A Chatham dog that was in the middle of a high-profile court case is now safe and sound in his new home over 2,100-km away.
Zeus’ story garnered attention just before Christmas of 2020 when the two-year-old pooch accidentally got loose from under his family’s backyard fence.Animal officers from Pet and Wildlife Rescue (PAWR) responded to a call about a stray dog on December 23. The call resulted in Zeus being impounded after he was deemed to be a pit bull. Due to provincial law, pit bulls are prohibited in Ontario, also referred to as breed-specific legislation (BSL).
The dog’s impoundment quickly drew criticism from Zeus’ owner Shawn Hall as well as from several residents who felt he should be reunited with his family. As a result, petitions were circulated and protests were held in front of PAWR’s Chatham site.
PAWR’s lawyer previously said that because of the BSL, the organization had no choice in the matter and was legally obliged to follow the law.
DNA testing eventually deemed that Zeus was 100 per cent pit bull. After a brief legal back and forth between PAWR and Hall, both sides mutually agreed to release each other from all liability.
Hall said the last few months have been a nightmare for him and his family and they are still trying to come to grips with the situation.
“Obviously things are a little bit better because time heals all wounds, I’m a believer in that,” he said. “But as recently as yesterday, my stepson asked when Zeus is coming home.”
As the story made waves locally, it was also reaching people across the country.
Shai Jefferson was scrolling on her Facebook one night when she came across a post about Zeus and the situation he was in. The post was by Itza Rescue, a husband and wife team who volunteer their time transporting animals to Canada from high kill shelters in the U.S.
Jefferson is an adoption coordinator at SHAID Tree Animal Shelter in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, which does not have a ban on dog breeds.
With Zeus at risk of having to be euthanized and as an owner of three pit bulls herself, Jefferson felt compelled to reach out and see if she could help.
“It was about Zeus having to leave the care or PAWR and needing somewhere to go,” she explained. “There were hundreds and hundreds of comments on the post. Just to see what would happen, I threw a comment on there, said I work for SHAID, I love bully breeds, they are safe and welcome in this province and I have space [for Zeus.] I was lucky enough to be the one they responded to.”
Jefferson worked with Itza Rescue to help coordinate getting Zeus’ from Chatham to Bridgewater safely. On March 5, the rescued team hit the road and took the over 20-hour drive with Zeus in their back seat, documenting his journey on their Facebook page along the way.
According to Jefferson, when Zeus arrived at SHAID Tree Animal Shelter, it was clear he was a well-trained, well-behaved and loving dog with lots of energy.
Although she was aware of his story and the attention that came along with it, Jefferson said she put her “horse blinders” on to that part of Zeus’ life and instead focused her attention on getting him to Nova Scotia safely and finding him another loving family.
“The second Zeus landed in Nova Scotia, that’s his new start,” she said. “He’s not that dog with the legal background or the seizure story. He’s just Zeus.”
Jefferson said the shelter received a large number of applications from people who were interested in adopting Zeus and it didn’t take long for the team to find a perfect fit.
“He’s in his new home. He was welcomed home to a puppy shower, friends and family got together to give him gifts and meet him. He is so adored and loved already,” said Jefferson. “He’s doing phenomenal, he loves his new home. He has a great big backyard with woods and trails, he gets walked three or four times a day.”
Throughout the process, Jefferson said one of the main goals for her was to keep an open line of communication with Hall and Zeus’ family in Chatham. This included sending photos of Zeus during his journey to Nova Scotia and even letting the family have input on which potential adopter would be the best fit.
Hall said the silver lining of the whole ordeal was getting to work with Jefferson and with the couple who helped drive Zeus to safety.
“I appreciate everything they did for us…This ended in the best way possible besides us getting him back. The fact that he got to go and get a second chance and he’s in Nova Scotia with a family that, by the sounds of it, loves him to pieces as well, we couldn’t ask for anything else,” said Hall. “Obviously we’re sad we didn’t get our dog back but we’re happy he didn’t get put down.”
Zeus was the first dog impacted by BSL that Jefferson helped bring to SHAID shelter. However, she said she hopes that the shelter can rescue many more dogs in the future at risk of being euthanized because of their breed.
Both Hall and Jefferson are optimistic that one of the positive things to come out of Zeus’ story will be that it shines a line on BSL.
“Punish the deed, not the breed,” said Hall. “If Zeus had done something violent, if he had gone out and hurt an animal or a person, I wouldn’t have put up a fight. I would have said he deserves whatever destination he’s destined for. The fact that he was completely harmless, that just reinforces that this BSL is completely ridiculous.”
-With files from Paul Pedro