Blonde By Nature

$15,000 and 5 months later, Munchie the mixed-breed dog from Toronto, Ontario was euthanized…

In September ‘07, Munchie snuck out of a backyard and allegedly bit one of the neighbours (who had threatened to kill the dog earlier that day). The man then grabbed the dog, broke into the dog owners house, held her at knife point threatening to kill Munchie. According to the owner, Munchie ran immediately into the house once the door was opened. And now…Munchie is dead.

What if I told you that TimberWolf was “attacked” while on a walk today? Would it change things if I told you that my parent’s dog Apollo barks aggressively at the gate whenever the letter carrier walks by? Would your opinion change about this story if I told you that the euthanized dog “might” have Pit Bull in it, my parents dog is a Labrador Retriever and Wolf’s attacker was a Poodle?

Since 2005, the Ministry of Ontario prohibits “individuals from owning, breeding, transferring, importing or abandoning pit bulls” and I ask you those questions above because every dog has the ability to attack so why is this law limited to one breed? Further to that, why the hell can’t I find any direct statistics or studies on the breed of dogs that are doing these “attacks” in Canada? I see research from the US, but none originates here. After some digging I came across the Canada Safety Council who also admits that there is no detailed research to support this decision. The only source found is a CBC article from 2005 that refers to a ‘federal study’ which claims the most common biters are:

• German shepherds
• Cocker spaniels
• Rottweilers
• Golden retrievers

HM. Interesting. The sad part of this whole story is that Munchie was ruled as a Pitt Bull…but no one was certain as he is a mutt.

Beyond the statistics, there’s more to a dog than just it’s behaviour – there’s the owner. When I visit the dog park, I often see a dog getting a touch aggressive in play and the owner screams at Border Collie-Colleen from across the field, calls her over angrily at which point she turns and runs the other way. He follows, she runs, then it turns into a game. I can’t even begin to summarize the issues with this scene, nor can I blame Colleen for her overly enthusiastic behaviour (like her master) or her running away from the threatening energy he projects. At this point she has no idea what she did wrong other and is following her instincts to run.

My point: the neighbour of Munchie obviously has anger issues if he actually breaks into a house and threatens murder any breathing thing (and has threatened quite a few times). So, the neighbour is projecting threatening energy, Munchie leaves her security-zone feels threatened by the neighbour and code red – we have a bite. The neighbour is facing criminal charges for his behaviour. If he had stabbed Munchie’s owner, would he have been euthanized too?

There are so many “what ifs” surrounding this story that one can’t help but assume that there is more to it than what we are being told (e.g. did the neighbour grab the dog violently and then the dog bite him and then lied about it?) However, what I do know for certain is that it is up to the owner to properly take care of your pet by providing adequate exercise for the breed, a natural healthy diet, rules, boundaries, limitations and most important: a CALM and ASSERTIVE LEADER. (Thank you Cesar Millan)

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