from the Telegraph Journal
Pit bull missing from shelter
Pit bull missing from shelter
Published Wednesday February 24th, 2010 SAINT JOHN - A pit bull rescued from Ontario has gone missing from the Animal Rescue League, spurring concerns the dog could end up in the wrong hands.
Dano, a pit bull, has been missing from the Animal Rescue League since Sunday.
The dog has been missing since Sunday afternoon, when two women who appeared interested in adopting the animal took him for a walk.
"Their story is the dog saw a cat and took off," said Janet Foster, executive director of the shelter on Taylor Avenue.
At first the shelter staff thought the dog had been stolen and they called police.
"The staff were driving for hours looking for the dog," she said. "It's like it's disappeared off the face of the Earth."
Only registered volunteers with the rescue league are permitted to walk dogs, but a junior employee allowed the women to take the dog, named Dano, into the parking lot, Foster said.
The women had repeatedly come into the shelter asking about the dog.
"We're very, very careful who we adopt pit bulls out to," Foster said. "You have to really understand the breed, and all the hard work that's been done on the dog, I'd hate to see it ruined."
Dano was one of two gentle pit bull-mix dogs brought in from the Toronto Humane Society, Foster said. It was clear they had been well-trained by good families.
"This is a very gentle dog. He's wonderful," she said.
Pit bulls have been banned in Ontario since 2005 following several attacks in that province. People who owned the dog before the ban are allowed to keep them as long as the dogs are spayed or neutered and muzzled and leashed in public.
Last June, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to consider whether the law is unconstitutional.
Foster said two volunteers offered to drive to Montreal to meet the Toronto Humane Society officials and pick up the two dogs.
"We're here to save animals and these people in Ontario were absolutely desperate."
The second dog, Livingstone, has since been placed in a foster home until someone adopts him.
Animal shelters from across Canada are trying to rescue the dogs that might otherwise be euthanized. Ador-A-Bull, for example, seeks out eastbound travellers willing to have a dog crate added to their luggage at the airport. The group pays for the extra baggage and makes all the arrangements.
This was the first time the Saint John Animal Rescue League has saved the banned pit bulls, Foster said. Any future rescue would depend on volunteers' generosity. A few pit bulls, which are terrier mixes, have come into the shelter, she said. Any vicious or harmful dogs would be euthanized.
"There are no bad dogs. We all say that. It's just the way they're trained," Foster said. "You can train any dog to be vicious. We've had more bites from little dogs than any pit bulls in here."
Dano is light brown, two years old and is a neutered pit bull-Mastif cross. He was last seen at the playground end of Taylor Avenue in the city's north end.
He is micro-chipped and is very people oriented. If you have seen this dog or have information, please call Shelley Rogers, shelter manager, at 642-0923.
Dano, a pit bull, has been missing from the Animal Rescue League since Sunday.
The dog has been missing since Sunday afternoon, when two women who appeared interested in adopting the animal took him for a walk.
"Their story is the dog saw a cat and took off," said Janet Foster, executive director of the shelter on Taylor Avenue.
At first the shelter staff thought the dog had been stolen and they called police.
"The staff were driving for hours looking for the dog," she said. "It's like it's disappeared off the face of the Earth."
Only registered volunteers with the rescue league are permitted to walk dogs, but a junior employee allowed the women to take the dog, named Dano, into the parking lot, Foster said.
The women had repeatedly come into the shelter asking about the dog.
"We're very, very careful who we adopt pit bulls out to," Foster said. "You have to really understand the breed, and all the hard work that's been done on the dog, I'd hate to see it ruined."
Dano was one of two gentle pit bull-mix dogs brought in from the Toronto Humane Society, Foster said. It was clear they had been well-trained by good families.
"This is a very gentle dog. He's wonderful," she said.
Pit bulls have been banned in Ontario since 2005 following several attacks in that province. People who owned the dog before the ban are allowed to keep them as long as the dogs are spayed or neutered and muzzled and leashed in public.
Last June, the Supreme Court of Canada declined to consider whether the law is unconstitutional.
Foster said two volunteers offered to drive to Montreal to meet the Toronto Humane Society officials and pick up the two dogs.
"We're here to save animals and these people in Ontario were absolutely desperate."
The second dog, Livingstone, has since been placed in a foster home until someone adopts him.
Animal shelters from across Canada are trying to rescue the dogs that might otherwise be euthanized. Ador-A-Bull, for example, seeks out eastbound travellers willing to have a dog crate added to their luggage at the airport. The group pays for the extra baggage and makes all the arrangements.
This was the first time the Saint John Animal Rescue League has saved the banned pit bulls, Foster said. Any future rescue would depend on volunteers' generosity. A few pit bulls, which are terrier mixes, have come into the shelter, she said. Any vicious or harmful dogs would be euthanized.
"There are no bad dogs. We all say that. It's just the way they're trained," Foster said. "You can train any dog to be vicious. We've had more bites from little dogs than any pit bulls in here."
Dano is light brown, two years old and is a neutered pit bull-Mastif cross. He was last seen at the playground end of Taylor Avenue in the city's north end.
He is micro-chipped and is very people oriented. If you have seen this dog or have information, please call Shelley Rogers, shelter manager, at 642-0923.
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