Stay classy, Brampton bureaucrats

For real.

The Brampton dogs are back home at last, safe and sound. Check out the happy photo of Ines Branco with her dog Brittany, the, um, so obviously not a pit bull, from the Brampton Guardian:


An independent veterinarian took one look at the two mixed breeds and said to the geniuses at Brampton Animal Control and City Hall, "Holy crap, anyone with enough neurons to make a synapse can tell these dogs aren't pit bulls. They aren't purebred anything. I can't believe you had to pay an 'outside expert' to tell you this. You must be dumber than a box of hammers. Give the dogs back already. Oh, and get over yourselves. Mean people suck."

Of course, the officials of Brampton couldn't just hand over the dogs and say, "We screwed up. Sorry." For pure spite, dishonesty and a last-minute dollop of abuse of power, it's hard to beat this:

Despite the vet’s ruling, as part of the agreement with the city, the owners had to agree to allow the dogs to be designated “potentially dangerous” and they must wear muzzles when out in public.

Branco paid the $50 for a license and picked up Brittany, but was shocked when he found out he would have to post a big red sign on his fence declaring a “dangerous dog” lives at the home.

“I have never seen anything like that in Brampton before,” Branco said.

Remember, these two dogs were never, not once, accused of running loose, accused of bothering neighbors, or accused of harming or threatening to harm a soul.

Do the Brampton bureaucrats have any idea how this makes them look? News flash, Brampton officials: whenever people see the sign [and I hope it's photographed and shared around the world], they'll be thinking about how cruel and stupid and malicious you are.

Here's a blank, folks. Feeling creative? Knock yourselves out ;~)

Click to embiggen.

Who's a bully now? Brampton hires big-city law firm to defend the indefensible

[Photo from Facebook's Injustice Brampton Dogs on Death Row.]

It's official: Brampton bureaucrats have lost their minds.

They have hired a pricey Toronto law firm on the Brampton taxpayers' dime to defend the warrantless seizure [and, perhaps, the killing] of friendly dogs that have committed no offense. Dogs that belong to law-abiding Brampton citizens. That is, to the very people Brampton's government is obliged to protect and serve.

At least I thought that was the way it worked, but apparently Brampton officials think covering their posteriors saving face is their first priority, and cost be damned.

Imagine what people like this might be capable of doing to those poor impounded dogs — the dogs no family member or family-chosen veterinarian is allowed to visit.

And the cost? If Brampton officials are this determined to torment their own citizens and kill beloved pets, the cost may turn out to be far greater than they imagined.

Related:
More bullshite in Brampton
Brampton dogs: Still on Death Row

Brampton dogs: Still on Death Row

Hmmm... sure looks like a pit mix to me. Kilo ponders his fate during Saturday's rally for the boxer-mixes locked up in Brampton. Rambo and Brittany haven't seen their families for over a month, for some damn reason that is too incredibly cruel and stupid and petty for me to imagine. Stay classy, Brampton bureaucrats. [All photos from Facebook's most excellent Injustice Brampton Dogs on Death Row].

This coming weekend there will be a rally in Kingston, Ontario, to protest the persecution of responsible dog owners in the province. The rally will be in front of City Hall, Kingston, at noon on Saturday, February 27th.

As is clear from the situation in Brampton, Ontario law grants officers the right to come into a home with no warrant and confiscate a licensed dog that has committed no offense. If the dog isn't killed for the crime of possessing a short coat and a relatively broad skull, he can be shipped from the province and adopted out to total strangers.

"Issues like this must be thoughtfully and cautiously considered," say Brampton officials, as they spread fear and anguish among law-abiding citizens, and kill or threaten to kill good dogs. "Thoughtfully considered"? Spare me. Like all terrible legislation, Ontario's breed-specific law is at its disastrous worst when interpreted and enforced by idiots bullies like the ones in Brampton.

A few of the signs from Saturday's rally in Brampton. Did I mention that someone in Brampton's City Hall found this blog via Facebook? Leave the Dark Side, Brampton bureaucrats!

For more Brampton coverage, please check out the following blogs:
One Bark at a Time
KC Dog Bog
Brindle Stick

Amen, brudder.

Dogs still at risk in Brampton

Remember those two dogs in Brampton, Ontario? The dogs that 1) have never harmed or threatened to harm anyone; 2) have never been the subject of complaint by neighbors; 3) have never escaped from their yards or been found wandering loose; 4) have licenses and law-abiding owners; and 5) are by all accounts friendly, much-loved companions?

Yeah, those two: the ones facing execution for the crime of living in Ontario while having a short coat and a wide-ish skull.

The execution has been postponed, but the families are barred from visiting or even glimpsing their pets, and their family vet is likewise barred from checking on the dogs, which have been locked up for the better part of a month. [Habeas canis, anyone?]

On Saturday demonstrators rallied in support of the families and their dogs, and the bureaucrats are now "moving forward very cautiously."

The goal is to find a solution that works for everyone in the best way possible while respecting the legislation.

"Respecting the legislation" — Gah, I love that. Because defying a piece of crap legislation simply isn't done! Unless, of course, you happen to have a backbone and a shred of integrity.

For updates on the fate of the dogs in Brampton, keep an eye on the following blogs:
One Bark at a Time
KC Dog Blog
Social Mange

Edited to add a new bog covering this story: Brindle Stick. The more coverage of Ontario's epic BSL failure the better, sez I. Thanks to Lori for the heads up.

Brampton officials forget to pull heads in before shutting window. Again.

These two dogs are on death row in Brampton. Crime: not a damn thing. They're nice dogs, with loving - and very worried - owners. Brampton sez they're ticking time bombs, though, on account of being "pit bulls." So Brampton officials have to kill them. It's the law.

How on earth [a commenter wonders] can a city veterinarian, in good conscience, euthanize a healthy dog that 1) has never harmed or threatened to harm anyone; 2) has never been the subject of complaint by neighbors; 3) has never escaped from his yard or been found wandering loose; 4) has a license and a law-abiding owner; and 5) is by all accounts a friendly, much-loved companion?

How can animal control officers justify entering a family's home and taking possession of such a dog?

How can city bureaucrats justify their willingness to inflict such cruelty on a dog and such anguish on law-abiding citizens?

Beats the hell out of me. But it's apparently business as usual in the Ontario city of Brampton: two families are sick with worry and two dogs have been impounded and may be killed, and killed soon, because of Brampton's canine version of the one-drop rule. Doesn't matter if Momma Dog was a Boxer and Dad was an AmBull mix: there might be some pit bull blood in there somewhere, and we can't have that.

Seems Brampton didn't get the memo that ignorance, hysteria and urban legend are terrible grounds for legislation; and Brampton officials lack the balls, the brains and the integrity to take a stand against a crappy law that hurts citizens, kills good dogs and wastes the taxpayers' hard-earned money. And that's where things stand tonight, in 2010, in Ontario, Canada.


H/T: One Bark at a Time

Related:
From Brent's awesome KC Dog Blog: The Problems with BSL - Brampton, Ontario Edition [be sure to check out the links]