First off, welcome to Canada! I just wanted to fill you in on a few things about our country. We love our hockey (you'll notice that some folks inexplicably have an affinity for the Toronto Maple Leafs), beer (but you probably knew that already) and hockey (c'mon Gary let's get this season started already!). Popular music exported from our country can basically be described as a literal embarrassment of riches: Nickelback, Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, Celine Dion, Michael Buble and the Tragically Hip (though thankfully, they haven't caught on south of the border).
But let me get back to hockey, or the lack thereof, for just a sec. Please, please, please ignore everything that Damien Cox says. To put it plainly, he's a hack and he represents the uneducated, knee-jerk reacting Blue Jays fans who've deified Cito Gaston. With no hockey to "write" about, he needs to justify his paycheque somehow, so he's directed his misinformed scorn towards you.
In order to save you the effort, let me come to your defence. If the Ontario pit bull ban is overturned, in no way will it reflect negatively on you or the Toronto Blue Jays. Apparently Cox feels that owning a Labrador and Golden retriever makes him an expert on pit bulls. It's absolute bullshit that he feels the right to get on his high horse and vilify your family before you've even set foot in our country.
Vilify the owners who train their pit bulls to be aggressive, in fact, vilify all people who want to turn their pets into weapons. It's unfortunate that this sort of person exists, even though the vast majority of pit bull owners are nice folks who train their dog in a loving, family environment.
Overturning Ontario's pit bull ban isn't going to be easy. It'll take lots of education and enlightenment in order to change peoples minds. If you and your wife are successful, you'll be viewed in a positive light by the vast majority of your city, province and country. Also, it'll give you the chance to adopt a pretty cool nickname - Mark "Pit" Buerhle.
Sincerely,
The Blue Jays Luddite
PS - Sorry for not updating the blog in a while. Last season was getting waaaaay too depressing...
Excellent blog! As a previous "pit bull" owner (my old girl died at 15 & still miss her). I feel a great need to share this blog everywhere. Responsible dog owners are just so sick & tired of being unjustly profiled & targeted and treated like second class citizens by the ignorant polititions we elected who voted for this ban to begin with. For those who want to get educated on this issue visit www.supporthersheysbill.com
ReplyDeleteVery well said and could not agree more. This beautiful family should not have to endure the kind of profiling and stereotyping that is now so common in OnSCARio due to this ban. I attend the rallies against BSL and see every age range, colour, culture, religion and profession. Just because all THEIR short haired medium sized mutts don't make the 6 o'clock news does NOT mean they don't exist. Responsible people should not be treated unequally under Ontario law.
ReplyDeleteNice blog. The thing is, "pit bull" bans are not brought in because "pit bulls" are a problem of any kind, so it's not about bad owners, dog bites, etc. We already had laws on the books to address problem owners - they were never enforced, which came out at the first set of hearings in 2005 (we had more this past May).
ReplyDeleteSome of us have been out here for almost ten years trying to get rid of this ban. We came close this time, until McDad prorogued parliament and our third Bill died on the order table. It was supposed to be called for a final vote but the Premier refused to call it. Doesn't want to lose face, don't cha know.
Incidentally, our latest Bill was signed (and voted for) by members of all three parties, so the problem was really McGuinty and his clones.
While it's nice to have the celebrity juice which gets media attention since we never have even been asked why we are fighting this law, why we went through the courts, why we don't quit, etc, it won't be because of one or two people that this ban is removed. A lot of people have put a lot of time, money and tears into this thing since summer, 2004.
Responsible dog owners of all shapes (since "pit bull" isn't a breed at all) welcome the Buerhles to Toronto and appreciate Mark's outspoken stance against legislated discrimination based on physical appearance.
Cheers.
PS
Somebody should tell Cox and others that the Labrador retriever is the lead biter in Canada. Next is the Am Cocker, followed by the Golden retriever. The number one killer, also not a breed, is one that would surprise you.