Update on Dana, the missing pittie

Kim Daye, the animal rescue officer who spotted Dano on Thursday, said she believes whoever took the dog got nervous when his case hit the news.

from the CBC news website

Pit bull rescued twice in a week
Last Updated: Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:42 PM AT CBC News For the second time in a week, Dano is resting at the Saint John Animal Rescue League after being rescued.
Dano was first rescued from the Toronto Humane Society where the light-brown dog was to be euthanized, as the breed is banned in Ontario.
That's when Jennifer Wood drove to Toronto and brought him back to the Saint John Animal Rescue League.
"They're innocent dogs. Obviously he's sweet, good-natured," Wood said.
"They deserve a chance."
Dano was getting acclimatized to his new surroundings last Sunday when two women walked into the shelter, specifically looking for a pit bull. They asked to take Dano for a walk in the parking lot, but they never returned.
Janet Foster, the executive director of the shelter, said the shelter's staff were briefly distracted when Dano disappeared. They immediately called Saint John police to report the pit bull stolen.
It didn't take long before someone called the shelter saying they knew exactly where Dano was staying. But the caller said they wanted cash before they would disclose Dano's whereabouts.
"When we said, 'Well we're a non-profit, we don't have a reward right now,' she wouldn't give us any information. She just wanted money to tell us where the dog was," Foster said.That was the last the shelter heard about Dano's disappearance. At that point, the shelter staff were worried that whoever took Dano might turn him into a vicious guard dog.
But on Thursday night, Kim Daye, a Saint John animal control officer, spotted Dano, loose and walking near the shelter.
She said she thinks when his story hit the news, whoever stole him got nervous and set him loose.
Daye said she was just glad to find him safe.
"I was so excited. I could hardly sleep last night. I didn't want to leave him, I wanted to take him home," Daye said.
Breed banned
The Saint John Animal Rescue League is one of a number of Canadian animal shelters that are trying to save pit bulls from being euthanized in Ontario.
The Fredericton SPCA saved two Ontario pit bulls, Peyton and Rocky, in January.
The breed was banned in Ontario in 2005 after a number of attacks involving the dogs.
Ontario residents are allowed to keep pit bulls that they already had as pets but were forced to comply with a series of rules, such as they must keep the dogs muzzled in public.

The voice of the people

two letters from today's Cape Breton Post
First-hand view of dead dog left convincing impression The Cape Breton Post
I have been reading with interest and sadness the letters about the dead dog found frozen to the ground on Barrachois Mountain. I was with my brother when we discovered the poor animal.
We went there because it had snowed three days earlier and we had seen no sign of anyone having gone to feed or water or take care of the dog.
When we found the animal I just happened to have my camera and I took photos, which I still have.
The dog was chained and tangled in a small fir tree outside his house (if you would like to call it a house); he had two bowls, empty of food or water but filled with snow.
Inside his dog house there was at least an inch and a half of pure ice on the floor. The dog had what appeared to me to be two large frostbite sores, one on each hip.
In the time it took us to notify the Cape Breton Post, about an hour, someone apparently alerted the owner because someone arrived, unchained the dog, emptied the snow from his dishes, and threw a handful of food into the dog house.
The representative of the SPCA arrived, did not even know where the dog was and started to argue that it was not the same dog that had been investigated earlier.
He commented that the dog didn’t look to be in too bad a shape, to which my brother remarked that, yes, the dog looked great dead and frozen to the ground.
Whether the SPCA had been there previously as it said is for the law to determine.I just hope this animal did not die in vain and that the owner is never allowed to own an animal again.
Global TV was on hand and taped the conversation between my brother and the SPCA; the SPCA’s story has changed each time it’s been told.
Who did the necropsy? Was it someone who does a lot of business for the SPCA, or someone independent? Who alerted the owner to get there and clean up the site before the Post got there?
That poor dog was tied in the forest for two years with little or no interaction, less than adequate living conditions, and only enough food to barely keep him alive.I have seen this with my own eyes.
Jim Bona
Barrachois
Animal rescue organizations need to be independently monitored The Cape Breton Post
In response to the articles and letters about the death of the chained dog near Barrachois, I believe there needs to be legislation on the tethering of dogs for most or all of their lives. This is no life for any animal even with shelter, food and water.
If the local SPCA is unable or unwilling to correct the situation, let’s work for change, recognizing that there is a problem. The solution in my mind is to form a concerned citizens group that will monitor the situation, speak openly against inhumane practices, and see that animal shelters are doing the job they were created to do – protecting the animals.
Shelters must be seen to be accountable for the services they supply, or don’t.
I believe there is plenty of room for personal burnout that leaves employees cold, uncaring and numb to the trauma and abuse that is witnessed on a daily basis.
There is a recognized syndrome that affects many members of the animal welfare community. Author Douglas Fakkema of the Canine Underground Railroad describes this in four phases of rescue.
Once a person becomes immune to the animal suffering, that employee becomes part of the problem and not part of the solution.
Anyone concerned for the welfare of our animals should visit Animaladvocates.com, a British Columbia animal advocates society run by volunteers, some ex-SPCA employees, who are very vocal in making their local SPCA branches be seen to be accountable for the treatment of animals in their care and in the handling of investigations.
Animal shelters that have become part of the problem, in my estimation, are simply warehousing and euthanizing unnecessarily because the employees have long forgotten why they wanted to work in animal welfare.
I believe all humane rescue societies, SPCA and others, need to be closely monitored (and video-monitored for internal lapses in humane treatment). This should be done by someone who does not have a stakeholder interest, and not by shelter management or board members.
When reports of incompetence or lack of interest keep surfacing, I believe it is past due for an in-depth and complete investigation. At the very least, it’s time for concerned citizens to join forces and truly speak up and for the animals that so desperately need to be heard.
A former SPCA employee:
Christene Higgins
Dutch Brook
When two different people ... local people... are moved by their experiences to speak up on the same subject, it well worth paying attention to.
What time is it? Its time for the society to recognize that credibilty in their New Path is directly connected to the credibility of every branch that bears their name.

We need another kind of champion

What a thrill to see Canadian women doing so wonderfully at the Olympics! To be perfectly honest, its just as lovely to see more sports available for all women to compete in ... bearing in mind that sixteen years ago in 1994, the women's program for the winter Olympics only included four sports - biathlon, luge, skating and skiing.
Its easy to overlook how immediate history is. I'm only fifty five, and in the space of my adult life have seen so many real shifts in what we as a society view as acceptable behavior.
I'm old enough to remember my mother being paid less to do the same job as her male counterparts. Thirty six years ago, the recruiting officers put on quite a show trying to convince me to select a 'ladylike' trade .... when the truth was they were trying to sabotage steps to open up more trades for women. I can still remember my shock in northern Alberta to find that the local hotel where my coworkers had invited me for a drink had separate entrances and areas labelled "white" and "Indian".
Fifteen years ago, the first No Kill "retreat" was a one day event with 75 attending. This summers No Kill Conference in Washington has been sold out practically since the dates were listed.
So it also made me pretty happy to read this article on the Best Friend's website this morning Petworld closes its doors . Like the people in the article, I have nothing against Pet Stores per se ... only the inappropriate practice of peddling animals from puppy mills.
Which is why I wish that more Nova Scotia pet stores were engaged in the more animal and consumer friendly practice of having satellite adoption centers, such as the SPCA satellite adoption center re-opens at Petcetera!
But I'm wandering afield here. The point that I'm making in my wandering way is that the issues that see such opposition from politicians in general and the pet industry in particular are no different than any other change.
The bloom has definitely faded on the rose that was the brave new NDP government. If they are seeking a meaningful way to improve their faltering image, support for better legislation for the animals would be a dandy place to start.
Most of the legislation that would better the lot of the animals does double duty to protect consumers or improve public safety. If the public is entitled peace of mind of publicly posted kitchen inspections, so that the relatively smallish sums they spend for dinner .... doesn't it just make sense to protect those who spend ever so much more on their new family pet?
If the animals, or their advocates, had a union rep ... they would be negotiating with the province for mandatory breeder registration and minimum housing laws. For anti tethering legislation. For legislation to ban the sale of living breathing sentient beings in the dreaded free online ad sites.
What time is it? Its time to remember that most of "today's families" are pet owning animal lovers who would support better laws for the animals. It is the one thing that all our MLA's could support that would paint a better picture for posterity than the current cartoon fodder.

Pitbull missing from shelter!

from the Telegraph Journal
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.

Solomon's Riddle

from tonight's Herald
Brindi's owner found guilty of animal bylaw charges
By STEVE BRUCE Court Reporter UPDATED 7:05 p.m.Tue. Feb 23 - 3:52 PM
The owner of Brindi the dog has been found guilty of violating Halifax Regional Municipality's animal control bylaw.
Now the judge has to decide what to do with the dog, which has been held at an SPCA shelter since it was seized by the municipality 19 months ago.
Francesca Rogier was convicted in Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday of three charges — being the owner of a dog that was running at large, owning a dog that attacked another animal and failing to comply with a muzzle order.
Judge Alanna Murphy, who presided over the three-day trial, adjourned the sentencing hearing until March 9.
The municipality is expected to argue that Brindi, a mixed-breed dog that Rogier had rescued from a shelter, needs to be destroyed to protect the public.
Rogier will ask that the dog be allowed to go home with her to East Chezzetcook.
The court also could hear from a dog trainer who's prepared to have Brindi spend the rest of her life at his kennel in South Rawdon, Hants County.
“Brindi was in my obedience classes where she did very well,” Bob Ottenbrite said outside the courtroom. “She was also in agility classes where she got to interact with other dogs.
“I don't believe that she deserves to be put to death. I think there can be alternatives.”
Rogier told reporters she would be willing to have Brindi live with Ottenbrite temporarily but not permanently.
“That would be completely acquiescing to an unfair process, an abusive process that is over the top,” Rogier said.
“She doesn't belong there. She belongs with me.”
The dog was under a muzzle order in July 2008 because of earlier complaints about her behaviour. On the morning of July 20, she ran off Rogier's property and attacked a dog that was being walked along East Chezzetcook Road.
Rogier said the dog got away from her as she was trying to put on the muzzle.
Animal control officers, acting on a complaint from another pet owner, seized Brindi and ordered her euthanized.
But a Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge ruled last January that the bylaw that authorized the killing of Brindi exceeded the power of the municipality. Justice Duncan Beveridge also said Rogier was never given a chance to oppose the decision to seize and destroy her dog.
Three days later, and one day before the six-month limitation period would have expired, the municipality laid the charges against Rogier.
Rogier, who represented herself at trial, argued that the charges should be stayed because of an abuse of process by the municipality.
But the judge ruled that she could find no evidence of “any improper or oblique motive or bad faith or any acts so wrong that it violates the conscience of the community. ... It seems to me that the laying of the charges was an attempt to remedy a previous effort which had been deemed to have been circumventing the proper process.”
Murphy also rejected Rogier's defence of due diligence. “What occurred could have been prevented by taking a very simple preventative measure – putting the dog on a leash and putting the muzzle on before leaving the house.”
Outside the courtroom, Rogier continued to argue that the judge ignored a lot of evidence that she said would have supported her case.
“There's a preponderance of other cases that shows that dogs that have done worse than my dog — bitten people and really savaged animals — have only been fined,” she said.
“I have a behavioural assessment that says my dog should not be put down ... but HRM refused to consider it.
“HRM has failed to consider reasonable alternatives in this case. They have contradicted their own pattern of enforcing the law – wildly contradicted it.”
She said she hasn't been allowed to visit Brindi at the SPCA shelter since December.
“I just believe that this dog is a good dog and she should be in my home.”
With The Canadian Press
(sbruce@herald.ca)
Now that legal culpability has been determined, the only big question that remains is who will wind up paying the price for this. Should Brindi be penalized for the conditions at Celtic Pets which created her original issues? Should Brindi be killed because an adoption was permitted without ensuring that the adopter's dog experience and skills were an appropriate match for the dog? Is it appropriate to kill a dog whose human was either unwilling or unable to react appropriately to an (admittedly flawed ) series of administrative actions by HRM?
Killing Brindi would serve no positive purpose.
So that leaves one of two options ... either Brindi gets to go home with her owner ... or she is given the opportunity to start a new life elsewhere. Although my compassion makes it easy to understand why her owner wants her back ... there is the very real concern for Brindi's own safety after so many bridges have been burned in her neighbourhood.
If Brindi moves on to a new life, there should be absolutely no other consequences for her owner. Honestly .... what bigger penalty could any dog lover pay?
Life is such a precious and valuable thing. In a world where so many are so careless with the lives of those who only want to please ..... the life of a good dog should matter.
I found this on the society website tonight, Sentencing Recommendation Submitted to HRM

Superintendent Bill Moore
Community Projects
Halifax Regional Police
February 12, 2010
Bill:
In follow up to our conversation yesterday, I would like to request that the Crown Attorney in the Rogier/Brindi case make a further submission to the court to suggest an alternative sentence to euthanasia.
The Nova Scotia SPCA would be willing to assist HRM in making alternative arrangements for Brindi; such as adoption to home in which her needs could be met, and the community could be assured of public safety.
It is the Society’s belief that Brindi could be safely placed. Brindi has demonstrated over the last 18 months that she can live peacefully and happily with a responsible owner.
Please feel free to contact me directly to discuss further.
Best Regards,
Kristin Williams
Executive Director
Nova Scotia SPCA
I would imagine that feedback from HRM residents would be most effectively addressed to individual councillors ( if you don't know , go to Who is my Councillor? ) I would also suspect that this would be a very appropriate time to send in letters to the editor of the Herald. No matter how passionate, this is not a time for animal advocates from "away" to contribute.
What time is it? It is never ever time to kill an innocent animal when there are better options on the table.

Lets Say

Thirty five years ago, when I was first posted out west, phone calls home to my parents in New Brunswick were reserved for special occasions. Those brief vocal snapshots were a far cry from the daily discussions my daughter and I have been able to share since she moved to the land of BSL.
Thirty five years ago, none of us ... least of all the phone monopoly, could have imagined a world that would contain "all you can eat long distance plans". Of course, back then most of us had absolutely no idea that the immediacy of the Internet would have such an impact either.
Thirty five years ago, my supervisors were still referring to me as a girl or calling me honey. Women in sticky spots with their supervisors were still being advised not to press charges because it would be 'bad for the man's career' .... and a drunken compulsive gambler could get a car loan quicker than a divorced woman.
So much has changed ... but some things never go out of style. When my granddaughter is playing with her friends while I'm talking to her Mummy, I still hear the ageless refrain "Lets Say".
From earliest age, those two words unlock a world of imagination. Authors and inventors .... scientists and inventors .... all start with a premise that is the adult version of "lets say"
My friend Joan is the regional rep for http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/. Recent events have inspired her to take that up a notch to address the need here in Canada in general and Nova Scotia in particular. To that end, she is building a marvelous new website at http://www.bringthedogsin.ca/ . If you are going to be at the GPAC show tomorrow, Joan will have some wonderful material at her booth where she will be selling liver.
Even better, Joan has started an online petition to drum up support at http://www.petitiononline.com/hfxnsdog/petition.html ... because of course at the end of the day, the single thing ... the only thing ... that galvanizes politicians is a show of numbers.
What time is it? Its time to understand that complacency is the real killer.
The heresy of one age becomes the orthodoxy of the next. Helen Keller

Weekend events for the animals

This weekend, no matter where you are in Nova Scotia, there are interesting events for animal lovers:

• Saturday, there is the Lab Rescue Fundraiser Flea market from 8 am until noon at the Enfield Fire Department


• on Saturday there is also a Chili Lunch/Supper and Fleamarket for HARTbeing put on by


• If you really want a great evening, you could check if there are any tickets left for the On the Rocks evening at Whitepoint, which is being held in support of SHAID


• On Sunday of course there is the Doggie Expo 2010 , put on by the lovely folks at GPAC on Sunday from 10 am until 3 pm at the Halifax Forum