MONTREAL - He might be a pit bull or he might be a basset hound, but one thing is clear: to police, Shadow is a problem.
That's why dog owner Richard Goodheart was slapped with two $75 tickets last month while walking his dog in Lachine.
"(The police officer said), ‘You know there's a pit bull ban,' and I said, ‘Yeah I'm aware of the pit bull ban, but don't worry, my dog's not a pit bull, he's a basset hound," explained Goodheart, who has adoption forms from the SPCA that clearly state the dog's at least, in part, Boston terrier.
The frisky pup then earned Goodheart a second $75 fine for being a "mean dog."
"My dog was barking at the officer and the officer responds by saying, ‘Oh that's a mean bark he has, that's a mean dog, I have to give you another ticket,'" he said.
Goodheart insists his dog isn't mean.
"He's never hurt anybody and there have been no problems in the two years that we've been in the neighbourhood," he said.
Police wouldn't agree to an on-camera interview, but said they were simply enforcing the bylaw.
SPCA Executive Director Alanna Devine said the trouble is it's not always easy to spot a pit bull.
"This is really one of the problems with breed-specific legislation is it is absolutely impossible to tell what breed a dog is simply looking at them," she said. "So you have an application of a bylaw that is completely subjective."
Goodheart said he intends to fight the ticket, and is considering giving Shadow a DNA test to prove he's a legal breed.
