I'm ashamed to live in Toronto. Let Ginger live.

Ginger the dog is the subject of an incredible waste of money by the City of Toronto.

Ginger was leashed and muzzled, in accordance with law, when she was attacked by another unleashed dog (not a "pit bull") that bit her and ripped off her muzzle. Someone got bitten because they stuck their hands into a dogfight - yo, stupid, that's a fast way to get bitten.

Is this what we can expect because of the City of Toronto's unlimited and unfettered taxing powers, granted by the McGuinty Liberals who passed the shameful breed-specific legislation? Wasted money that the powers-who-be think they can recover by sucking it out of taxpayers' pockets?

Where are the charges against the dog owner who let his/her dog run offleash and attack another dog? Oh, right, the attacking dog isn't a "pit bull", so it can bite at whim and the owner suffers no repercussions, just like Rocky in Alderwood.

Breed-specific legislation is unfounded, unjust and fiscally irresponsible. Ginger's case definitively proves the last point.

How much money has it cost Toronto taxpayers to keep Ginger warehoused and away from her owner? How much money has it cost Toronto taxpayers to send City lawyers to trials again and again? What are the courtroom costs, what do the judges cost, the court reporters?

Yo, a$$holes, the city's infrastructure is crumbling and you're chasing one poor dog and its owner. That's sensible. If you're on serious drugs, that is.

Is the McGuinty government squandering our money by sending one of its highly-paid senior counsels to the trial as it has many times before, trying to prop up its bull$hit BSL?

This, by a government that turned Ontario into a welfare province.

This is what one can expect in Ontario and especially Toronto. People legislated into second-class citizenship because of the shape of their dogs, dogs dying because of their shape and not their behaviour, and the complete disregard of Toronto City Council and the McGuinty Liberals for fiscal responsibility.

Addendum: Caveat is on a roll. Read it here.

Your dog isn't a "pit bull"? "Get out of jail free" card for you!

A dog leaps its fence and attacks another dog, probably crushing its trachea (meaning that the attacking dog went for the throat). It will apparently cost the victim dog's owners $4,500 to save their dog.

Were the words "savage", "bloodthirsty" or any of the usual tripe used in the media report?
Nope.
The attacking dog wasn't a "pit bull".

Was the attacking dog shot on sight?
Was its owner charged?
Nope.
The attacking dog wasn't a "pit bull".

Were Toronto Police right to say it wasn't their problem?
Nope, IMHO.
As I understand it, the Toronto Police have authority under the Provincial Offences Act and by extension the Ontario Dog Owners' Liability Act to charge the owner of an attacking dog.

McSquinty's Fib Ontario created two classes of citizens.

If you own a dog that's a "pit bull" (despite the fact that no such thing exists), your dog may be killed and you may be charged. Even just on sight. Without doing anything wrong. Just because of the way your dog looks.

If your dog isn't a "pit bull", you can get away with your animal murdering another, apparently without repercussions.

Come see An American Opera.

I found out today about An American Opera, a documentary about animal rescue after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. There will be a screening in Toronto on Thursday, July 23rd; watch this space for more details!

Here is the link to the official An American Opera website.

I'm going to see this, although I'll probably see most of it through tears.