Ginger The Pit Bull Back On Death Row

Ginger-On Death Row Because Of Breed Specific Legislation

Ginger, a pit bull, is now back on death row.

Source: Brindle Stick Blogspot

Life Lesson

Ginger and her attorney Clayton Ruby

Ginger Back On Death Row

This is a very sad week in the lives of those who fight for the right for pit bulls to live. The highest court in Ontario, Canada has reinstated the execution order of Ginger the pit bull, who has made the news since 2005 when she bit another dog and it's owner. 

During a walk in the park, Buddy, a 12 year old shepherd-collie, and his owner Jody MacDonald, were bitten by Ginger and an order was issued by the justice of the peace in 2007 to put Ginger down. This occurred during a walk in which Ginger, an unknown mix, was on leash and muzzled because of the BSL laws(see Whitney05 link below for info on BSL). Ginger's owner's mother and the dog encountered Buddy, an unleashed dog, and an altercation occurred. Buddy tore the muzzle off of Ginger and inflicted permanent damage under one eye.

Buddy's owner got into the fight toward the end and was bitten but didn't require hospital attention.

The muzzle was taken in as evidence and "lost" before the court date.

Then the city of Toronto was granted an application under the Dog Owners' Liability Act in 2007. Luckily her owner, Philip Huggins, won an appeal when Ontario Court Justice Mary Hogan decided the Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), primarily the Dog Owner's Liability Act, was ambiguously worded.

The city seized and impounded Ginger for 3 1/2 years, only releasing her to Phillip Huggins last year. The fact that his dog was illegally held for almost 4 years is a subject the city doesn't feel the need to address.

Now Ginger is back on death row.

Clayton Ruby, attorney for Ginger and her owner, stated during an interview on Thursday that no further challenges will be made against the case. He does not believe in the way pit bulls are handled legally in Canada.

Can someone please explain to me why a law can allow this? Ginger didn't do anything wrong. She would have had her muzzle on if not for Buddy. Buddy was NOT on the leash and attacked her. And the muzzle conveniently disappeared. NONE of this should be blamed on this poor dog.

Here's a good hub page link by Whitney05. This article states how BSL works and the harm it is doing the pit bull breeds. What is Breed Specific Legislation? Will it Stop all Pit Bull Dog Attacks?

The Canadian BSL is really backwards in how the law works. Any pit bull breed who bites is automatically placed under a euthanasia order. It doesn't matter whether the dog was playing, or defending it's owner. Once a bite has occurred, the dog is scheduled for execution.

What if a dog is defending an owner? I hope the general public can understand why I defend these dogs. This whole case, along with the BSL law, is insanity in it's highest form.

The method of determining what is a pit bull and what isn't is also totally ridiculous. It's up to the owner to prove their dog involved ISN'T a pit, not the other way around. Think about it readers. It's virtually impossible to prove a mutt doesn't have pit in it. The owner is required to prove what the dogs' mother, father, grandmother and grandfather are.

So any dog the government decides doesn't have the right to live anymore will fall under the pit category unless the owner can show proof otherwise.

I'd really love to know why pit bulls have such a bad reputation when the temperament of the dog is determined by the owner and methods the dog is trained. We've all heard it before. There are no bad dogs-just bad owners. The trouble is we don't seem to be doing enough about the bad owners.

In the near future I'm going to write a hub page about an attack on me by a golden retriever, whom I'd owner for six years when he turned on me and cost me the feeling in my right arm. ANY dog can be mean. Pit bulls have gotten a bad rap from all of the dog fighting rings in which they are the dog of choice.

We all need to do anything we can to help these dogs. Any dog who bites should be evaluated on a case by case basis, regardless of breed. We need to overthrow these laws on BSL and put the blame where it belongs-BAD OWNERS!

I won't go into a long lesson on how many dogs have been affected by these laws. I'm not sure I want to know. This is just one more way the government is telling us what kind of pet we may choose to have.

One thing I'd like to mention before closing is the BSL laws in Ontario are affecting Dog Whisper Ceasar Millan and his pet pit bull Junior. Because it's illegal to bring a pit bull into the province, Millan must tether his pit bull at home while he is on an 11 city tour of Canada.

Canada, and other countries involved in BSL, you are not only embarrassing yourselves with acts like this, you're not doing anything to tackle the problem. You only think you are.

If Canada would do it's homework, they'd find BSL legislation has NOT worked in countries where it's enforced.

I'd like to hear from readers living under these moronic laws. Also from pit bull owners about any issue you feel the readers hear should know about. I always encourage comments and post 99% of them as I believe in the freedom of speech.