separating Sampson when she was going to do her business outside. It was also around that following weekend that Brodi gave birth to her first litter of puppies. I believe she had four of the cute little critters. Now as for Sampson the new father, he seemed overjoyed with his own new family. If truth be told Sampson actually took better care of his own kids (puppies) than Brodi was doing in the following days. Brodi originally had six of the darlings, although she lost three of them two during birth but, one that was born had severe complications. We even took the little gapper to the vet, but it was too late to save the pup, alas it too passed away. As a fitting memorial of the event, we placed them in a small box and buried all of them under a tree in our backyard. I grabbed one of my larger birthstone amethyst rocks I had purchased back in Northern Ontario and placed it just above the deceased young-uns. In the meantime, Brodi’s other 3 surviving pups were doing well with their new mother.Skyler who was there to witness the birth had named two of them, including “Kilo, & Stains.” The youngest one that resembled a mini-likeness of Sampson, Carol called “Wee Willy Winkin” but I just called him “Little Sam” for short. He had one blue eye and the other eye was a kind of reddish hue because it looked a bit offset but at least they were all healthy, that much I was relieved about.
Sunday 4 September 2016
A JEWEL OF A DOG
Sometimes things happen in life, that are signs of what is yet to come.Recently my wife and I purchased a rescued pitbull from Sacremento Califonia The dog is black and about 2 years old.That's where her saviors Prairie Pitbull Rescue from Lethbridge stepped in to rescue her.
As of August 9th 2016 Canada became her new home and 3 weeks later our Jewel stepped into our hearts and our home. Nice to see, this dog loves children and interacts well with dogs, including my other rescued Pitbull/Whippet Okee.
Okee or Oklahoma was rescued by me, in Ardmore Oklahoma about 3 years ago, when I found her left for dead, in an open field in a broken down dog crate in a broken down horse trailer. She was extremely malnourished, dehydrated and very shy when I found her. Despite that, she had a strong will to live, so when I drove as far as Colby Kansas, I got her into a vet and saved her life.
Being a former pitbull owner, I can tell you this, there is not a more humanistic, tactile dog than this breed. We lost our Sampson ( a Red-Nosed Mural Pitbull) on January 23,2014 and I can tell you, that dog was of such a gentle spirit that he left a lasting impact on both our lives. I describe Sampson quite fondly in my 3rd book "Road History." I trucked with that dog along with my wife over 250,000 miles across Canada and United States.
If you truly don't know the history of the Pitbull, let me fill you in on such an incredibly wonderful animal.
In the 19th Century, they were first created in England by breeding English Bulldogs with Terriers, which were then called a Bull & Terrier. Thus in 1860 further being bred in England, they were brought to the United States with a couple of their owners. Pitbulls were then used as herding dogs who protected the livestock along with their families from cattle rustlers.
In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed and the Pitbull was one of the first breeds to be recognized. As of 1914 to 1918 they were dubbed as America's Dog used widely on posters during World War 1 to sell war bonds and recruit the US Military. Shortly thereafter, they were used as Nannie Dogs to look after babies while Mothers went to work at that time.
In the 1930's many people referred to athletes as "Pitbulls" which was a very common sports metaphor. Basically, it meant such tenacity and a never give up attitude being the highest compliment given to them. There was also a famous racehorse in that era named Pitbull that won quite a few races.
Frequently pitbulls were even associated with children as in the "Our Gang" episodes. Buster Brown shoes corporate mascot for the shoe company was in fact, a pitbull. The famous RCA Victor image was that of a dog and a gramophone which also featured a pitbull terrier on it.
Fifty years later that all changed and by New Years Day of 1986 over 30 communities in the United States were considering banning all pitbull breeds.
The main culprits was that dog fighting had made a comeback in the 1980's whereby the pitbull had become the dog of choice. It was also the preferred dog for drug dealers and street gangs. In 1987 there was a highly publicized attack in which a pitbull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauled and killed a 2 and a half-year-old boy.
By the summer of that same year every single proposed ban had become law due to this media specualtion. Previous to that, the Doberman Pinscher were the hated breed that had been talked about regarding attacks on human beings. In fact in Tijeras New Mexico just outside of Albuquerque passed the toughest inhumane pitbull ban of all time. This bogus, archaic bill allows the animal control officer to seize and destroy the Pitbull on sight without compensation to the owner whatsoever.
These various pitbull breed bans are decried by animal control officers as "the most concentrated assault on a breed specific as they can recall. This "canine racism" places the blame squarely on the inept humans that own them. In fact, many of these so called pitbull attacks are due to a skyrocketing number of poorly bad and terribly trained dogs. These animals were raised by backyard breeders who tried to cash in on the pitbull's growing reputation as a cheap but deadly effective guard dog.
BSL (Breed Specific Legislation)
On August 29,2005, Ontario's Bullshit, BSL came into effect, disallowing pitbulls to reside in their province. One thing, though, BSL doesn't work because it doesn't decrease dog bite incidents. It does give the government permission to come into an Ontario home person's home or apartment and take their family pet without just cause. Any dog that has a square head, muscular body, and thin long tail can be mistaken as a pitbull. In point of truth, the majority of people cannot correctly identify a pitbull either.
This assinine law blames the pitbull dog when it is 100 percent of the time, it's owner and their neglect and proper care of the dog as well as training it. Are we actually stuck in the stone ages people? Would you allow the government to take your dog out of your home for no reason?
I challenge all lawmakers who wants to ban the bully breeds to raise one as their own first! Then tell me if you still want to ban and annihilate them. Legislation should be enacted to say what dogs people cannot own but which people cannot own dogs as well, don't ya think?
From here on, my blogs will center around stories of Pitbulls, various rescue organizations around North America dedicated to saving the pitbull from barbaric fighting rings and poor living situations. I will become a very strong advocate dedicated to helping better these wonderful animals living accommodations and hopefully aid in placing them in loving caring homes of people. My life long charity from this day forward will be a certain percentage of the proceeds of my books will go to help out funding organizations like Prairie Pitbull Rescue to continue their ongoing fight to bring these dogs out of poor living situations. Eventually, I would like to become strongly involved in stopped BSL legislation against the pitbull in provinces such as Ontario, Quebec and now BC.
I encourage everyone who owns a pitbull to send in their photos and stories of how they came to own such a wonderful family pet. Maybe with the right amount of outreach, passion and education possible we can all restore their image. We all need to rehabilitate the pitbull's reputation as an iconic North American Dog to its rightful place among mankind's best friend!
So enjoy the story of when we first encountered the pitbull, when we actually owned a pup that was a lab/pitbull mix. Shadow left such a pawprint on our lives that we continued owning pitbulls long after she left this earth. This is taken from my 2nd book "Sidewinder" Enjoy and don't forget to comment on my blogs either.
That following winter, we acquired a new addition to our family in the form of another dog. Actually, it was the kid’s Dad Hank who managed to get her this cute little puppy. This would be one she could tell everyone would be her very own; in addition to that, she even picked the little girl out. Thus a Black Lab and Pitbull mix, named Shadow arrived at our little home in the woods.
As of August 9th 2016 Canada became her new home and 3 weeks later our Jewel stepped into our hearts and our home. Nice to see, this dog loves children and interacts well with dogs, including my other rescued Pitbull/Whippet Okee.
Okee or Oklahoma was rescued by me, in Ardmore Oklahoma about 3 years ago, when I found her left for dead, in an open field in a broken down dog crate in a broken down horse trailer. She was extremely malnourished, dehydrated and very shy when I found her. Despite that, she had a strong will to live, so when I drove as far as Colby Kansas, I got her into a vet and saved her life.
Being a former pitbull owner, I can tell you this, there is not a more humanistic, tactile dog than this breed. We lost our Sampson ( a Red-Nosed Mural Pitbull) on January 23,2014 and I can tell you, that dog was of such a gentle spirit that he left a lasting impact on both our lives. I describe Sampson quite fondly in my 3rd book "Road History." I trucked with that dog along with my wife over 250,000 miles across Canada and United States.
If you truly don't know the history of the Pitbull, let me fill you in on such an incredibly wonderful animal.
In the 19th Century, they were first created in England by breeding English Bulldogs with Terriers, which were then called a Bull & Terrier. Thus in 1860 further being bred in England, they were brought to the United States with a couple of their owners. Pitbulls were then used as herding dogs who protected the livestock along with their families from cattle rustlers.
In 1898 the United Kennel Club was formed and the Pitbull was one of the first breeds to be recognized. As of 1914 to 1918 they were dubbed as America's Dog used widely on posters during World War 1 to sell war bonds and recruit the US Military. Shortly thereafter, they were used as Nannie Dogs to look after babies while Mothers went to work at that time.
In the 1930's many people referred to athletes as "Pitbulls" which was a very common sports metaphor. Basically, it meant such tenacity and a never give up attitude being the highest compliment given to them. There was also a famous racehorse in that era named Pitbull that won quite a few races.
Frequently pitbulls were even associated with children as in the "Our Gang" episodes. Buster Brown shoes corporate mascot for the shoe company was in fact, a pitbull. The famous RCA Victor image was that of a dog and a gramophone which also featured a pitbull terrier on it.
Fifty years later that all changed and by New Years Day of 1986 over 30 communities in the United States were considering banning all pitbull breeds.
The main culprits was that dog fighting had made a comeback in the 1980's whereby the pitbull had become the dog of choice. It was also the preferred dog for drug dealers and street gangs. In 1987 there was a highly publicized attack in which a pitbull guarding a marijuana crop in California mauled and killed a 2 and a half-year-old boy.
By the summer of that same year every single proposed ban had become law due to this media specualtion. Previous to that, the Doberman Pinscher were the hated breed that had been talked about regarding attacks on human beings. In fact in Tijeras New Mexico just outside of Albuquerque passed the toughest inhumane pitbull ban of all time. This bogus, archaic bill allows the animal control officer to seize and destroy the Pitbull on sight without compensation to the owner whatsoever.
These various pitbull breed bans are decried by animal control officers as "the most concentrated assault on a breed specific as they can recall. This "canine racism" places the blame squarely on the inept humans that own them. In fact, many of these so called pitbull attacks are due to a skyrocketing number of poorly bad and terribly trained dogs. These animals were raised by backyard breeders who tried to cash in on the pitbull's growing reputation as a cheap but deadly effective guard dog.
BSL (Breed Specific Legislation)
On August 29,2005, Ontario's Bullshit, BSL came into effect, disallowing pitbulls to reside in their province. One thing, though, BSL doesn't work because it doesn't decrease dog bite incidents. It does give the government permission to come into an Ontario home person's home or apartment and take their family pet without just cause. Any dog that has a square head, muscular body, and thin long tail can be mistaken as a pitbull. In point of truth, the majority of people cannot correctly identify a pitbull either.
This assinine law blames the pitbull dog when it is 100 percent of the time, it's owner and their neglect and proper care of the dog as well as training it. Are we actually stuck in the stone ages people? Would you allow the government to take your dog out of your home for no reason?
I challenge all lawmakers who wants to ban the bully breeds to raise one as their own first! Then tell me if you still want to ban and annihilate them. Legislation should be enacted to say what dogs people cannot own but which people cannot own dogs as well, don't ya think?
From here on, my blogs will center around stories of Pitbulls, various rescue organizations around North America dedicated to saving the pitbull from barbaric fighting rings and poor living situations. I will become a very strong advocate dedicated to helping better these wonderful animals living accommodations and hopefully aid in placing them in loving caring homes of people. My life long charity from this day forward will be a certain percentage of the proceeds of my books will go to help out funding organizations like Prairie Pitbull Rescue to continue their ongoing fight to bring these dogs out of poor living situations. Eventually, I would like to become strongly involved in stopped BSL legislation against the pitbull in provinces such as Ontario, Quebec and now BC.
I encourage everyone who owns a pitbull to send in their photos and stories of how they came to own such a wonderful family pet. Maybe with the right amount of outreach, passion and education possible we can all restore their image. We all need to rehabilitate the pitbull's reputation as an iconic North American Dog to its rightful place among mankind's best friend!
So enjoy the story of when we first encountered the pitbull, when we actually owned a pup that was a lab/pitbull mix. Shadow left such a pawprint on our lives that we continued owning pitbulls long after she left this earth. This is taken from my 2nd book "Sidewinder" Enjoy and don't forget to comment on my blogs either.
That following winter, we acquired a new addition to our family in the form of another dog. Actually, it was the kid’s Dad Hank who managed to get her this cute little puppy. This would be one she could tell everyone would be her very own; in addition to that, she even picked the little girl out. Thus a Black Lab and Pitbull mix, named Shadow arrived at our little home in the woods.
It was also on December 30th of that same year that Victoria got hit with unbelievable borage of snow. Now for those of you who don’t know, Victoria is well known for their temperate winters, but none of the white stuff, whatsoever. Carol, the kids and I had just returned from Nanaimo, where we had spent that Christmas with Hank, his girlfriend and her whiney kid Stefan. We had been tracking the snow storm that was coming in from the state of Oregon when we were watching it on TV up at Hank’s house.
Carol suggested that we leave that morning so we packed up the kids and got an early start. It wasn’t too bad for driving conditions, until we arrived in Victoria when it started to snow. However, that was nothing compared to the snow covered roads, on our way through Metchosin, out towards Sooke, where our new little home was situated. When we arrived at the cabin, you could barely see the driveway, let alone our small bungalow. Carol and I quickly got the kids into our snow covered chalet, pulled out all the winter clothing and had everyone put them on. She turned on the TV, where we could see that there were power outages as well as collapsed roofs from the heavy snow all over parts of Victoria and surrounding areas. In fact, there must have been a good five feet of snow on that delicate roof of ours, therefore I knew someone had to go up there the next day and take care of it.
In the meantime, we had introduced Skyler’s puppy Shadow to my dog Taro, but he really didn`t seemed too enthused with the newest arrival to our family. That evening we were all dressed in toques, our long johns and sweaters as we went to bed with a cold howling wind whipping the cabin from all sides. The next day I knew we had to get an enormous amount of snow off the roof, for fear it could cave in on us. I was quickly voted unanimously to do it, by the other three members of my family.
While the kids were getting warm inside, and Carol was fixing up one of her infamous coffees, I ventured where no man had gone before. Well, I was definitely some good entertainment for the kids that afternoon as I decided to do a header right off that snow blanket of a roof. You couldn’t have pictured it better, as out your kitchen window, they all saw a guy fall off the crown of the cabin into the snow head first.
I guess it must have looked pretty comical, as Jack and Skyler reminded me of my funny escapade, hours after I had finished shoveling that damn roof. One thing’s for certain, there was never a dull moment with me in the house. It took a good week for all that amount of snow to melt, but eventually life returned to normal.
It was now the spring of 1997 and tragedy had befallen my stepson’s much loved pet cockatiel, Maverick. Unfortunately Jack’s little friend had caught a cold from the damp winter we had, and it ended his life. It tore me apart to see that little guy, so distraught over the passing of his beloved friend. He ended up burying Maverick under a tree, near the house, and for a time thereafter, Jack would sit under that tree quite regularly after school.
There wasn’t much I could do to comfort his grief, so on weekends mostly, I would play in the river with Jack, we had out in the backyard. That seemed to console him, some but it was obvious that he truly missed his little buddy Maverick the most.
Skyler was completely wrapped up with her new buddy Shadow; as well they would even fish together in the stream quite a bit in those days. Taro had moved out into the garage, as Shadow seemed to be crowding his space. That’s where he spent most of his time in the day, however,we still brought him in at nights when we went to bed. Carol had let her good friend Dody know of Maverick’s passing, so she came up with a new pet Cockatiel for Jack. She had told Jack this one’s name was Apache, and at first, he seemed overjoyed with his new found friend. However, after about a month of trying to teach the bird all the tricks that Maverick had known, he had given up on Apache. Dody ended up taking him back, and Jack didn’t seemed to be so stressed out anymore.
In the month of May, I was keeping very busy with the usual Spring Tradeshows, at various arenas throughout Victoria. It was there you would find me with the “Cookware Gang“ of would be sales associates.” Usually, the group was led by our fearless leader JD, along with his gal Raelene, Shane and his girlfriend, Saul, my recruit Freda and some other of our new hires for cooks. We had a booth and table showcasing our shiny Cookware, plus of course that Food Processer. All of us would be wearing white colorful aprons with the Pacific Health Systems Logo on them and whatnot. JD would be reeling in the “would be customers” with free cole-slaw salads he had just made with the Food Processor. Mostly everyone that sampled the salad would put their name in the draw for a free food processor or whatever JD wanted to give away at the time. After the trade show had finished, we would call up the qualified leads that had the most pertinent information on the draw slips. I mean if they divulged their occupation, the number in their family they were cooking for as well as maybe their household income, then of course, we called them first. We would tell them they hadn’t won the food processor but had one a free dinner-show instead. It was a slam dunk, which mostly everyone said yes to that, and we would ask them to invite 2 other couples as well. Afterall JD knew that one out of every three couples were purchasing our cookware after the dinner show was over. We stayed busy for a good three to four months of putting on dinner shows, well after a trade show had ended in those days.
It was around the following month of April tragedy again visited our household, this time it was our dog Shadow!
Skyler had been walking her little buddy with her Mom to go out to get the latest mail. They were walking together by the side of the road when some guy had intentionally gone out of his lane to hit the dog with his van. He didn’t even stop and kept on-going, as it was quite obvious that he had some sort of deranged mind to do such a mindless act.
Nonetheless, the damage had been done, and little Shadow’s right back leg, hip as well as most of her back end had been shattered in many places. Shadow was still a six-month-old pup, when she got hit by the moron driving that vehicle and her injuries were going to be very expensive. When it happened, Carol and I certainly did not have the financial means to pay for Shadow’s operation to have her hip reconstructed. I knew we would have been forced to put Shadow down, but my Skyler pleaded with me with tears in her eyes to save Shadow that evening. What could I do, but try and find a way to financially pay for her dog’s operation? So I went to a source of income I knew would be able to help me and that was my boss and good friend JD Cantry.
I told him my dilemma; furthermore, I told him I would work it off in the sets of cookware I would sell, the coming months. JD was no dummy! It was a simple plain fact this young man knew that he could keep his number one cookware salesman working for him, for quite some time. All he had to was to lend me the money for Shadow’s operation because he knew he was getting paid back anyways.
So to save and prolong Skyler’s dog’s life, I put myself in the hole for around $2,000.00 and you’re probably saying to yourself “I would never do that” right. I would agree with you somewhat, but until a member of your family has to go through such an ordeal; I still say you would have done what I did. Just think about it, what would you do if your son or daughter came to you with tears in their eyes asking you to save their beloved pet?
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