Friday, May 23, 2008

A new face in Burnaby

There is a new face at the Burnaby SPCA and he is spreading the Pit Bull LOVE!!
Welcome Ryan Voutilainen we are so happy to have you.
Read the great article below.
Furry friends: Ryan Voutilainen gets some affection from a couple of the canine residents at Burnaby’s SPCA shelter.Photograph
by : Larry Wright/BURNABY NOW

Don't ban pit bulls - manager
Brooke Larsen, Burnaby NowPublished: Saturday, May 10, 2008
When it comes to pit bulls, Ryan Voutilainen's philosophy is simple: ban the deed, not the breed. When asked if pit bulls should be banned in Metro Vancouver, the manager of Burnaby's SPCA branch answered "definitely not."

"Any dog that, generally, has bitten somebody has done that because we've failed it in some way, not because of the dog," Voutilainen said. He also said that if pit bulls are banned, it sends the message that other breeds are completely safe. "It gives people a false sense of security that their animal would be fine," he said. Last week, a pit bull attacked an 11-year-old Surrey boy at a school playground. A neighbour came to his rescue and fought the dog off with a baseball bat. The boy suffered wounds to his legs, arm and head and required surgery and more than 100 stitches.


Voutilainen, who has worked as an animal cruelty investigator, said dogs that are neglected or abused by their owners are the most dangerous. He often saw dogs tied up in backyards for long periods that showed signs of serious stress, he said. "They don't know how to react around other dogs and around people," he added. "The big thing is education, and educating people that dogs have requirements." That also means knowing whether your dog needs a muzzle when it's taken out in public, he said. But Voutilainen said muzzles shouldn't be mandatory for pit bulls. "I don't think that's necessarily a requirement, either," he said. He describes pit bulls as "status dogs," often sought after because of their tough, muscular look. At the shelter, they are treated like any other dog, he said.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

[quote]At the shelter, they are treated like any other dog, he said.[/quote]

What a great Manager.
So nice to read this.
Treat them like individual dogs.
What a concept.
Hope it catches on and I hope the Authorities start throwing the book at ALL owners of ALL Breeds/types who don`t properly leash and contain their dogs.
These are fabulous dogs and they need exceptional owners because of the Media assault against them.
I read with interest the story about the Guide Dog being attacked by a "Pit Bull" and the Victim`s call for a ban.
I personally interceded ~10 years ago when a Labrador Retriever was attacking a Guide Dog(A Lab).Owner of that attacking dog did nothing.
That attack didn`t even make a ripple.
Perhaps it`s time for the Press to report ALL attacks on animals and humans or NONE.
I think a different picture might emerge.

Anonymous said...

I don`t normally support cloning but I`d make an exception here.
We need a Manager like this one in every SPCA in Canada.
What a great guy.

HugABull Group said...

Here! Here! It is a breath of fresh air, we do hope that many other organizations adopt the same ideas.

Thank you for taking the time to comment on our blog.

Kristen
HugABull