A vicious Toronto pit bull attack during the summer of 2004 is what changed provincial laws. Since then, an amendment in legislation has made owning a pit bull illegal in Ontario.
This has ignited rage in many dog lovers, owners and breeders. It has unfairly blamed dogs for their actions instead of their handlers.
But what is a pit bull?
“I’m a dog expert, and I don’t know what a pit bull is,” says Mike Macbeth, an expert in Dandie Damont Terriers with the Canadian Kennel Club and long time member of the Canadian Dog Judges Association.
That’s because there’s no such thing as a pit bull!
“There is a dog who is described by other people as a pit bull. It has to be tough looking, and it has to have lots of muscle and a short coat,” says Macbeth. “But the pit bull is not a breed.”
Macbeth says pit bull is a term used to describe a shape of dog instead of breed.
When the Dog Owners’ Liability Act was enacted in 2005, there was no way to describe what a pit bull was. Instead, the written standard for the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier were all used to to define a ‘pit bull’.
“Those written standards were used and therefore our purebreds which were carefully raised, were used as the written description,” says Macbeth. “This was to prove whether or not these more dangerous dogs were pit bulls.” The legislation said that the three breeds or any breed similar to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier were banned.
“The trouble is pit bull has mutated from a noun to an adjective. Pit bull is now shorthand for dangerous dog.”
To Macbeth and other dog breeders alike, this is incredibly unfair. “For those of us who breed dogs and are responsible breeders, it was heartbreaking to know that our purebred breeds were being banned because it wasn’t fair. I have judged over 4000 Staffordshire Bull Terriers and American Staffordshire Terriers worldwide and I haven’t had one of those dogs even growl.”
The Ford government announced it would loosen regulations on pit bulls earlier this month.
“We (breeders) would all be very happy if the legislation would be changed to put the focus back on owner accountability, and also provide a fair process for dealing with dogs that have exhibited dangerous behaviour because we want to protect the public,” says Macbeth.
Since the plans were announced to ease the pit bull ban, a 13-year-old boy has been bitten in the face by an American Bully. The dog named Dwaeji, was seized by Vaughan Animal Services back in October and had recently been released back to its owners.
“Nothing is going to change right at this point,” said Premier Doug Ford who also expressed sympathy for the boy and his family.
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