Earlier this month, Quebec’s Court of Appeals overturned the decision to suspend Montreal’s pit bull ban. The ban was suspended in October when the Montreal SPCA challenged the ban in court due to its lack of clarity over exactly what types of dogs would be targeted.

Unfortunately, on December 1^st, many parts of this law went into effect as soon as its suspension ended. For those who don’t know, the law bans the adoption or purchase of pit bulls within the city, and anyone that already has a pit bull must keep the dog muzzled and on a leash whenever they are outdoors, buy a special pit bull license by December 31^st, and have an adult supervising the dog.

As a dog owner and lover, bans on any type of dog upset me, since I am a firm believer that dogs are inherently good, and mean dogs only exist because of previous mistreatment by owners. Also, having grown up owning and fostering over a dozen dogs and interning at a veterinary clinic, I can say that in my own personal experience (and according to many people in the veterinary profession) small dogs like Chihuahuas are much more likely to be aggressive and bite than bigger dogs that are more likely to be banned, like pit bulls, Doberman pinschers, and German Shepherds.

Most big dogs that are aggressive are only that way because they were raised to be. I say raised instead of bred because I currently own a Doberman pinscher who was given away and passed around for a while before we got her because she wouldn’t fight with her littermates. She’s playful and sweet, and I have no fears about her ever attacking anyone, even though she was bred to be aggressive by her previous owners.

According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), there is no evidence that breed-specific legislation (BSL) actually works. There is anecdotal evidence that BSL leads to an increase in irresponsible and even malicious dog ownership, as seen in the late 1980s when pit bull ownership in gang members increased following the first round of BSL. BSL also often leads to owners of the banned breed avoiding taking their pets outside and even to the vet, which leads to a decrease in the physical and mental health of these dogs, as well as increasing the risk of rabies and other diseases. Because of this, the Center for Disease Control strongly opposes BSL.

While I’m sure other people have not had the same great experience with dogs that I have had, I honestly do not understand banning an entire breed. There are many alternatives to decrease the incidence of aggression in dogs, starting with spaying and neutering them at a young age, and enforcing stronger penalties to the mistreatment and abuse of animals. Being a certain breed doesn’t make a dog mean, but mistreatment does.