'It's discrimination': Vaughan preparing to send family dog out of province

Gamboa caged for more than 150 days

Yorkregion.com
Dec. 24
Jeremy Grimaldi

After months of petitions, protest and legal manoeuvres over the DNA makeup of a dog caged by Vaughan Animal Services, it appears the city is now preparing to send a family pet it believes is part pit bull, out of province.

“City staff are arranging Gamboa’s adoption into a safe, welcoming environment in a province where pit bulls are not banned,” Vaughan spokesperson Justin Gaul wrote in a emailed comment to yorkregion.com.

It all began after Gamboa, a Labrador-mix, escaped from his owner’s Vaughan home in mid-July.

When a Vaughan Animal Services employee picked up the animal, it was one of three dogs locked up due to suspicion that their breed was pit bull, in contravention of a law banning the breed in Ontario.

Two of the three dogs -- Ringo (a lab mix) and Kilo (a Boston Terrier mix) -- were released after it was deemed they were not pit bulls.

However, Gamboa, who had his DNA tested by Vaughan, was deemed to have contravened the law.

However, there is plenty of disagreement as to the accuracy of DNA tests for K9s.

A Harvard bioethicist told yorkregion.com in November that there are a number of issues with not only DNA tests but using them to justify enactment of laws like Ontario’s pit bull ban.

“It’s not uncommon for people to do tests with different companies and receive different results,” said Lisa Moses, Harvard Medical School bioethicist.

An expert from the Canadian Kennel Club and two veterinarians have stated Gamboa is not a pit bull.

Vaughan’s move has shocked some as the decision was supposed to be subject to a legal injunction in November.

Taragh Bracken, the lawyer involved, did not return a number of messages to her office.

Lynn Perrier, a local animal rights activist, said she believes the decision was taken by the city in an attempt to save face.

“I think it’s horrific,” she said. “It’s discrimination. The idea that an animal could be kept in a cage for more than 150 days just because it might look like a pit bull is unjust.”

Perrier further questioned the motives of the city’s animal unit in this case.

“They grabbed three dogs all on suspicion, they had to let two go because they obviously weren’t pit bulls. But because Gamboa looks like one, they kept him to save face. He has no history of biting or aggression, there’s no way he should be kept in a cage while the legalities play out.”

The city added that its actions are being guided by the laws of the land.

“The city’s actions are consistent with the Ontario government’s Dog Owners’ Liability Act,” Gaul added.

Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, who many residents have asked to intervene in the case, did not reply to a request for comment. The city also wouldn't comment on rumours Gamboa had already been moved to Quebec.

“There is no further comment beyond what the has already been provided,” Gaul said.

The Ford government has indicated it may be looking at altering the pit bull law.