Woman prohibited from seeing Rambo, alleged pit bull awaiting fate in pound since Dec. 25
Apr 10, 2008 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
The ongoing saga of Rambo, the alleged pit bull condemned to death by provincial law, moved to Mississauga City Council yesterday, which spent 45 minutes on the issue before voting unanimously to let the dog's owner visit him at the pound.
"City-owned pounds should be showing people how to treat dogs by example. It's not going to be thousands of people. We only have one incarcerated dog right now," said Councillor Carolyn Parrish, who proposed the motion.
Visits are currently prohibited at the city pound.
Rambo has been in custody since Christmas Day, when he ran out of owner Gabriela Nowakowska's backyard.
Authorities say Rambo is a pit bull, a breed that has been prohibited since 2005, and must be put down. Nowakowska is contesting that judgment in court, but was not at city hall yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Council directed city staff to come up with a visitation procedure before its next meeting in two weeks. Meantime, a visit will be arranged for Nowakowska.
Parrish, who has two dogs, has visited Rambo twice and said he is being well cared for.
"That's not the issue. The issue is that Gabriela, his owner, is fairly frantic. If she were to see how well he's being cared for it would go a long way to relieve the anxiety she's living with," Parrish said.
"Humans and dogs have very strong bonds. I am very concerned about the dog, but I am more concerned about the human being."
Councillors heard from Selma Mulvey, of an owners' group called the Dog Legislation Council of Canada, who presented research on the stressful effects of long-term kennelling. Keeping dogs cooped up without much human contact, particularly beyond six weeks, can have physiological and behavioural side effects, making dogs fearful and aggressive, she said.
"When the owner finally does regain custody of their pet, there can be a lot of work for them to do to rebuild the relationship."
Parrish said it would be unfair to release into the community a dog that's more testy and protective.
Councillor George Carlson agreed that allowing visits is "a measure of our humanity."
"One year of jail for a dog is seven or eight years for us. That's a long time to be away from your pet."
Visitation "is the right thing to do," said Councillor Maja Prentice. "The same thing goes for people that are incarcerated, waiting for their hearing or judgment."
However, she asked for information on whether a new policy would involve extra work or cost for staff.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/413150
Apr 10, 2008 04:30 AM
Prithi Yelaja
Staff Reporter
The ongoing saga of Rambo, the alleged pit bull condemned to death by provincial law, moved to Mississauga City Council yesterday, which spent 45 minutes on the issue before voting unanimously to let the dog's owner visit him at the pound.
"City-owned pounds should be showing people how to treat dogs by example. It's not going to be thousands of people. We only have one incarcerated dog right now," said Councillor Carolyn Parrish, who proposed the motion.
Visits are currently prohibited at the city pound.
Rambo has been in custody since Christmas Day, when he ran out of owner Gabriela Nowakowska's backyard.
Authorities say Rambo is a pit bull, a breed that has been prohibited since 2005, and must be put down. Nowakowska is contesting that judgment in court, but was not at city hall yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Council directed city staff to come up with a visitation procedure before its next meeting in two weeks. Meantime, a visit will be arranged for Nowakowska.
Parrish, who has two dogs, has visited Rambo twice and said he is being well cared for.
"That's not the issue. The issue is that Gabriela, his owner, is fairly frantic. If she were to see how well he's being cared for it would go a long way to relieve the anxiety she's living with," Parrish said.
"Humans and dogs have very strong bonds. I am very concerned about the dog, but I am more concerned about the human being."
Councillors heard from Selma Mulvey, of an owners' group called the Dog Legislation Council of Canada, who presented research on the stressful effects of long-term kennelling. Keeping dogs cooped up without much human contact, particularly beyond six weeks, can have physiological and behavioural side effects, making dogs fearful and aggressive, she said.
"When the owner finally does regain custody of their pet, there can be a lot of work for them to do to rebuild the relationship."
Parrish said it would be unfair to release into the community a dog that's more testy and protective.
Councillor George Carlson agreed that allowing visits is "a measure of our humanity."
"One year of jail for a dog is seven or eight years for us. That's a long time to be away from your pet."
Visitation "is the right thing to do," said Councillor Maja Prentice. "The same thing goes for people that are incarcerated, waiting for their hearing or judgment."
However, she asked for information on whether a new policy would involve extra work or cost for staff.
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/413150
I am glad she said that 'it's a measure of humanity' to let the owner visit. But by what measure of humanity do they condem an entire breed?
DH was just mentioning how he wanted another one last night. Reading this makes me want to even more.