I write this with a sad and broken heart. I found out last night that my mother must get rid of her beloved companion because of his "possible" breeding. I say possible because honestly, we do not know what breed he truly is.
The best guess we have is that he is a boxer/bull dog mix. My mother lives in Bay City located in Long Neck. She has lived there for almost 10 years and has had Zeus, AKA The Big Z, for two of those years. Z is a sweet and loving animal; he is not owned by an irresponsible pet owner, nor is he aggressive. Z is fixed and up to dates on all shots. He has been socialized and gets along with all four- and two-legged animals.
However, because my mother does not own the land she lives on, but rather leases it, she has two choices. Remove Z from the premises or remove her home. How does anyone have the right to discriminate against a dog just because of their looks and breeding? We preach against racism, we say that everyone is to be treated equally no matter their race, religion or sexuality.
However, it is OK to have prejudice against a certain breed of dog. Z is another victim of the media exploitation against pitbulls and other bully breeds. Can you imagine being told that you must move from your home of almost 10 years just because your loved one (animal or human) has the same genetics of those committing crimes in the news? With that logic then non-white men between the ages of 18-39 shouldn't be allowed in our communities either. Or maybe women should be regulated on whether or not they can have children. I mean, there are certainly some irresponsible parents out there.
I'm not against weeding out the bad pet owners and removing dangerous dogs from our communities. However, we need to do it on a case by case basis. This generalization is causing so much heartbreak where there doesn't need to be any. I want people who love dogs and who particularly own or love Bully breeds to realize that this can happen to you too. Ignorance and discrimination is running rampant and we need to do something about it!
Nicole Lam
Long Neck
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