Vaughan refusing to return family dogs they believe have pit bull blood

It’s painful without him around; even the dog smell in our house is gone'

Yorkregion.com
November 5, 2020
Jeremy Grimaldi

It’s been 108 days of pain and frustration since Natalia Ramirez’s little dog, Gamboa, escaped from her Vaughan home’s backyard.

It was on that day, July 20, that neighbours found him and turned him over to Vaughan Animal Services to ensure his safety.

What happened next has been what seems like a never-ending nightmare for Natalia, her family and thousands of local supporters who are jockeying for four-year-old Gamboa to be released from the city kennel.

The 22-year-old student says that for reasons yet to be made clear to her, animal services deemed Gamboa to be at least partially pit bull, a breed that has been banned in Ontario since 2005.

“(A staff member at the kennel) told me she had 30 years’ experience and that he was a pit bull,” Ramirez explained. “She told me no matter what I said it would not be enough. It’s painful without him around; even the dog smell in our house is gone.”

Despite her assertion that the pit bull claims were not based in reality, city employees initially insisted they would have to move Gamboa out of the province, Natalia said, noting they backed down from this take after she hired a lawyer.

Despite this, she said, staff at VAS continued to block her from seeing the Labrador retriever mix, insisted she couldn’t bring him his bed or toys, and even denied a request to have a photo or video taken of him to ensure that he’s safe and healthy.

“They claim to be animal lovers … but it’s hurting me, and I broke down in front of them and it didn’t seem to matter,” she added. “He’s gentle, never had any history of aggression, and sweet, compassionate and loving.”

Natalia said she’s even sent a veterinarian and a member of the Canadian Kennel Club to VAS to advise them that Gamboa is not a pit bull, which they did, but nothing has worked yet.

Natalia said VAS is insisting they need DNA tests to prove that he’s not a pit bull; however, she's been told by experts that these sorts of tests are notoriously unreliable.

She is not the only one going through this. Another family with a dog that appears to contain the French bulldog breed, named Kilo, was being held by VAS for days before he was released back to the family on Nov. 4, according to the city.

Chatham-Kent MPP Rick Nicholls, who has introduced a private members bill to end the ban on pit bulls, attended a small rally at the kennel on Nov. 4, in a bid to get the dogs back, but staff inside refused to answer the door.

“I was there to support families who feel they have had a member of their family’s ripped away,” he said.

Another woman who lost her dog under similar circumstances says although she was happy to have him returned, she continues to fight to ensure that VAS ends this practice.

Jessica Brandes, from Richmond Hill, lost her dog Ringo, a Labrador cross, when he escaped from the family’s backyard on Oct. 26 only to find out VAS had her pet.

But when she arrived, staff promptly told her they were keeping Ringo and suggested he might have to be euthanized as they suspected he could be a pit bull.

It was only after she put out a Facebook post that garnered thousands of shares and Lynn Perrier, from Reform Advocates for Animal Welfare (RAAW), created a popular petition for all three dogs, that Jessica said staff began to work with her.

Following this, Brandes said staff told her they were getting death threats and threats against their personal safety.

Ringo was released on Oct. 30.

“I felt devastation, I had a dog before I had kids; he’s the most loving dog I’ve seen in my life,” she added.

According to a statement VAS appears to be holding firm on Gamboa but are thinking twice on the other two K9s.

“You may have seen in the media reports about the dogs Ringo and Kilo,” wrote a spokesperson for the City of Vaughan. “These stories have very happy endings. Two separate investigations were completed, and it was determined that both Ringo and Kilo could lawfully be released and reunited with their owners. VAS took the appropriate steps under this provincial legislation, and we are pleased with the outcome.”