spouse of scouse

[QUOTE=dunroving;11349251]Not sure I can help any, but on reading your thread, and being aware of the "pit bull problem" from living in the US, I decided to do a quick Google search on the pit bull vs. Staffordshire Bull difference. The first hit was this one:

Pit Bull Rescue Central

I watch a lot of these dog rescue programs and enjoy the Paul O'Grady program "For the Love of Dogs". Battersea Dogs Home and other agencies run publicity awareness campaigns on how misunderstood Staffies are. Largely, the bad reputation of these types of dogs IMO is due to the idiots who own them for status reasons.

It is a real shame that responsible dog owners like the OP are affected by this knock-on effect of cultural labels attached to specific dogs. One might as well ban the importation of humans - after all, some of them kill and maim, don't they? The logic defies reason.[/QUOTE]

Totally agree with that, dunroving. It's particularly sad, and more than a little ironic, that away too long rescued their dog only to find this bureaucratic bulldust.

Dashie

[QUOTE=spouse of scouse;11349323] Yup.

formula

Being refused entry could be the least of the problems. They can, and do, get taken from the streets if the police suspect the dog is a banned breed or a cross with a banned breed.

Police launch massive hunt for 100 pitbull-type dogs bred in Barnstaple, North Devon | Western Morning News

BBC News - Death row dogs: Owners fight to keep pitbull-types alive

My dog has been seized by the police

From a solicitors site
It is illegal to breed from, sell, abandon or give away a banned dog. The maximum penalty for illegal possession of a banned dog is a fine of £5,000 and/or six months' imprisonment. The legislation also covers dangerous dogs of any breed or cross breed.

Problems can arise when the Police claim your dog has the characteristics of one of these breeds or it is alleged to be cross bred with one. The police have powers under this Act to stop anyone in public with a dog they believe to be one of the banned breeds or have these characteristics or have been crossed with one.
Dangerous Dogs | Criminal Law

windsong

[QUOTE=spouse of scouse;11349323]
I absolutely agree! It's not the dogs; it's the owners! The older I get, the more I realize how much this is true.

feelbritish

Totally agree with this having been a Staffie owner myself! I find it very sad that these dogs are so maligned!

lgabriel73

Im not saying it doesn't happen but there are at least 10 pit bull type dogs that live in my neighbourhood and no one bothers with them. Everywhere I go I see pit bulls, at the park, at the lake, they are actually surprisingly common in the UK even though they are banned. There is less chance of someone doing something about it if you a re already in the UK and own one than it if you try to bring one in the country. I also read an interesting article that said there has been an increase in ownership of these breeds since BSL came into effect in the UK, so apparently the ban doesn't mean too much overall.

away too long

We were just in the UK on holiday and I commented to my husband how many pit bulls were running around! I know here in Ontario that the authorities often turn a blind eye as long as there is no complaint. I volunteer at the humane society and we have had dogs in that have caused me to raise my eyebrows but we have adopted them out as some kind of non-pit-bull cross.

BSL is completely ridiculous anyway. I also foster dogs for a rescue group and had a wonderful puppy that I was told was a boxer cross, he turned out to be a pit bull and we had to send him away to Alberta. We would have adopted him if we could.

I would need to hope that there is a decent person working the import desk on the day I arrived and that is just too much risk for me.

windsong

One of my friends in the US is a university professor but also works for animals on a very high level. He has a house full of dogs, many of them pit bulls, and he tells me they are the most wonderful pets. He has never had a problem.

away too long

The ones I have known have been amazing dogs, I have never had an issue either.

When I had the foster puppy I used to have to muzzle him in public and it made him completely shut down. He was ordinarily full of joy and boisterous as puppies are but the second that muzzle was on he became a drone, completely devoid of any personality at all. And of course everyone starts giving you stink eye when you have a muzzled dog that looks like a pit bull even though the muzzle was just us following the law. I was heart-broken to put him on the plane to Alberta but so glad that he would never have to wear that muzzle again. Even the muzzle was a punishment for him and he had never done anything wrong, he wasn't even a year old when he left.

feelbritish

Breaks my heart hearing stories like that. Glad he was adopted to Alberta though! Hopefully it was a loving home!

away too long

Oh yes, he lives the life of Riley now! His new mum works at a doggy day care and he gets to go to work with her, plus he has a canine sibling and canine cousins to play with. His mum sent me photos a couple of months ago, he looks very happy there, and not a muzzle in sight.

feelbritish

I must say I really feel for you wanting to go back and not able to take your dog. My Staffie came from South Africa to UK, went into quarantine for 6 months and then a few years later flew to Vancouver Island with me! An old friend said to me that for the price it cost me to do all that I could have had 10 other dogs, but not that one who was my baby! She spent the last 7 years of her life in Canada loving it! Because she was a very small Staffie most people had no idea of her breed and when my walking friend said to me one day she thought BSL should come to BC, I asked her if she wanted my dog to be put down and she was astounded when I told her that my dog would not be welcome! It is a perception thing with the public!

away too long

We have a cat that moved from England to Vancouver and then to Ontario with us. I would have done the same for multiple dogs if we had had them at the time. If the dogs can't go then nobody goes!

As part of the fostering I had to take the puppy to obedience school so on the first day he was muzzled because I was following the law and the people in that class were amazed when I said he was a pit bull. It was probably the first time that they had come face to face with a real live pit bull, not sure what they were expecting to see! He was just a young puppy, like all the other dogs in the class. Great learning opportunity there!

spouse of scouse

I think you're a pretty amazing person, and any furry friend you've ever had is a very lucky boy or girl

mikelincs

Are all Staffies banned then, because in the UK a Staffordshire bull terrier is a perfectly acceptable breed to own, but an American Stafford is a banned breed, there is a world of difference, certainly in size. When we lived in Spaain the family that moved in next door had American Staffies, and we had to complain about them as they were continualy jumping over the wall into our garden and into other neighbours gardens. The dogs appeared friendly enough but.... The committee of the urbanisation had many complaints, and they did cjheck that the dogs were licensed, but they did make them cimit their freedom in their own garden to stop them getting out, and they were told that they must be muzzled at all time when outside their property, they were also wrned that if they didn't fall in with the rules set they would have to move out. Complaints came from at least 10 families. The tiem we complained was one night, I went up to our outside terrace to find their dog on our terrace, it had jumped a 5ft wall to get there. Fortunately it was me who went up, if it had been my wife I just don't know what would have happened, it's no fun being confronted by a very large dog when you aren't expecting it.