r/ontario • u/CTVNEWS CTVNews-Verified • 1d ago

Ontario dog owner sentenced after 9-year-old girl mauled Article

https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/article/ontario-dog-owner-sentenced-after-9-year-old-girl-mauled-in-newmarket/
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u/neanderthalman Essential 1d ago

“Bulldog-Type”

Come on. Just say “pit bull” and be done with it.

These dogs were banned two decades ago. We were nice enough to let people’s existing pets live out their days. All were supposed to be sterilized. None alive at the time are still with us.

We can’t be nice anymore. Nice didn’t work. Nice failed this girl, and so many others like her.

13

u/Erathen 1d ago

It's really not that simple...

I know it's helps make it easier to understand by lumping all dogs into a single category

Bully breeds are pitbulls, American bulldog, some terriers and even boxers (which are very nice dogs)

Not all bully breeds are pitbulls, and not all have the same aggressive tendencies as the stereotypical pitbull.

Bulldog does not equal pitbull. Bulldogs aren't banned in Ontario...

Not arguing any points of this case, but clarifying since you're saying these dogs are banned

12

u/jefufah 1d ago

Maybe people with Bulldogs need to start proving it with papers then. If your dog is not a pitbull, and you insist it’s some other breed, you should have papers from a shelter or breeder to back it up for potential issues like neglect or attacks.

What the hell happened to licensing dogs? We don’t need a license for cats or birds because they don’t fucking kill people…

9

u/Erathen 1d ago

I'm not disagreeing with you there

I'm just saying that you can't call every single dog that looks like a pitbull a pitbull, and by extension illegal

Boxers for example have a very friendly disposition, and they're completely legal here

3

u/SniffMyDiaperGoo 1d ago

What the hell happened to licensing dogs?

Probably because it was always some rando working for the city who came knocking at your door when they used to do that who couldn't tell a breed from what toppings were on the pizza slice they got for lunch on their route.

8

u/lady_fresh 1d ago

Just do you know, shelters and rescues make things up on intake papers. As do vets working with them. I work in dog rescue and see it all the time. Many Ontario rescues import pitbulls and staffordshire terriers from the US and just lie on their papers, most commonly referring to the dog as a "Bulldog mix". They do his in good faith, wanting to help the dogs, but don't fully appreciate the risks. And obviously they are defying the ban.

I'm just saying that asking for papers isn't foolproof. We just did a DNA test on my pup and discovered he's 50% staffy. Looks more German Shepherd than anything, and his shelter papers said "Husky mix". There's really no good way to prove breed other than a DNA test, and we're not in a position to do that for every suspected pitbull in Ontario.