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BRUCE! HOW YOU CAN HELP!!!

Delgado in- his real- Home

Are ya gon' let- BSL take me? Me?- ME?!?!

Barked: Fri Aug 7, '09 6:26am PST


	Template Letters for Bruce: Urgent Plea for a Pardon/Intervention to Allow Export of Bruce to Eire: Template Letter Please feel free to use the template below or send your own letter/email. Full details below. Dear Sir, I am writing to you with regard to a travesty about to occur in Northern Ireland and to beg you to intervene and help save a life. The life in question belongs to Bruce, a young Staffordshire Bull Terrier who was living happily with his family in Northern Ireland. On September 19th 2007 Bruce was seized by council officials as an alleged “pit bull type” and taken to secluded kennels whilst his owner was taken to court for owning a banned type of dog. While incarcerated in kennels his family were allowed to visit Bruce in October 2007, Bruce had lost weight, muscle and had a cut to his muzzle. Five months later Bruce was allowed a second visit from his family in March 2008, they were shocked with what they found: The wound on Bruce's muzzle was larger and had become infected, he had to have his tail amputated, had open sores, was underweight and looked totally rejected, yet despite the clear pain he was in, is described by experts as being a friendly dog that poses no danger to the public. In a desperate attempt to save Bruce, owner Shannon Brown, supporters and neighbours have created petitions and videos resulting in worldwide support to “Bring Bruce Home”. Northern Ireland has not adopted the 1997 Amendment Act as in England, Scotland and Wales, despite being proposed several times, thus meaning any dog deemed to be “pit bull type” cannot be entered onto the Index of Exempted Dogs. If the proposal had been accepted in Northern Ireland, as with the rest of the UK, Bruce would have been home long before now, alive and well registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs. Northern Ireland is however currently considering legislative change but this is not likely to be achieved in time to save Bruce. If Bruce lived in Southern Ireland where no breeds are nationally banned he would never have been seized at all. Bruce has been offered a place of safety with a reputable rescue in Southern Ireland where he could legally live out the rest of his life, this offer has been conveyed to the solicitor but has sadly not been accepted by the court. I understand that you have the power to grant a pardon and we beg of you to do all within your power to allow Bruce the chance of life by requesting Bruce is granted safe passage to Southern Ireland and the rescue placement that is waiting there for him. This is all that is needed. I am sure, that you are aware of how emotionally committed good owners are to their pets. Dogs are part of our families as much as children. Please spare Bruce’s owner the further trauma of destroying Bruce so needlessly. Please pardon Bruce and allow a blameless animal the chance of life. We claim to be a nation of animal lovers, surely now it is time to prove it? Yours faithfully Contact details: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Shaun Woodward MP Northern Ireland Office, 11 Millbank, London, SW1P 4PN Fax: 01744 24306 www.shaunwoodward.com/enquiry.html The Rt Hon Peter Robinson MP MLA – First Minister Martin McGuinness MP MLA – deputy First Minister Jeffrey Donaldson MP - http://www.jeffreydonaldson.org/AdviceCentre.asp Gerry Kelly MLA Email: ps.ministers@ofmdfmni.gov.uk Letters to: GD36 Stormont Castle, Stormont Estate, Belfast BT4 3TT http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/ Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP - Home Secretary Letters to: 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF, Email: public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

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Barked: Fri Aug 7, '09 6:26am PST


	Dear Lady Hermon MP I am writing to you regarding your constituent Shannon-Leah Brown and her pet dog ‘Bruce’ an innocent dog who has been sentenced to die and was due to be destroyed on Monday 6th July, until a last minute stay of execution was granted as legal proceedings are ongoing. Bruce, a young Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was living happily with his family in Bangor, when on September 19th 2007 he was seized by council officials as an alleged “pit bull type” and taken to secluded kennels whilst his owner was taken to court for owning a banned type of dog contrary to the Dangerous Dogs Act (Order) 1991. A trial was heard at Bangor Magistrates' Court on 27th August 2008 and the court determined that Bruce was “of type” despite the evidence from two expert identification witnesses who said he was not. Bruce was ordered destroyed devastating his family and supporters. He remains on ‘canine death row’. Whilst incarcerated in kennels his family were allowed to visit Bruce in October 2007, Bruce had lost weight, muscle tone and had a cut to his muzzle. Five months later Bruce was allowed a second visit from his family in March 2008, they were shocked with what they found: The wound on Bruce's muzzle was larger and had become infected, he had to have his tail amputated, had open sores, was underweight and looked totally rejected, yet despite the clear pain he was in, is described by experts as being a friendly dog that poses no danger to the public. Bruce has been offered a place of safety with a dedicated rescue and sanctuary in Southern Ireland where he could legally live out the rest of his life but this offer has not so far been accepted by the court. Bruce hasn't actually ever put a paw wrong; he is sentenced to death due to the way he looks and I feel this is totally unacceptable. I would like to see the current breed specific legislation repealed. In a desperate attempt to save Bruce, owner Shannon Brown, supporters and neighbours have created petitions and videos resulting in support from Northern Ireland and worldwide to “Bring Bruce Home”. Dogs are part of our families as much as children. Please support your constituent - Bruce’s owner and add your voice to help defend Bruce. Saving Bruce’ video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aQLog460Io As the plight of Bruce’s story travels, support for him and horror, disgust and anger against a law which permits the killing of an innocent dog based on its appearance is flooding in (for example please see: http://www.dogmagazine.net/archives/3045/eleventh-hour-mercy -plea-to -save-death-row-dog-bruce/ the world is now watching Northern Ireland and following the case. I look forward to your view on the legislation and plea that you please support Bruce and his owner and raise this issue in Westminster. Yours sincerely

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Barked: Fri Aug 7, '09 6:37am PST


	This is very many responses from dogs to BSL and they're all important and interesting! (You'll hear me in there a few times too! Thank you woofs applause in my country the netherlands it also would be a crime the way bruce is treated.cry if you bark me this case stinks shock i don't understand how a country can tread an animal this way. or do i understand why they would like this BAD publicity for their country shrug they are nuts if they dare to kill our bruce,because it's murder confused we will not hold our muzzles shut silenced shh we will fight next to bruce.way to go wave Furends Thanks SJB ,the list is long and there is very little sense in the breed selection!Me and my brofur are both listed ....shock Thankfully,we live in the county of Highland in Ohio where we are safe to live our lives without fear of being branded as undesirerable breeds. The idiots who make these breed choices need to be educated!There are NO BAD DOGS...but there are plenty of BAD DOG OWNERS! In my opinion,it would be the same exact process to decide at birth what children are destined to be murderers,thieves and abusers based on race,religon or some other supposed reason frown My Pawents once owned a wonderful butterscotch brindle pit bull they were forced to give up because of the laws in Dayton,Oh.cry She was a great dog who never did one thing to cause anyone to distrust her!It was a sad and terrible day for the whole family. My whole skin family is opposed to such unfounded laws.We think that if the penalty for animal abuse was much harsher there would be far less cases of dogs being raised to be aggressive and mean way to go Like I barked before...There are no BAD DOGS...only BAD OWNERS Why are chow chow on the list I have never hear of any chow chow bit people . The way I look if any human hurt dogs it not because they want to Bit but it there only way to let them know that there being hurt. It just like wend this bit bull bit this little boy bad the boy was pull on ears and tail and pull on the dog legs But if the child parent own fault for not watching the child better not the dog . Bruce is the worst case of BSL we've ever heard of! Poor guy! In our town Pit bulls are also banned - so far nothing against rotties like me, but I only figure it's a matter of time until they pick on me too! It's just not fair, some of my bestest buddies have been pit bulls! This long list of banned breeds is desturbing. My sisfur porter is a tough looking little boxer shepherd mix, and because of the way she looks, she would be banned in some areas around the country and the world. I have nufie in me and those dogs are on the list, my fur bro spike is a labrador retriever mix and he is on that list. this is very frightening, and I would fight tooth and nail to save my furbabys, all five of them no matter what. As for poor Bruce, we have heeded the call, we are here to help if we can. We will be holding a candle light vigil on the evening of the 23 and will be posting it on the net to show our support. Bruce needs us right now. And I will continue to do what ever I can to help him be freed and able to stay with his family. We are proud to be a family of Rotties, and Shar Pei! 5 out of 7 of us are on the list - but thank goodness, at this time there is no BSL here... We don't want to wait for this to happen either - WE STAND BY BRUCE!! The human world cries out against racism... why can't they see that this is the same thing - just with fur??? shrug shrug shrug Don't judge me by my breed... Judge me by who "I" am..... Poor innocent Bruce. What is wrong with these people!! WE MUST FIGHT AGAINST THEM NOW!! WE MUST LET ALL THE INNOCENT DOGS FREE!! I cant believe my my breed is listed on that list. Well half of it anyway. What did Bruce do to be sentenced to die? NOTHING!!! He's just been being good. So what does good lead him too? DEATH!! And Why? BECAUSE OF HIS BREED! There is no reason fur this to happen!No reason at all!!! ALL of our dogs are listed on that list. They are the sweetest dogs ever! This is ridiculous. If I could say what I wanted to say, I would for sure get kicked off Dogster. applause applause applause applause applause applause Thank you and well said Maya, TinkerBelle, Bubba, Jonathan, Hootch, Buddy and Lilah! Bruce is no different den any of us! EXCEPT, at dis moment, he is off somewhere confused, ill, prolly wit a broken spiritcry Just because how he looks??? Dat is NOT okay! Alot of pups and pawrents don't even know about Bruce, some don't know about BSL....so let's spread da message about Bruce. United WE DO have da power to help Bruce way to go HUGS! Soulja Boy (SJB) my breed is on that wist.. thats a wittle scary. thank godness my brothes isn. all uf us want to up and wiff happy wives. poor bruce...i know in my heart bruce knows were here. we just gotta puw wit all our paws and stand bhind him. my mommy signed the petition and even cried. imagine how bruces mommy feels. a shamd. my famiwy wiw do everything we can awso. WE CANNOT GIVE UP, THIS FIGHT IS NOT OVER. he is our brother. and we are with u bro. Hi Mal...I'm Jessielittle angel I've been an Angel for over 6 years now...I wasn't on the list yet when I was on earth...shows you how times are changing fast on earthcry My earth family is Rainah, Soulja Boy, Charlie...and a few more on here...and they are doing everything within there power to fight! Bruce's fight is the fight of ALL DOGS! little angelAngel's are Uniting in Pawrayer for Brucelittle angel Love, Jessie Hey every puplittle angel Jessie....(post above) is my sister. She left earth 5 1/2 years before I did....we were reunited again on 9/18/08 when my mom helped me crossed the bridge. Jessie was my all time favorite sibling on earth ever, and I had many sibling in my almost 9 years. My mom was involved in Anti- BSL stuff while I was on earth...because, as yall know....I am a Rottie. When I crossed over, we already had my lil Bro, Soulja Boy (Rottie) and My Baby Sister, Rainah (Pitbull/boxer). It is My duty to watch over them, and make sure they are ALWAYS safe from BSL. It is also My Duty as a doggy Angel to watch over all doggies where BSL is concerned. NO BREED should be wiped out, that is SO wrong! Bruce's fight is OUR fight! United we stand strong! little angellittle angellittle angellittle angellittle angellittle angellittle angel Pawrayers for BRUCE and every pup! little angel Colt My breed-Lhasa Apso-isnt on the list but I feel for every animal that has been taken away from their families becasue of their breed. Its sad. This breed discrimination needs to stop. It is unfair to the dogs, including Bruce, who have done NOTHING wrong, and their families, who love their pets and consider them part of their family. I just hope that Bruce and every other doggy who got taken away from their families get to go home back to their families. First of all I want to say thanks for inviting me into this group!!! Second of all I recently got into an argument with a local shelter that puts pitbulls down... the lady said that they are too big of a liability & that there aren't enough good homes out there for these dogs. I told her for 1 they are stereotyped, for 2 there are the ignorant that have never owned one and don't know what in the heck they are talking about, for 3 BSL prevents alot of people from even being able to give these dogs the chance they deserve in the first place to have a good home, and for 4 pitbulls are the victim and not the enemy and just when are people going to wake up & realize that!!! Hi guys! Mama's very into training and positive reinforcement. She hears about dogs who have been abused and thinks about reinforcement like praising them when they do good; Bruce was punished to die when he did nothing wrong! It saddens me to say that once Bruce gets home, he won't be the same. It's like breeding dogs at puppy mills... You can do what you can, but they're just unhealthy frightened dogs that will always be scared due to the harshness of their past dependent on the breed and how long and hard they suffered... Poor Bruce..... Mama's very upset with this whole BSL thing... Please notify us of anything more that you can do! Puggle loves! Annie and my brofurr Delgado The list of banned dogs is too long. However, the abuse that people inflict on man's best friend would be even longer. BSL and what is happening to Bruce and other pups who are abused is TOTALLY WRONG AND UNFAIR! Love - Angel Boscofrowncryred face P.S. The red face is how humans should feel when they abuse a dog. Hello Pups! I'm a cat and I don't have any doggie family, but I feel your pain. BLS is unfair, unjust, and wrong on many levels. Governments who have these laws should be ashamed. I'm purring up a storm for Bruce and all others in his position. If we all hold paws and work together, hopefully we can create change. Your feline friend, Greyson Hi all, My brother and I are on the list, but not where we live. No one around here knows Catahoulas. In our area, Pitties are not banned, but they are cost prohibited. To own a Pittie you must obtain vast amounts of liability insurance, keep your pup muzzled at all times and never off-leash. Might as well ban them, who wants to go through that. I'll tell you who - the macho red-neck owner that wants a viscious dog. We can't break the circle that way. Poor Bruce - and poor Pitties all over that are treated with suspicion everywhere because no one knows how loving and gentle that they can be. cry cry cry Hello again! Our town is great because in it alone we have probably over ten Pit Bulls spread about, only one being extremely territorial and dominant. Mama's had problems with him, but with her experience with dogs she knows he'd never hurt anyone. That's so sad! PUG IS ON THE DANGER LIST!!!!! Do I look like I could hurt ANYONE?????NO! The only thing I'll do is endanger the flies in my house and the salamanders outside! My brofurr that Mama saved furr 11 days was a Doberman/German Shepherd mix. I couldn't bear to see him go!!!! ('o') ~OO~ don't agree with these "laws". Really, most of those breeds on that list were revered at one point for their positive disposition! I used to have an Austrailian Shepard.... sweetest thing ever, never bit anyone, barely even nipped as a puppy. What they should be doing in these cases, is putting the dogs somewhere that won't have an adverse affect on their quality of life. In the states (I'm from Canada) they have a couple places called "dog island" where dogs live naturally in packs and are re-trained to hone their natural instincts then released into the "wild". There are actually 3 islands, broken up by dog size. This would be a much better solution for the people and the animals. Nobody would have to feed them/clean cages, and the dogs wouldn't live in cages. That sounds much better for Bruce then that dirty, nasty kennel. Most kennels these days actually have the dog's needs in mind, but Bruce was so unfortunate to go to where he's at now. Here's praying that the candle vigil works! Annie Mommy and Daddy were talking about Bruce again lastnight and mommy brought up a very valid point which is most hardened criminals who are sentenced to death for a crime of which they have admitted to are treated better than Bruce who did nothing wrong. Makes one think - Where is the mercy? Where is the dignity? Where is thier conscience??? That's a very good point, and he's not even sentenced to death anymore, so what do they have to prove? How completely terrible and nasty they are to Pit Bulls??? What reallly counts is the INDIVIDUAL personality of the dog. It only matters how the owners/breeders care for and train the dogs. It's so sad. I think that a person should be so dedicated to getting a dog that they should be willing to go through special classes to be sure they're ready and can handle it. Another thing is, I wouldn't have trusted myself to have my beloved dog in Northern Ireland. I'm sure Bruce's family knew of these rules and they risked it. It would have been better to either send the dog to a 'free' home or one that's more safe against BSL... I feel bad about that too... my daddy cries watching those sad videos on youtube, don't don't thing my daddy would give me up with out a fight or flight. again i lick tears from daddy's face as i get another bear hug.little angel

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