Dog owners protest detention of family dog by Vaughan Animal Services
CBC
A Vaughan family just wants its beloved dog to come back home from the city's animal shelter after it was detained on the suspicion of being a pit bull, an outlawed breed in Ontario.
Dog owners and others joined Tommy Chang and his family in downtown Toronto to protest Vaughan Animal Services' detention of their one-year-old dog Dwaeji, affectionately known as Blu. Protesters also called for the repeal of Ontario's breed-specific legislation, saying they believe the law discriminates against dogs based on their appearance.
It's that legislation that has separated Blu from his family for 22 days, Chang said.
"They've illegally detained our dog," he said at the protest at Dundas Square on Saturday. "Vaughan Animal Services is going beyond its scope of authority."
Blu is an American Pocket Bully, Chang explained, but Vaughan Animal Services told him he was deemed to be among the list of dogs prohibited in Ontario as per the Dog Owners' Liability Act (DOLA).
The act defines the following breeds to be illegal: Pit Bull Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and American Pit Bull Terriers.
While Chang has documentation proving Blu is an American Pocket Bully, Vaughan Animal Services doesn't accept it, he said. The act allows authorities to interpret the "appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to the aforementioned dogs," as written.
"Our dog is an American Pocket Bully," Chang said. "But they've basically deemed him to be a dog that is prohibited in Ontario.
"In Ontario he's not prohibited, so we're challenging that," he added.
Chang received a letter from the City of Vaughan saying Vaughan Animal Services' assessment of his dog "determines that Dwaeji is a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics that are substantially similar to banned breed under DOLA."
One of the protestors at the square, Fran Coughlin, is the co-founder of the Hershey Anti-BSL Group. She said her group has been fighting breed-specific legislation since it was introduced by the province in 2005.
"We know there's no dangerous breed of dog," she said. "We want to end dogs being taken from their homes based on appearance alone."
"The Dog Owners Liability Act needs a major overhaul," she added.
Chang said no one in his household has been charged for owning the dog, as per DOLA. He's convinced the city will lose the legal battle given the vague assessment of his dog's breed. Nevertheless, he fears Blu might be put down or sent out of the province.
2 women who died trying to save turtle on road in Chatham-Kent, Ont., remembered for love of animals
It was a shock to Dorothy Suliga when she learned that her mother, Teresa Suliga, and her aunt, Elizabeth Seremak, had been struck and killed by a vehicle on a rural road in Chatham-Kent.