Dog Care and Legislation

At an open meeting on March 16th sponsored by our Marmora Cup Dog Club, Club chair Richard Lowery gave a presentation on Animal Rights Legislation, followed by an interesting and spirited discussion.

He raised a series of 6 questions: What dog laws do we have? How did we get the laws we have? What works and what does not? What happens when dogs are mistreated? What happens when dogs misbehave? What can we do to help to create better standards of treatment by owners?

Richard then went on to discuss federal, provincial and municipal laws, giving examples of how some instances of animal abuse relate to complications in the laws and their enforcement, and difficulties in having those laws changed for the better.

There was discussion on the recent adoption of legislation regarding pit bulls as an example of the complications in finding legal solutions to what is acceptable to the public. Is it about certain breeds? Or is the issue of dangerous dogs about the owners? Is it about public awareness? Where should breed-specific legislation stop?

There was agreement that education plays a vital part in achieving better standards of dog care, and that our Marmora Cup Dog Club should be part of developing an informed public. One example of this is the current initiative being taken by Gabriella Hamley and other Club members. These members are visiting some of our local schools with a canine friend to provide children with an experience of healthy human-dog relationships, how they can be established and maintained.

Some suggestions were made to take back to the Club for more formal action.

There was awareness that this kind of discussion fosters greater understanding and thoughts about further work among participants in this kind of free-ranging exploration.