Date: Wed, 21 Sep 2005 14:15:18 -0700
To: sunletters@png.canwest.com
From: Cheryl Ziola
Subject: Letter to Editor in response to Sept. 29th Pit Bull ban column with a photo in email

re: Will a ban on pit bulls solve our dangerous dog problem? Moe Milstein, Vancouver Sun Sept. 29, 2005

I'd like to ask Moe Milstein if he's ever been personally threatened by a Pit Bull or a Rottweiler, or had one of his children or family members attacked? I have, not once but twice in a three-week period last April. Two different off-leash Rottweilers made unprovoked attacks, once on a city sidewalk, while I was jogging with my two-year-old daughter in her stroller with my golden retriever dog leashed to the handle. Another attack occurred in the UBC endowment lands with my golden retriever again on-leash and a witness present. In both cases, the Rottweiler owners said "Sorry, my dog is normally very friendly." Tell that to my dog who had surgery after the first attack, leaving me with a $900 vet bill, for which the Rottweiler owners paid only $600 after I threatened them and their landlord with court. Lucky for me, both of the attacking Rottweilers targeted my leashed and defenceless golden retriever instead of me or my daughter.

Now, I’m lobbying our Attorney General Wally Oppal for a provincial ban, similar to the Ontario legislation that Milstein disdains. How many more deadly incidents need to occur before our politicians put some teeth of their own into our legislation? I’m amazed that politicians are intimidated by a micro-minority of people who need to own dogs designed as killing machines and compound the problem by assuming they can control their dog at all times.

Perhaps of no surprise is that the mother of Shenica White, whose face was so horribly disfigured by a Rottweiler, is supportive of my effort for a ban on these breeds. She told me her attempt to get justice was stymied by current legislation that suggests "the first bite is free." Her response, "But what if the first bite kills me?"

As a dog owner myself, I am more than happy to comply with muzzling and leashing my dog in public because it means I might possibly protect a child from injury. I do not believe, unlike the ego-inflated owners of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers, that I am some sort of superior being who has mystic control over my mild-mannered dog. She’s a dog. Dogs are unpredictable.

Both Pit Bulls and Rottweilers have a greater capacity to cause serious injury or kill when they bite. A bite from a Chihuahua or a golden retriever, which does happen, doesn't generally result in a death or major injury, according to the statistics Mr. Milstein quoted. (67% of fatal attacks by dogs are attributed to Pit Bulls and Rottweilers). And bear in mind that these breeds are a tiny percentage of total dog ownership yet responsible for a hugely disproportionate amount of injury. You might say they kill and maim above their weight.

By banning Rottweilers and Pit Bulls, we will make our communities safer for children and families, as well as our police and animal control officers who face these dogs routinely during confrontations with drug dealers using these breeds to protect their marijuana crops and drug labs.

If we listen to Mr. Milstein and continue to do nothing for fear of inconveniencing some dog owners, not only will we see more serious or fatal injuries, BC will also be home to many displaced Ontario Rottweilers and Pit Bulls.

Just what we need in BC is more in-migration of social misfits.