DNA tests on a dog captured by Animal Control in Chatham the day before Christmas Eve have confirmed the pooch is indeed a pit bull.
David Sandor, the lawyer representing the dog's owner Shawn Hall, tells Blackburn News the DNA results showed that Zeus is 100 per cent pit bull.
However, that's not the end of the story.
Sandor said he is seeking reimbursement of some legal fees for his client because Pet and Wildlife Rescue (PAWR) did not follow the Dog Owners' Liability Act (DOLA) and PAWR "should bear some responsibility" for dragging his client through legal proceedings that cost Hall thousands of dollars to fight for his dog. Hall requested the DNA testing and was hoping Zeus would be determined to be an American Bulldog and Boxer mix. Sandor hopes the matter will be resolved but added PAWR staff should have done what the legislation requires them to do.
"PAWR sought to extinguish Mr. Hall’s rights. When PAWR staff and legal counsel refused to meaningfully work through the dispute and conflicting information, they added to a family’s suffering in the middle of the Pandemic, on what was almost literally Christmas Eve," said Sandor. "When they insisted that the matter go to Court if Mr. Hall wanted to present and, hopefully, substantiate what he believed to be true about Zeus, they chose a course of action that cost this community thousands of dollars in expenses, outside of the significant legal fees suffered by the Hall family."
Sandor is hopeful that PAWR will begin the process of finding an appropriate family for Zeus but said he does not have any guarantees at this stage from PAWR that they will not euthanize a dog that Sandor said is "friendly, loyal, and shows no signs of aggression."
In an affidavit, Hall said the family was shocked at the DNA results.
"We hope that we have raised him in a way that will help him be a good citizen, and a loving protector and best friend to another family, and little boy, in a province that does not have this breed ban," said Hall. "I cannot describe how hard this has been. I cannot describe how humiliating it was to be ignored and treated the way we were by PAWR staff. And I cannot describe how insistent we will be in the future, when bringing a dog into our family, to make sure that we have a DNA test showing the dog is what we think it is, or at least some form of a certificate from a Kennel Association, or something more than vet records from a breeder that may be misinformed herself."
Sandor also blames the provincial ban on pit bulls, saying it's confusing and should be ended. Hall is calling on individuals and experts to contact their Members of Provincial Parliament to ask that Bill 147 proceed to a third reading and be promptly proclaimed to end the breed-ban.
PAWR lawyer Steven Pickard insists his client followed the Act (DOLA) and should not bear any responsibility in this case. He also said the Zeus case didn't cost taxpayers anything because he's handling the case for free. Pickard said PAWR's plan has always been to send Zeus to another province that allows pit bulls where he can be adopted by a good family.
The matter will be in court February 17, 2021.