Oshawa, Ontario, Canada: Dog owner wins battle against breed misidentification

After nearly two years, an Oshawa dog owner has won a legal battle with the city. Animal control identified her nonaggressive dog as a “pit bull” and scheduled it for death; she fought the breed ID in court and finally won.

Ontario Bill 16 would repeal the “pit bull” ban and put a stop to senseless legal nightmares like this. If you have not already written to Ontario lawmakers to show your support for Bill 16, please do so today. (If you have, please continue to do so.)

‘Pit bull’ dispute: Oshawa woman wins battle to keep dog from being euthanized

Alyshah Hasham, Staff Reporter

If Scarlett is a pit bull she dies, if she is a Rhodesian ridgeback-boxer cross she lives.

Differentiating the two took a year-and-a-half-long legal battle for Scarlett’s owner Jane Nolan after Oshawa animal services workers labelled the dog a pit bull when she escaped into a neighbour’s yard. […]

Since the pit bull isn’t considered a breed of dog in Canada — it’s a generic term used in the Dog Owner’s Liability Act to ban breeds like Staffordshire bull terriers or even dogs resembling them — it can be near impossible to identify them, even for vets.

“There is no scientific basis to assess whether a dog is a pit bull or not … Veterinarians, some will identify them, some don’t feel comfortable identifying them,” said Jerry Conlin, director of municipal law enforcement and licensing in Oshawa. […]

Full article retrieved 4/29/12 from http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1168114–pit-bull-dispute-oshawa-woman-wins-battle-to-keep-dog-from-being-euthanized