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Save Ontario Pitbulls

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Vaughan, ON
Save Ontario Pitbulls

Fight against the BSL Law in Ontario. Help remove this law and create a new law that prevents anyone Also will help out rescues that we work closely with.

Save Ontario’s “Pitbulls” is vehemently against Breed Specific Legislation. Research, science, and history demonstrate that only with breed neutral laws can the public truly be safe from dangerous dogs. We support the peer reviewed studies confirming that there is no such thing as a "dangerous breed", and that owner accountability should be paramount in any law to be effective. We push for mandated education programs for children to learn proper etiquette around dogs, and strive for cities and municipalities to provide guidance and educational materials to dog owners on request

Save Ontario “Pitbulls” is not a registered charity nor a non-profit organization. 100% of all donations assist in defraying costs of Anti-BSL initiatives.

10/30/2026

🐾 21 YEARS. STILL JUDGED BY HOW THEY LOOK. 🐾

Ontario's pit bull ban has been law since 2005. Twenty-one years later, a dog can still be targeted not for what they've done — but for how they look.

That's not public safety. That's fear written into law.

Winkler, Manitoba just proved there's a better way. They rejected breed-specific legislation and chose a breed-neutral, behaviour-based framework — one that holds owners accountable and judges dogs by their actual behaviour.

If a small Manitoba town can follow the evidence, why can't Ontario?

Real safety looks like this:
• Enforce against dangerous behaviour, any breed
• Hold negligent owners accountable
• Stop wasting resources on visual identification that even professionals get wrong

Our dogs are family. They deserve to be judged by their actions, not their appearance.

🐾 ONTARIO — IT'S TIME TO END BSL. 🐾

👇 Tag your MPP in the comments and tell them: Evidence, not fear.
Share this to your story so it reaches someone who still thinks the ban works.

10/30/2026

🐾 AN OPEN CALL TO EVERY RENFREW CANDIDATE 🐾

Voting is already open in Renfrew — and on October 26, residents elect a Mayor and six Councillors.

Animals can't vote. We can. And before we do, we are asking every candidate to put animal welfare IN WRITING.

MAYORAL CANDIDATES:
Michael Coulas, Peter Emon, Jason Legris, Joshua Marquardt, Callum Scott, Tom Sidney

COUNCILLOR CANDIDATES:
Kyle Cybulski, Andrew Dick, Hayley Heaslip, Sandi Heins, Guy Longtin, John McDonald, Clint McWhirter, Scott Miller, Bruce Rozycki, Kate Windle

Our ask is simple — will you commit to:

✅ Breed-neutral, behaviour-based dog laws — judge the deed, not the breed. Winkler, Manitoba proved it can be done: on February 13, 2018, Winkler passed its breed-neutral Animal Control By-Law 2198-18, rejecting breed-specific legislation.
✅ Ending the pound-to-research pipeline — no animal from a municipal pound should be transferred to research under the Animals for Research Act.
✅ Real, enforceable animal bylaws — modern leash rules, humane care standards, and consequences for negligent owners, not innocent dogs.

Fixing roads, water lines and arenas matters. So does how a town treats the animals who live here — and the families who love them.

📩 Our door is open. Any candidate who wants to discuss animal welfare policy, we are listening. Reply in the comments, DM us, or email us — and tell Renfrew where you stand, in writing.

Renfrew: share this, tag a candidate, and ask them the question before you vote.

🐾 THEIR VOICE IS YOUR VOTE. 🐾

Town of Renfrew
Renfrew Youth Council

10/30/2026

🐾 FROM POUND TO LAB? IN ONTARIO, IT'S STILL LEGAL. 🐾

Most people have no idea this exists.

Under section 20 of Ontario's Animals for Research Act, after the redemption period, a pound may sell a dog or cat to a registered research facility that has requested one. The maximum price set by regulation? $6 for a dog. $2 for a cat.

Between 2018 and 2024, more than 29,700 dogs and cats were used in research in Ontario — and over 13,000 of them were acquired through municipal pounds or the "donated by owner" category, according to government statistics reported by Animal Alliance of Canada.

There IS progress — and it matters:
Ontario's Bill 75, passed in 2026, will ban invasive medical research on dogs and cats and ban breeding dogs and cats specifically for research. It comes into force January 1, 2027.

But read the fine print:
❌ It does NOT close the pound-to-research pipeline
❌ It does NOT require labs to rehome dogs and cats afterwards

And right now, a research facility — Nucro-Technics — is suing Ontario to overturn the ban, and asking the court to pause it before it even takes effect, according to Animal Justice.

So no, this fight is not over.

What we're asking for:
• Close the pound-to-research pipeline for good
• Mandatory rehoming for dogs and cats used in research
• Defend the January 1, 2027 ban — no delays, no loopholes

📩 Ask your MPP where they stand. Share this so more Ontarians know what's still in their law.

Lost pets belong home. Not in a lab.

10/30/2026

🐾 THEY'RE SUING TO KEEP TESTING ON DOGS. 🐾

Ontario made history this year — the first province in Canada to ban invasive medical experiments on dogs and cats. The ban takes effect January 1, 2027.

Now a Toronto-area lab is asking a court to kill it before it even starts.

Nucro-Technics — a contract research company that runs pharmaceutical and toxicity experiments on dogs — filed in Ontario Superior Court in September to strike down the ban, and it's seeking an injunction to stop the law from taking effect. Its argument: Ontario overstepped its authority. The reality: dog testing isn't even required by law.

Here's what this company is fighting to keep doing. A 2023 undercover investigation by Last Chance for Animals documented beagles at Nucro-Technics crying out in distress, vomiting and collapsing during procedures. The dogs were killed when the experiments ended.

Animal Justice is seeking to intervene in court to defend the ban — and we're standing with them.

And remember: even if the ban survives, the fight isn't finished. Ontario law STILL lets a pound sell a dog to a research facility for $6. That pipeline stays open until we close it.

SHARE this. FOLLOW the case. Their voice is your voice.

Sources: Animal Justice (Oct 8, 2026), Last Chance for Animals investigation, Animal Alliance of Canada.

— Save Ontario Pitbulls 🐾

10/30/2026

🐾 MYTH vs FACT: PIT BULL AWARENESS MONTH 🐾

October is Pit Bull Awareness Month — so let's retire the four biggest lies told about these dogs.

❌ MYTH: "They have locking jaws."
✅ FACT: No dog does. There's no locking mechanism in a pit bull's jaw — their anatomy works like any other dog's.

❌ MYTH: "They're born aggressive."
✅ FACT: No puppy is born dangerous. Temperament is built by genetics, socialization, training, and how a dog is kept. In standardized temperament testing (ATTS), pit bull-type dogs pass at rates comparable to golden retrievers.

❌ MYTH: "A dog from fighting can never be a pet."
✅ FACT: After the Michael Vick case, most of the 49 dogs seized went to homes or sanctuaries — and several became certified therapy dogs. Given the chance, they chose couches.

❌ MYTH: "You can tell a pit bull — and its risk — by looking."
✅ FACT: Studies comparing visual breed identification to DNA results found people get it wrong again and again. Ontario's ban judges dogs by looks anyway.

Judge the deed. Not the breed. Every time.

Now we want to see YOUR dogs. Drop your pit bull's name and their story in the comments — the couch hogs, the seniors, the rescues, the goofballs — and share this post so the facts travel further than the fear. 🐾

Sources: AVMA (breed & bite-risk literature), ATTS temperament data, Best Friends reporting on the Vick dogs, Olson et al. (2015) visual breed ID study.

— Save Ontario Pitbulls 🐾

10/30/2026

🍂🐾 OCTOBER IS PIT BULL AWARENESS MONTH 🐾🍂

A whole month for the most loved — and most misunderstood — dogs in Ontario.

Once, everybody knew who these dogs were. A pit bull-type dog named Stubby served in the First World War, warned his unit of gas attacks, and became the most decorated dog of the war. Pit bulls stood on wartime posters as symbols of loyalty and courage. Petey, the dog with the ring around his eye, watched over the kids in the Little Rascals.

The dogs didn't change. The story did.

Fear replaced facts, and in 2005 Ontario banned them outright — judging dogs by how they look instead of anything they've done. Twenty-one years later, that ban still stands.

So this month, we tell the true story: family dogs. Therapy dogs. Trail partners, pumpkin-patch posers, couch hogs, and cat cuddlers. Dogs who, judged as individuals, shine — like every dog deserves to be.

Here's your Awareness Month homework:
🍂 Post your pit bull and tag us — we want our feed full of them
🍂 Correct one myth when you hear it (locking jaws is a good place to start)
🍂 Share this post so the facts travel further than the fear

LOVED, NOT LABELLED. This month and every month. 🐾

— Save Ontario Pitbulls

10/30/2026

MYTH vs FACT — ROUND 2. 🐾

Pit Bull Awareness Month continues, and so do the myths. Five more — let's retire them.

MYTH: "Pit bulls bite harder than any other dog."
FACT: In National Geographic's comparative test (Dr. Brady Barr), the pit bull measured 235 PSI — the LOWEST of the three breeds tested. German Shepherd: 238. Rottweiler: 328. Bite force follows size, not stereotypes.

MYTH: "Pit bulls don't feel pain."
FACT: They have the same nervous system as every other dog. This myth was invented to excuse cruelty — a dog who "doesn't feel it" is easier to mistreat. They feel pain, fear, and grief. All of it.

MYTH: "A dog that's aggressive to other dogs will attack people."
FACT: Dog-directed and human-directed aggression are separate traits — behaviour science has known this for decades. Even in the darkest chapter of their history, dogs who showed aggression toward people were removed from breeding: handlers had to be able to trust them completely.

MYTH: "Their brains swell until they snap."
FACT: This old wives' tale was told about Dobermans in the 1970s before it was recycled for pit bulls. There is no such condition. Dogs don't "snap" without warning — they give signals. Learning dog body language prevents bites. Myths don't.

MYTH: "Breed bans make us safer."
FACT: Calgary chose breed-neutral laws — licensing, enforcement, owner accountability — and reported bites fell from about 1,000 in 1985 to 260 in 2003, even as the city's population nearly doubled. Behaviour-based law works. Breed bans never have.

SHARE this. Every myth retired is a dog judged on who they are — not what they look like. 🐾

— Save Ontario Pitbulls

10/30/2026

HER NAME IS ELLEN. 🐾

She's not a headline. She's not a statistic, a stereotype, or a "type." She's a real dog, in a real shelter kennel, pressing her face to the wire — waiting for somebody to see HER, not her breed.

This is who breed-specific legislation judges. Not behaviour. Not history. Not character. A face.

For 21 years, Ontario's ban has condemned dogs like Ellen on appearance alone — "substantially similar" is all it takes. The owner must prove the dog is innocent. If the court doesn't agree, the law orders the dog destroyed. No bite required. No victim required. Just the wrong shaped head.

It doesn't have to be this way. Calgary chose breed-neutral laws — judge the behaviour, hold the owner accountable — and reported bites fell from about 1,000 a year to 260, even as the city nearly doubled in size. Safer streets AND fair laws. Ontario can have both.

Judge the deed. Not the breed. Not the face.

SHARE this for every dog waiting behind wire for the crime of how she looks. 💔➡️❤️

— Save Ontario Pitbulls

📸 Photo: "Ellen" by Becker1999, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). A real shelter dog

10/30/2026

THE DEVASTATION. READ THIS SLOWLY. 💔

How many dogs has Ontario's breed ban killed? Here is the honest truth — including the worst part.

TORONTO'S OWN NUMBERS: In the ban's first two and a half years, Toronto Animal Services euthanized 722 dogs labelled pit bulls — in ONE city (city figures reported March 2008).

297 of them were killed for one reason: they weren't owned by an Ontario resident before Aug. 29, 2005. Before BSL, dogs like them got a temperament test and a chance at adoption. Under BSL: no test. No chance. Wrong birthday — death sentence.

PROVINCE-WIDE: The Toronto Star reported more than 3,000 dogs killed under this law, simply for how they looked — most of them mixed breeds. The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association estimated up to 1,000 dogs and puppies needlessly euthanized. The estimates differ. Know why?

ONTARIO NEVER COUNTED THEM. The Canadian Press confirmed in 2016: the province collects no data on this law. A government ordered thousands of dogs killed and never kept a list of their names.

And the 21 dogs seized in Chatham-Kent in 2015? They spent over a year and a half in kennels while the OSPCA applied to destroy them. Public outrage saved them — and to live, they had to LEAVE Ontario, rehomed to a Florida sanctuary. Their faces were a death sentence in their own home.

Every number had a face. A name. A favourite spot on the couch.

That is BSL. Not safety — devastation, one dog at a time, for 21 years. Judge behaviour. Hold owners accountable. End BSL. SHARE this. 🖤

— Save Ontario Pitbulls

📸 Real Staffy photo, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0). Sources in comments.

10/30/2026

MYTH vs FACT — Round 3. 🐾 Oktober is Pit Bull Awareness Month, and the science keeps showing up.

MYTH: "Breed tells you how a dog will behave."
FACT: In the largest study of its kind (Science, 2022 — 18,000+ dogs), breed explained just 9% of behaviour. For aggression itself, breed ancestry showed NO effect at all. The other 91% is the individual dog, its life, and its owner.

MYTH: "Shelters are full of pit bulls because they're dangerous."
FACT: Housing is the #1 reason dogs are surrendered (Best Friends, 2025) — and pit bull-type dogs make up 27% of landlord-related shelter intakes. They fill shelters because of rules about owning them, not because of anything they did.

MYTH: "A muzzled dog is a vicious dog."
FACT: In Ontario, a muzzle is the LAW for the last legal grandfathered dogs — required every time they step outside. A muzzle doesn't mark a dangerous dog. It marks an owner obeying the law — usually walking a dog trained well enough to wear one calmly.

MYTH: "You have to dominate a pit bull — be the alpha."
FACT: Dominance theory has been debunked by veterinary behaviourists (AVSAB position statement). Fear-based "alpha" training damages dogs. Trust, consistency, and rewards build the dog people actually want to live with.

ROUND 3 SCORE: The myths are 0-for-3 rounds. The facts keep winning.

Share this one for Pit Bull Awareness Month — round 4 loads whenever the myths do. 🐾

— Save Ontario Pitbulls

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1 Canadas Wonderland Drive
Vaughan, ON
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