A large group of residents in Chateauguay is on a mission to get a ban on owning pit bulls overturned.
Hugh Patrick McGurnaghan is one of those residents, and for him, the matter is personal: he risks losing his dog of 10 years in the fight.
McGurnaghan and his dog Murphy have been inseparable for the past decade.
“Around this dog, you can't be in a bad mood. He's just a good soul,” he said.
Good or not, Murphy is a pit bull, a breed that's banned in Chateauguay.
Still, every year, McGurnaghan has registered his dog with the city without incident.
“I never hid my dog. I never wanted to hide my dog because that's part of the problem,” he said.
Murphy is now in hiding, staying with friends outside the city. In July, he said, he was waiting outside a depanneur with Murphy when a police officer gave him a $168 fine and an ultimatum.
“I had one week to give up my dog or he was going to come into my house and take my dog to be euthanized,” he said.
News of his departure spread around the neighbourhood and online – and strangers took up his fight.
“I think it's a very barbaric ineffective law and so I decided we needed a petition going and the petition took off,” said animal rights advocate Susan McKasey.
Now at 4000 signatures, the petition seeks to overturn the ban that's been in place since 2005.
No one at the city was available for comment Monday.
“Other cities such as Sherbrooke have reversed their pit bull bans, opting instead for a complaint-based system,” said McKasey, adding that she hopes that’s what will happen in Chateauguay.
“It's what's on the end of the leash, I always say. It's the people, how they train their dog, is their dog sterilized? Do they keep their dog on a leash?”
Murphy has never bitten anyone, and his veterinarian has written a letter of support.
“Through all the procedures he's undergone, he's been really well behaved. And this is a professional opinion,” said McGurnaghan.
The petition will be presented at the next Chateauguay city council meeting on Aug. 17.
