Support for Brampton dogs on death row

The Brampton Guardian reported today there is a "groundswell" of support for Rambo and Brittany, two dogs currently waiting their fate while owners fight for their lives.

There has been a groundswell of support for two Brampton families whose dogs were seized by the city and labelled as illegal pitbulls.

A Facebook page calling for Rambo and Brittany to be released was started by those opposed to Ontario’s pitbull ban soon after The Guardian broke the news of the dogs’ plight Friday. The page has attracted close to 2,000 members, and an online petition is closing in on 3,000 signatures.

Bloggers are weighing in on the controversy, too, along with residents across Ontario and as far away as Texas. The vast majority are critical of the city’s handling of the situation, as well as the pitbull ban, which they say leads to the ‘misidentification’ of many dogs. Some are focusing their anger at animal control officers, saying they did not have to seize the dogs, while others are urging them not to blame the city employees, saying they had no choice.

Meanwhile, the Feb. 5 deadline for the Brampton dogs to be euthanized has been extended as the lawyer representing owners Rui Branco and his family prepares to take the fight to court to get the pets returned.

Both were seized from separate homes Jan. 13. The city’s veterinarian has declared they are pitbulls under the city’s bylaw, while the families say they are not, and have produced some documents identifying them as boxer/American bulldog mixes.

The two dogs are brother and sister, and for the past two years, Rambo has been licensed by the city as a boxer/American bulldog cross.

But when a passing animal control officer spotted Rambo sitting on top of his doghouse in 75-year-old Maria Gaspar’s backyard in December, the senior citizen was questioned about his breeding.

The Gaspars and Brancos have been told there were no complaints about their dogs, and no accusations of aggressive behaviour, running loose or biting. Similar to what happened to Rambo, an animal control officer who went to collect a licence fee from the Branco home spotted Brittany and started asking questions about her lineage.

Both dogs were seized, and have been held at the city’s animal shelter ever since.

Neither of the dogs actually did anything to deserve jail time and death. Oh wait, they appeared  to look like something that Brampton AC determined fits Dalton McGuinty's description of a "pitbull".

Dalton is a busy boy washing all that blood off his hands.

I would just like to clear up another irritation. The word euthanize is meant for a humane way to destroy an animal that has lost all quality of life.

The word that needs to be assigned to describe the fate ordered to thousands of dogs in this province since 2005 thanks to the McGuinty Fiberals is;

take your pick...

killed

slaughtered

taken out in their prime of life

snuffed out

culled