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I hope everybody had a Merry
Christmas and a Happy New Year! I sure did and dog, bark about getting
everything imaginable. We all had a grrreat time!
It seems nothing can ever quite
go smoothly for Mommy though when it come to me.
It was time to renew my license
for 2007. All the bullie owners in London went through the same ordeal as
last year...you know, having to appear in person rather than all other
cat's and dog's that they could just mail the fee in. There was a form
sent only to the bullie owners again which had to be filled in. I'm pretty
sure it was much the same as last years, but they needed current weight,
height to shoulders, bla bla bla and signed, plus a receipt of up-to-date
rabies vaccination and two recent mug shots. How much do we change in a
year?
Anyway, Mommy had all my papers
and pictures in order and that whole process passed pretty swiftly. But
Mommy wasn't quite done as a guide/service dogs are exempt from the
fee.
She had all those papers and
certificates in order too and showed them to the clerk and that's when the
problem began.
She looked through them all and
they all WERE in order, the only thing she had never heard of was a
'restricted dog' as a certified service dog. She asked the other clerks
there and none of then knew the answer either.
Because ACC was crammed of others
owners needing to register their dogs and already the front door was
locked as it was beyond closing time, Mommy said she would pay the $50
fee, but wanted them to find answers why I shouldn't be exempt since I had
done all my requirements just as any other certified service dog had done.
It didn't make sense because of breed that I shouldn't be included in the
exemption, but she also knew that they didn't have answers in order for
her to hold the rest of the people up for. They did jot down a person's
name with phone number and extension to contact at City Hall to get
answers from.
Naturally, all government
building were closed for the holidays and not opening again until January
2nd, 2007. She was going to phone, but decided to take her chances to just
go down there and hopefully speak with the man she was to see.
It only took a few seconds and
Mommy introduced herself and showed him my certification paper and all the
rest and once he looked at them, he didn't understand what the problem
was. He told me to go to 2nd floor where I would get a license at no
charge.
Mommy laughed and told him she
had already paid for my license at ACC prior to the New Year and they had
sent her to him. That's when she told him I was also an American Pit bull
Terrier. Right then he assumed she wanted me to me unleashed and not
muzzled, but Mommy assured him she was abiding by the provincial laws and
the city bylaws. Her only purpose was to get the recognition of having the
same rights as any other certified guide/service dogs would receive.
He was as stumped as ACC, but
said he would review the laws and get back to her by phone by the
beginning of next week. A whole week passed without a phone call, so Mommy
gave him a call the next Friday.
He recognized her immediately and
told her she was going to get reimbursed for the license fee as searching
for the proper answer was going to take months and she could probably use
the money more than ACC. He did continue that should he find Shasta did
not meet the requirements, she would be required to pay for the license
once again.
Mommy asked him what specifically
was he looking for and he said that Guide dogs for the blind were the only
service dog that he was aware of. Mommy was glad he could see her big grin
as she had done a lot of research over the past few years and had his
answer right in her computer and told him so.
He seemed surprised, yet
delighted and asked if she could possibly mail him the information and
naturally she said of course.
What she sent was from the
Government of Ontario, a letter dated back from 2005 outlining the
existing law regarding the rights of persons who may not be visually
impaired, but still required the use of a guide/service dog to function
with medical disabilities with no discriminations. The letter also
included The Ontario Human Rights Code and the Health Promotion and
Protection Act and signed by the Director of Accessibility Directorate of
Ontario.
He should be receiving the letter
at any time now and of course Mommy is anxiously awaiting for an answer.
She is not doing this regarding the license fee. She wants the city of
London to recognize that I AM a certified guide/service dog regardless of
breed.
Paws crossed I can update you
with barking happy woofs as soon as we find out.
All my love, Shasta 
This is an
update to my journal and it hasn't been going well at all. Mommy
never received a phone call back from the council man at City Hall, so she
phoned him and kept getting his voice mail. She left messages, but never
got them returned. Finally,
she decided to do a search of the City Hall Members on the net and found
his name and information. All she wanted was his email address and she not
only wrote him an email, but sent him a lot more information that was
right up-to-date from 2006 - 2007. She
received an email message back from him within a day or two, but it wasn't
what she expected at all. He
still stated he was going to return the license fee for $50, not because
he was obliged to, but as a sign of faith. That tells her he is still not
acknowledging the fact that me as a certified service dog doesn't have to
have my license paid for. He
also wrote to mommy that what she had was, 'A legally registered Pit bull
in accordance to the law.' There was nothing there about me being a
service dog neither. Mommy
was so frustrated as although he isn't saying as much, this has nothing to
do with me being a service dog, but rather the breed of dog I am. The
next morning, Mommy phoned the London Animal Care Centre and she asked the
clerk if a certified service dog is exempt from the fee, the same as the
guide dogs? The man there said, "Most definitely!" Then
Mommy told him her name and asked if he would put Certified Service Dog in
my file along with all my other information. His whole tone changed and he
told her she would have to continue to talk to the man at City Hall. She
could tell he was angry and this made her angry. She
came straight out and said, "This isn't a service dog issue at all is
it? It's a Pit bull issue!" She was sure the man would hang up on her
with his tone of voice as he told her that this was between her and the
councilman at City Hall and he had nothing more to say to her! Mommy
was so frustrated once off the phone that she just broke down and cried. I
sat close to her, but I knew she had to let some of this out and I just
kept my body really close to her so she could hold me. I
don't understand what makes humans so angry with each other and why they
just can't agree. I know that Mommy has had to fight for me for a long
time now and we both thought at least that part of it was done and nothing
could ruin it, but mommy thinks they are going to make a bylaw up where a
restricted breed can not be a service dog. It never occurred to them that
such a thing existed until Mommy went to license me and there's been
nothing but trouble ever since. London
just does not want to acknowledge me as one, although the councilman did
tell Mommy I could still help her when she made a comment to him. It's
just...for how long? All
my love, Shasta
Well, it's
getting close for elections and although I don't know anything about that,
Mommy says, "MY DOG VOTES!" Maybe I'm suppose to put my paw mark
somewhere just like I do when Mommy sent a letter to Stephen Harper, our
Prime Minister from me and I signed with blue ink. He never did write
back. Mommy says the
big day is October 10th, so hopefully by the 11th the muzzles will come
off and the laws changed. Wouldn't that be barking fantastic!!! *slurppy
licks* We've done so
many things this past summer and GUESS WHAT!???? I got Mommy past her
phobias of taking public transportation and now we bus it EVERYWHERE! She
calls it independence like she hasn't known since 1995. The
bus drivers are so nice to me and smiles at Mommy. One time a bus driver
was talking to Mommy so much asking about jobs I do, etc., that next thing
she knew we had gone past our stop. The bus driver told her he was sorry
and stopped right there at the side of the road. Most
of the people congratulate Mommy for setting a good example for the
Bullies. Mommy laughs and says it's not fun being disabled, but her
disabilities have brought on a hidden blessing for the Bullies. She says
she feels more abled now than she has since her accident and says it's all
thanks to me. Mommy
uses a funny command when she wants me to sit or lay down between her legs
or under the seat she's sitting on. She says, BUM! BOL See...when she
tells me to sit, I sit as soon as she says it, so I could be in the middle
of the isle and if she says, 'sit', I sit! So, she needed to find another
way to get me close to her before I sat down and taught me 'bum' so that I
would turn around facing outside of her between her legs and put my bum as
close in as the seat allows so nobody has to walk around me. Burlington
has different busses from London. They are way roomier and I can get right
under her seat and lay down for the ride and even the spaces in between
seats has a lot more room. Another
exciting thing that we did this summer was I got my portrait taken for
Ontario Pit bulls in Toronto. The photographer asked Mommy if she would
let me wear my Service Vest for the picture and Mommy told her she had
already planned on me wearing it. I'm not sure when she's having her
showing, but for exchange for allowing her to take our pictures, our
Mommies and Daddies got to chose a photo of their choice, plus receive a
beautiful 9 X 12 picture that will be in her show. They
asked Mommy to take me into the studio to get used to it and maybe smell
around since there had been many other Bullies in there before me. I
didn't smell around at all! I was way more interested in the huge lights
and setting and went straight to it and sat in the middle. How could I not
know this was about me! BOL Since
I focus on Mommy when I'm wearing my vest, she put me into position how
the photographer wanted me and told me to wait and stay. She then went
just behind the photographer and as she asked Mommy to raise my head, turn my
head in the opposite direction, etc,. Mommy just moved herself while the
photographer said PERFECT. She took so many pictures that it was hard for
her to pick and the photographer even asked Mommy if she would like her to
take a picture of my skin nephews with me, but they kept mauling me and
pulling me over that I thought that would look so unprofessional that I
left them there to get pictures of just them. She sent Mommy a beautiful
big picture of the two of them too. Since
it was a Long week-end, we stayed in Burlington at my Gramma's for it. She
lives right across from Ikea and Super Pet and we can walk from her huge
building to there. Naturally, Mommy can never resist Super Pet and boy did
I get a lot of attention by the staff. Mommy blogged about it. They
were being taken over by Petsmart and Mommy's face dropped. She told them
about what happened to many of the Bullies and owners in other Petsmart's
once the ban took place 3 years ago. They promised her the change wouldn't
affect them and that me and all the bullies would be always just as
welcome there as now. The
following month Mommy needed a well deserved holiday and took Mr. Monkey,
Enok and myself to Gramma's and Uncle Bill's in Burlington for 2 weeks. We
went to Super Pets but it was closed for renovations for the change over.
Finally Mommy could see from the 16th floor of Gramma's patio window that
people were going in and out and away we went. Now it was Petsmart and the
staff surprisingly remembered me and Mommy and swiftly came to greet us.
They told her that she was right and that the American head honcho's
started giving them rules for any Pit bulls that might come into the
store. No grooming! No nails clipped! Always muzzled and if an altercation
breaks out and although another dog is the one misbehaving, it'd the Pit
bull and owner asked to leave. The
staff couldn't believe their ears because it was just like what Mommy had
told them and they told the head honcho's about me and how I'm a service
dog with excellent manners, calm nature and very friendly. They told them
how Mommy had told them how other Pit bull owners and their friends have boycotted
other Petsmart and refused to spend money where their dogs weren't
welcome. The staff was so excited to tell Mommy that they listened and
agreed, but that the Pit bulls still needed to be muzzled when in their
stores. Mommy was
so excited and couldn't believe how these 6 wonderful staff members went
the extra mile for us and could wait for us to return back into the store
knowing we were from London to tell us. One of the girls took a picture of
me sitting on another staff members lap as he sat on the floor and said,
'This picture is going up on our store wall!' Everywhere
we went and did, people would mostly all have a positive reaction with me
even with my muzzle. If anything, they thought the government was wrong to
muzzle specific breeds and especially surprised they still muzzled me
being a service dog. Mommy told me that she counts on that and that's why
we go out for as much exposure as we possibly can. To teach people and to
talk to them while I show my BESTESS service dog manners. BOL So this
summer was very educational for so many people and Mommy and I were so
happy to get out there and show them the truth about the Bullie breeds. Oh...I
almost forgot! Here's one of the pictures from the Toronto Pit bull
showing that Mommy received. Come see the rest of the CHRISTINE
D'ONOFRIO COLLECTION 
All
my love, Shasta
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