Pit Bull Ban

You don't like Chris Smith, a bylaw enforcement officer in Barrie, Ontario.

Here's the allegation: Elisa Hadley, a single mother of two, says that she was visited yesterday by Smith. Smith took pictures of her two young dogs - a "hound cross" and an "English Staffordshire terrier" - then informed her that he would be coming by today to pick up the dogs and kill them. This, presumably, would be because of his belief that her dogs violated the province's spiteful and ridiculous "pit bull" ban (a ban that is currently being challenged in the courts; the judge has already ruled that the term "pit bull" is unconstitutionally vague).

Now, all of this information is coming to us third-hand. But IF the allegations are correct - and I have no reason to suspect they aren't - and IF there are no extenuating circumstances, such as complaints about the dogs because they've been running loose and attacking people, then Smith is in gross violation of his duties as, well, a decent human being.

If the allegations are true, best case scenario he's a drone who thinks following the rules exonerates him from making moral decisions; worst case scenario, he's a stormtrooper aspirant who takes personal delight in killing dogs purely on the basis of his perception of them belonging to an "inherently vicious" breed known as "pit bulls." In either scenario, he would be contemptible.

Here's a crazy idea: Instead of confiscating family pets, maybe he could devote himself to tracking down the animal abusers who make dogs vicious in the first place.

The facts on breed bans are clear. The provincial pit bull ban was passed, despite almost unanimous expert opinion opposing it, solely as a PR exercise (http://www.dogwatch.net/). Bylaw officers have a moral duty to use their brains and to refuse to enforce laws that are immoral. This is even more clearly the case now that an Ontario judge has agreed with what dog owners have been saying all along: the term "pit bull" is overly vague. If this seizure takes place, Smith and the city of Barrie (Mayor Dave Aspden: officeofthemayor@barrie.ca) will be violating Hadley's constitutional rights. They have no moral authority to do this and possibly no legal authority either.

The seizure would be unlawful and should be defied.

PS: Perhaps Smith or another city official will leave a comment. I'd be happy to provide them with a forum in which to "justify" this heinous alleged act.