Dollars for Dogs - This is important, folks.

UPDATE: January 15 - over $23,000.00 has been raised - keep the momentum going - DONATE HERE

Some days I am not so proud to be a resident of the province of Ontario, which has unfortunately led the way in implementing short-sighted, draconian law which bans the ownership of certain dogs based on what they look like. Even worse, as a resident of the City of Kitchener, we have the double-whammy of having a city by-law banning "pit bull dogs" - nevermind that there is no such breed, or that the identification of such a dog can be made on the basis of certain physical characteristics that many dogs may have; and that such identification may be made by a person or persons who have no specific knowledge of dog breeds in general or in particular.

The danger of laws such as these is that they pave the way for infinite replication across all of dogdom and they do not address the root problem, which is irresponsible ownership and cruelty. First the ban affects "pit bull dogs". Next might be the beautiful but often misunderstood Rottweiler, followed by German Shepherds, then perhaps Dobermans, and who knows what will come next? In Italy, over 96 breeds were identified as potentially dangerous, including Shelties and Corgis. Who is to say that your breed won't be next? Do you want the government to decide what breed of dog you can own, or whether you can even have a dog?

One group, The Dog Legislation Council of Canada, hopes to reverse breed-specific laws. In their ongoing legal fight, raising funds is always a challenge. Currently they hope to take the fight to the Supreme Court, but need to address a shortfall of $67,000.00 by the end of January. If all reasonable folks who own and love dogs would be willing to donate one dollar for each dog, this money could be raised in an instant.

I have made my donation, and I challenge everyone who loves dogs to do the same. A groundswell has been growing among several email groups that I belong to, with the wonderful result of raising over $11,000 in the past 48 hours alone. I implore you, if you can find only one dollar for each dog you own, to please contribute to this very worthwhile cause. I am not an individual who generally believes in soliciting others to causes. But this one is too important to omit. The future of our beloved breeds is at stake, and it is too great a gamble to sit back and hope that our rights will not be further eroded if we do nothing.