Mind bogglling isn't it?

Mind boggling how city officials or animal control departments can justify their actions when ripping dogs away from loving and caring owners. Animal control officers that actually still believe you can identify the breed makeup of cross bred dogs, not in the usual cute guessing game at the pound, but for certain.

Identify as in "your dog is "X" breed and "X" breed therefore we have a right to slaughter him".

Not because the dog is a threat. In fact your dog could be;

obedience trained
CGN certified (Canine Good Neighbor)
participate in dog sports
participate in therapy work
go to daycare facilities
go to dog parks
or be the best damn dog you ever owned

But if Animal Control happen to be driving by, spot your dog in your own yard, behind your own secure fence, but "think" it may be a "pitbull" (which doesn't exist! it is a catch all phrase for mutts of unknown origin or pariah dogs) they can violently rip it out of your home and place him/her on the slaughter list.

What in hell is wrong with that picture?

Don't we always preach, train, contain and socialize your dog. If you do those things, you are a responsible dog owner.

None of these aspects were being broken. Nowhere in the rules of responsible dog ownership does it state to keep your dog well out of sight and hidden away if you cannot prove what breed/s he/she is. In fact it is highly counter productive to keep your dog locked away from the outside world. This creates frustration and confusion for dogs due to their social nature. Dogs need socialization with people and other animals to teach them how to behave.

I suppose every dog owner in Brampton is now wondering if they should leave the house or let their dog out in their own yard, or walk their dog in daylight if their dog was born after Nov, 2005. Remember purebreds (registered and certified) dogs only make up approximately 20% of the dog population as a whole. The other 80% have no way of proving breed. This includes dogs that have been sold as "purebred" but do not come with registration papers. This is illegal, by the way, but we have all witnessed dogs sold under these pretenses.

Chicobandido and KC Dog Blog have excellent recent articles on this issue. Please give them a read!