Friday, September 30, 2016

Best Laff of the Week!

The mayor of Kitchener, Ontario thinks that "bullets bounce off pit bulls' skulls".  

Listen (around 5:05) and try not to fall off your chair laughing.

The Current

Why does this mayor think it's difficult to regulate owners?  That's what informed jurisdictions do, and they have breed-neutral legislation that is effective, enforceable and fiscally responsible.

Someone should remind Kitchener's mayor that dog bites are UP, despite Ontario's "breed" (more properly, "type") specific legislation.

The only truly dangerous thing in this province is misinformation. 

Cheri DiNovo was brilliant, as always.  She is absolutely right - regard only the behaviour of the dog and its owner, not the shape of the dog.

Try not to throw up listening to Denis Coderre, who never met a microphone or camera he didn't like.  And the dog "expert" who provided Coderre's "statistics" has been thoroughly debunked.  In fact, Coderre refused to take advice from true dog experts, despite multiple offers from reputable organizations. 

Bronwen Dickey was great, as is her meticulously researched and well-written book "Pit Bull:  The Battle Over an American Icon".

Get a grip, people.  They're just dogs.  Not superbeings, not bulletproof.

Put the blame where it belongs.  On the HUMAN owner.
Not on the shape of the dog.




Thursday, September 29, 2016

Coderre and Minions Making It Impossible for Dog Owners to Get Special Permits

The City of Montreal is clearly trying to stop dog owners from obtaining special permits for their dogs.  Any reference to "ask the city" results in zero information and zero assistance.

Coderre and his tame councillors should remember to whom they answer - the citizens of Montreal.

One person's experience, which is not isolated in the least.  The Mayor won't answer, "For"-voting councillors won't answer, 311 is worse than useless.

"I called 311. I waited 15 minutes for the line. I was shaking. The man was very unpleasant.  [underlining mine]

The 3-hour block I am given to apply in my borough is October 7, 1-4pm.


I asked how I can know whether to buy a regular or a special permit: They don't have any details, perhaps next week. I explained I needed to know now to prepare for next week. He told me not to panic, bylaw only starts next week... [underlining mine]


I asked if my criminal background check done 9 months ago for employment is sufficient or if I have to go run another one. He didn't know. [underlining mine]

I asked what kind of ID is admissible: does it have to have a photo, an address: Doesn't know.
[underlining mine]


I asked what kind of proof of residency is required: Doesn't know.
[underlining mine]


I asked if there will be other dates available, and why I was limited to 3 hours this month. He told me to ask the city.
" [underlining mine]


Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Montreal - Corruption and Evil

N.B.  Constantly being updated.

One of the definitions of corruption is "perversion of integrity".  Another is "dishonest proceedings".

One of the definitions of evil is "morally wrong or bad".  Another is "characterized or accompanied by misfortune or suffering". 

Both of these words apply to the draconian animal control law passed by Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre and the tame,boot-licking City councillors (aka the Minions) which includes "breed" specific legislation ("BSL").  

This corrupt and evil law affects ALL pet owners, not just those of dogs of a certain shape.  The way I read it, there are provisions that ALL pet owners should know about.

  • Restrictions on pets that ban fish and crustaceans.  Well, no more lobster from restaurant tanks for Denis. Get rid of your aquariums in homes and businesses.

  • A four-pet limit with no grandfathering for existing pets and no exemption for fostering rescued animals.

  • Making the feeders of feral cat colonies the "owners" of the colonies and therefore possibly responsible for sterilizing, microchipping, vaccinating and licensing the colony members.
  • The other option is that feral cats may be killed wholesale as "strays".

  • Kennels, catteries and hutches (defined as a place where at least three unsterilized dogs, cats or rabbits are kept under custody of where are advertised or offered for sale or for free an unsterilized dog, cat or rabbit) are banned (which may be a big surprise to purebred catteries);

  • Mandatory annual licensing that requires sterilization and vaccination, with no understanding of the impact of sterilization (read here for dogs) and vaccination, especially for cats (look up injection site sarcoma), and no provision of no- or low-cost veterinary clinics for the less fortunate to have their animals prepared for licensing.  You get nothing for your license money, by the way.  No ride home if your dog or cat is found stray.  It's a Montreal fee grab.
THE BIGGIE
  • Warrantless entry on demand which you cannot refuse to a City of Montreal "competent authority", who is NOT a veterinarian and NOT a police officer and which can include a Berger Blanc for-profit high-kill pound employee or representative, can order the killing of any animal.  THERE IS NO APPEAL PROCESS.
    • Owners of short-haired stocky dogs and anyone who exceeds the four-pet limit or owns one or more animals not in the permitted list should beware.  One of the first dogs seized under Ontario's BSL was a purebred Labrador Retriever.

Democracy is dead in Montreal.  Je me souviens when we were all equal under the law.  In Montreal, no more.

We know about whipped votes in Ontario, and this was a whipped vote.  I think it was a case of "Defy Denis and you die", politically.  

Montreal had the chance to be an incredibly enlightened community like Calgary, with effective legislation and self-sustaining animal control (which the taxpayers would love). Coderre and the Minions blew it.

Instead, Mayor Denis Coderre's heel, with the collusion of his well-trained, tame, boot-licking councillors, will crush the rights and freedoms of law-abiding pet owners.  

Coderre and the Minions have entrenched animal cruelty in law.  

This evil and corrupt law will create the dangerous dogs they purportedly want to control and kill innocent dogs solely because of the way the dogs look (thereby benefiting a for-profit kill pound, Berger Blanc, that has a history of animal cruelty allegations).

Coderre and his minions want to deprive the 97.7% of dog owners that are law-abiding citizens of their rights because:

(a)  they're cowardly - they won't admit that the City of Montreal failed Mme Christine Vadnais and indirectly caused her death with its failure to enforce its then-existing dog laws; and,

(b)  they're lazy - they won't take the time to inform themselves and then pass breed-neutral legislation that is effective and fiscally responsible. 

They'd rather stomp on law-abiding people and thei
r dogs, take the photo ops and sound bites they can get, because they're lazy and cowardly, arrogant and egotistical.

Coderre and his Minions refuse to answer questions from the public and in fact have repeatedly cut off or refused to hear citizens who exercise their democratic right to ask questions of government.

Coderre and his Minions refuse to name the so-called "experts" who advocate failed, fiscally irresponsible legislation.

Coderre and his Minions have entrenched in my mind that the City of Montreal is to be avoided at all costs, because democracy does not rule there.  Only the Rule of Coderre seems to count, and I won't visit a city with a tin pot little tyrant (emphasis on little) running the show.

If it weren't for the horrors that the City of Montreal, courtesy of Coderre and the Minions, plans to inflict on law-abiding dog owners, the webcast of the Montreal city council proceedings today would have been seen as a comedy show.  

Some woman (missed her name) saying emotion shouldn't enter into this and then going straight for the emotional play by using the name of Mme Vadnais.  Something about her dog getting bitten by a "pit bull".  Well, lady, my dog got bitten by a non-"pit bull".  Where's your sympathy for me,or do you save it all for yourself? Might have been two women; I may have nodded off during a shift change.

Anie Samson read straight from the dogsbite.org playbook (for those of you unfamiliar with dogsbite.org, it is a dog-hating site with absolutely no credibility among intelligent, knowledgeable people) and mangled the names of dog breeds.  We were taking bets on which myth she'd spout next.

Some guy (missed his name) saying his children asked him to vote against it but he was going to vote for it.  YO.  Take your children to watch dogs and cats die under the law you voted for, if you're so proud of what you're doing.  All the councillors who voted for this law should take their children, grandchildren and neighbours' children to watch dogs and cats and kittens and puppies die under the law they voted for, if they're so proud.

A couple of Minions I napped through, because I could predict what they were going to say.  Myth, myth, myth.

Some guy (missed his name) who thinks he knows genetics because his wife studied genetics.  Um, sweetie; unless she's a veterinarian, she studied human genetics.  You know, the bipedals that are the most vicious creatures on the planet?

Then, Mr. Tin Pot Tyrant himself, spouting nonsense and doing his best huff and puff. This guy quotes numbers with no proof whatsoever.  Is he making them up as he goes?  He's shameless; his source has been thoroughly debunked.  Whatever, Dennis The Menace.  Go buy another poo statue or some more concrete tree stumps.

A lot of Hail Mary passes going on during the whole stultifying speechifying.

Many, many thanks to the enlightened individuals who spoke against this corrupt and evil law.  I am now a member of Project Montreal, as they were against this by-law from the start.

If this is new to you, read End The Debate, by the Montreal SPCA.

If you oppose legislation that deprives law-abiding people of their rights and innocent dogs of their lives, there are several petitions you can sign.

My Montreal Includes All Dogs

Safer Kinder Communities (from the Montreal SPCA)

For my U.S. friends:
Montreal Banned Pit Bulls So We Ban Montreal

There's a simple answer to the evil and corrupt law passed by Montreal city council.
Don't go there.  Don't spend a cent going to or in Montreal.
Montreal relies heavily on tourism for revenue.  Hit 'em in the wallet.

And with the money you save....
Please donate to the legal challenge of Montreal's corrupt and evil legislation (my words).  
PLEASE wait for information from the Dog Legislation Council of Canada.  Don't give money away to shysters and frauds on GoFundMe and other crowdfunding websites.

Addendum:  The campaign by Roger Giraldeau against the Boucherville dog by-law is legitimate.  Mr. Giraldeau has engaged Julius Gray, a renowned Quebec lawyer, to fight this battle.

Let's take 'em to church and ring their bells.







Wednesday, September 21, 2016

The City of Montreal Institutionalizes Animal Cruelty

Read it and weep, folks.  Coderre and his tame city councillors in Montreal, Quebec want to institutionalize animal cruelty and kill animals wholesale.

Here’s a summary provided by one of the councillors, with my commentary.

For all pit bull-type dogs, special conditions will be prescribed. Current owners of pit bull-type dogs must apply for a special permit by December 31, 2016, without which they can no longer keep their dog beginning January 1, 2017.  
The licensing department of the City of Montreal does not even know how they are supposed to issue these special permits. 

I have a sick feeling that Coderre and the Minions (the City councillors who have indicated they’re going to vote for this proposed by-law) are going to delay this “special permit” process as long as they can – like, to December 30, 2016 - so dog owners won’t have time to get the permit they need to keep their beloved pets and the City of Montreal can kill their beloved pets.  
Has the City legal department advised Coderre and the Minions of the meaning of the word, “malfeasance”?

The dog owner must also provide a negative criminal record certificate.  WTF?  Are the Montreal police prepared for the deluge of criminal record check requests?  How much does that cost?  N.B. I was subsequently advised that a criminal record check in Montreal costs $105.

I’ve also heard that to get this City of Montreal “special permit” will cost $625.  That would be a low-ball estimate for speuter, chipping, vaccination, muzzle, leash and permit (which apparently will cost $105).  How many people can come up with $625 on short notice?  This smells bad, Coderre and Minions.

The special conditions include “muzzling at all times” and “kept on a maximum 1.25 meters (four feet) leash at all times” which does not exempt being indoors.
You try to find a four-foot leash.  What will tall people do, walk hunched over for the life of their dog?

All other dogs get a six-foot leash.  Should the length of the leash not be at the owner’s discretion and depend on the dog’s training and behaviour and the owner’s responsibility, rather than the shape of the dog?

A dog has to be muzzled in its own home.  It has to be muzzled and leashed in its own back yard. 

This is institutionalized cruelty to animals, and Coderre & Minions need a swift kick in the ballot box for it.

UNLESS your fence is 2 meters (6.56 feet) high at a minimum. Is there a building code by-law regulating fence height and if so does it permit a 2 meter high fence?  Have Coderre & Minions set responsible dog owners up for failure?

Then, of course, Coderre’s squad can barge into your home at any time without warrant or cause.

If a dog owner dies, the dog dies.

Pit bull-type dogs are defined as: 

·      American pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers 
There are ZERO registered American Staffordshire terriers in Quebec.   Probably zero registered APBTs and very few registered Staffies.

·         Any mix with these breeds and another type of dog 
How does Montreal intend to prove this?  DNA is not an exact science with dogs.  This type of dog is also known as a mongrel or mutt.

·         Any dog that presents characteristics of one of these breeds 
And what exactly are those characteristics?  Four legs and a tail?  Any owner of a short-haired dog – Lab, Rhodie, Dobie, so many more – should be very afraid of this provision.

To quote the blog Caveat “The province of Quebec recently passed a law stating that animals such as dogs are sentient beings.  They will ban sentient beings because of qualities they can't change, their physical characteristics? Talk about cognitive dissonance.”

On whose authority will this “breed” determination be made?  Because if ANY Quebec authority makes a breed determination, they’re violating federal law.

Spaying/neutering and microchipping of all dogs is required before December 31, 2019.
Will the City of Montreal provide low- or no-cost spay/neuter and chipping for its less fortunate residents who want to keep their beloved pets?  Or will the City of Montreal just kill those pets because the people can’t afford to speuter and chip?

As well, all pet permits issued by the city must be renewed each year; this requirement remains as is in the new by-law.  
Does this include the special permit required by this proposed by-law, which the City doesn’t know how to issue yet?
By the way, this does not appear to exempt private cat rescues, of which there are many in Montreal and which (if they're like the cat rescues I know) run on a blade's edge financially.  Having to buy licenses for all the cats in a rescue's care would bankrupt it.  
AND the license is not transferable to an adopter.  
Every private cat rescue would have to apply to the City for an order designating it as a shelter; how much will that cost?

By harmonizing its by-laws, the city aims to facilitate all dog owners’ understanding and compliance with the by-law and offer the same safety conditions to all Montrealers.   
By making law-abiding dog owners, who aren’t the problem, into second-class citizens, with no increase in public safety as so-called “breed” specific legislation has failed in every jurisdiction where it’s been tried.  Jurisdictions are now passing laws prohibiting “breed” specific legislation because it doesn't work.  Too bad Coderre & his Minions missed that memo and plan to pass failed legislation.

Special conditions will apply to dogs that have already bitten a person or animal. Dogs that have killed a person or animal will be euthanized.  
If your dog steps on a frog and kills it, your dog is killed by the City of Montreal.  If your dog is attacked by another dog and in defending itself kills the attacking dog, your dog is killed by the City of Montreal.

As well: 

·         Dogs that have bitten a person or animal can be declared dangerous by the appropriate authority and if declared dangerous, will be euthanized.
No exemption for defense dogs, which a number of women I know have.  No exemption for a dog that defends its owner against criminal assault by another person.  The City of Montreal uncaringly compromises women’s safety and will kill their dogs.

·         Dogs that have bitten a person or animal and have not been declared dangerous by the appropriate authority may be declared an at-risk dog and be subject to a special permit and strict conditions. 
No exemption for defense dogs, which a number of women I know have.  No exemption for a dog that defends its owner against criminal assault by another person.  The City of Montreal uncaringly compromises women’s safety.

·         At-risk dogs are defined as dogs that bite or attack or try to bite or attack, or whose behaviour compromises the safety of a person or animal.
What if the dog is defending its owner?  No exemption.

·         If an at-risk dog violates any of its special conditions and its special permit is revoked, the dog may be euthanized.
So if your dog is vomiting and you take the muzzle off so the dog doesn’t choke, or you take the muzzle off to give the dog a drink of water in summer heat, or the muzzle is ripped off the dog by an attacking dog (the last two of which happened in Ontario), the dog is killed by the City of Montreal.
Kill, kill, kill. That’s all Coderre and the Minions seem to know.

The draft by-law requires a valid pet permit for all dogs and cats for all boroughs. 
Even if you are a visitor.  If you stay for more than 30 days with your pet, you have to buy a Montreal license.  It is not transferable to a new owner.  It’s also subject to “late fees”.  Can you say “fee grab”?
Montreal is famous for running out of pet license tags and not getting new tags in stock in time for a new year.  Apparently there’s no point in trying to buy one in January each year, because the City never has them in stock yet. 
So what happens if you can’t get a valid pet permit because of the City’s failure to have them available?

According to the new by-law, the maximum number of pets per dwelling unit is four, with a maximum of two dogs.  

THERE IS NO exemption for fostering.  

Fostering saves animals’ lives.  It is the lifeblood of animal rescue.

Kill, kill, kill.  That’s all Coderre and the Minions seem to know.
If you have five cats or five birds or five snakes, pick which one is to die.
If your dog has puppies or your cat has kittens, you can keep the infants for only three months.  Coderre and Minions must be ignorant of the fact that four months with the mother produces a better socialized animal.
There’s a whole bunch of blah-blah about getting a special license to keep three dogs (but no more than three), which makes me think one of the Minions has three dogs.

All dogs must be on a leash in public and those that weigh 20 kg and more must wear a halter or harness. 
Why?  What is the point?  If you are a responsible dog owner, your dog is fine in a collar.  Who owns a pet store?  Stock up!  Who owns stock in a pet store?

The minimum cost of a fine is $300 instead of $100 in the previous by-law, up to a maximum of $4,000. 
Fee grab!

Fines for first offenses that may pose a threat to safety when a dog bites, is off-leash or a resident makes a false declaration, are between $500 and $750. 
How about a fine for someone who bears false witness against a dog and its owner?
Smells like a fee grab again.  Is this to pay for Coderre’s extravagant plans for Montreal’s anniversary, including the million-dollar concrete tree stumps?

Then there are all the parts about “report this, report that”, so Coderre can grow his bureaucracy.

The word "guardian" is used instead of owner.  I despise "guardian".  It's animal rights propaganda.  It moves the animal out of the category of property which you can own, into an amorphous legal area.

There’s much, much more.  You really must read it for yourself.

This is nucking futs.  Coderre and the Minions must really, really hate animals because this is nothing more than a “KILL” bill.