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Big-Time Major League Pitcher Refuses to Move Family to Canada After Traded to Toronto Blue Jays Because Ontario Has Banned His Dog

Feb. 19, 2013 10:27am Jonathon M. Seidl

Mark Buehrle to leave family in United States because pit bull banned in Ontario

Buehrle and his family of dogs, including the pit bull mix Slater. (Photo: Mark Buehrle via Christian Post)

DUNEDIN, Fla. (AP) — Mark Buehrle won’t be experiencing the dog days of summer.

While the pitcher is headed to Toronto, his family will split the season between Broward County in Florida and their home in St. Louis. One of their four dogs, Slater, is a mix of bulldog and American Staffordshire Terrier – which is of pit bull lineage. Pit bulls are banned in the province of Ontario.

“He’s an awesome dog,” Buehrle said Saturday. “That’s what’s a shame; just the way he looks is why we have to get separated.”

Sent to Toronto as part of the Miami Marlins’ payroll purge, Buehrle had a few options. He could have left Slater with friends or placed him in a kennel. The Buehrle family also could have moved to Buffalo or somewhere else on the U.S. side of the border, forcing the pitcher to commute 90 minutes each way to Toronto.

Buehrle’s wife, Jamie, 5-year-old Braden and 3-year-old daughter Brooklyn will spend time with the 33-year-old left-hander during spring training, as will Slater and their three vizslas.

“It’s something we’re going to deal with,” Buehrle said. “It’s going to be tough at the beginning, not seeing your kids, but people deal with it and we’ll make it work.”

Buehrle concluded responsible pet owners should not delegate to others the task of caring for a dog. And he said he wouldn’t break a law by taking a dog where it is prohibited.

“We’ve had people say, `Oh, you can bring them up here. Knowing you have money, no one’s going to take your dog because they know you’re going to fight against it,’” Buehrle said. “But the thing is, Slater will have to sit in a cage until that court date gets there, and that could be two weeks, it could be three months. If people don’t own dogs, they’re not going to understand you’re leaving your family and your kids behind over a dog.”

Buehrle said his family will travel to Toronto for occasional visits.

“It’s not like we’re not going to see each other,” he said. “But we just feel like with all the training and all the stuff that we’ve done with the dogs, it’s better that they stay with my wife.”

After going 161-119 during 12 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Buehrle agreed in December 2011 to a $58 million, four-year contract with the Marlins. The team went on a spending spree as it prepared to move into a new ballpark, but a terrible season caused owner Jeffrey Loria to shed stars.

Buehrle was traded in November along with shortstop Jose Reyes, right-hander Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio to the Blue Jays.

None of the Marlins’ players had contractual provisions allowing them to block trades. Buehrle issued a statement in November, saying “I was lied to on multiple occasions” by the Marlins.

“I let it be known how I felt, and I wasn’t happy,” he said. “I felt like we took a leap of faith there, coming there without a no-trade clause, and we felt like we’d be there a long time.”

Buehrle said Marlins President David Samson reached out to him.

“I had nothing to say. I told them I wasn’t in much of a mood, and that they wouldn’t like to hear what I had to say,” Buehrle explained. “I didn’t have much interest in talking to them, and I don’t have any plans now to ever talk to them again.”

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Comments (122)

RedDawn2012
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:12am
I’ve heard of pit bull fanatics, and there are more and more of these loons all the time. But this wacko essentially chose his pit bull over his family.

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charleyrocks
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 5:24am
I don’t understand there are many pit bulls here in Ontario? canada

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scottfreedom
Posted on February 20, 2013 at 3:28am
Oh well what do you expect it is , ohhh canada, ohhh canada ” a ” hole’s

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LeadNotFollow
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 8:50pm
Pit Bulls should be banned in America too.
The Pit Bull has become such a dangerous breed.
They tend to end up in the wrong hands and the wrong environment.
They seem to be used more for guarding drug houses and for dog fighting, than utilized as family pets.

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Glock29
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 8:24pm
Our family has a 5 year old Vizsla and has made the best pet (family member) we ever had. You never saw them around much a few years ago but see them more each year. Florida or Canada….Hmm
That was an easy one to decide….Florida!

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bobbiejean
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 6:18pm
Good for Mark. Many who are not dog owners don’t realize that a dog is part of the
family. For those who fear the dog around the kids, if dog has accepted the kids as part
of ”the pack,” then, they have nothing to fear.

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Casca1
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 5:32pm
After a mauling by a pit bull: ‘the dog never did anything like this before.’ ‘The kids always played with him/her and the dog never even growled.’ ‘The dog never, ever bit, nipped, or showed aggression before.’ etc.etc.etc. on and on and on. You hear this ALL the time from pit bull owners whose dogs killed/mauled/disfigured children, adults, dogs, etc. Check out google. There is NOT a consipiracy against these dogs, there is not a misunderstanding. They all need to go. Does NOT matter how ‘nice’ your pit bull is, does NOT matter how ‘tame’ your pit bull is. If he/she ‘snaps’, as most dogs do, it’s NOT a simple bite. It’s disfigurement, death, mauling, maiming, etc. There’s absolutely NO reason to own these dogs. ESPECIALLY around small children. Anyone who has a family and owns these dogs should be investigated by child protective services. There’s a good reason they’re banned or severely restricted and why most home-owner’s insurance policies will not grant coverage if there’s going to be one in the house. GOOD reason. Check google.

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- pitmom
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 10:39am
  So do you believe everything you read on google? Pits are great dogs, for every 1 that pits out of unprovoked aggression there are 10 million that don’t!
  
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- Casca1
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 8:24pm
  There’s a reason they cause the most deaths, the most maulings, etc. And yes, verified news reports, on google or wherever, are verified. I have NO hesitation to kill any pit bull that approaches me menacingly.
  
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Goldi
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 4:39pm
Maybe you haven’t been to Buffalo lately!

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NanTrek
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 4:38pm
Curious attitude in a man to prefer his dog to his own children. Wonder how his kids will handle this when they are teenagers looking for something to be angry about. People whose dogs are more important than their children are not thinking straight. What will happen to him when the dog dies? Maybe then he will notice his kids.

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Monkey80
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 4:16pm
Good for him, he’s a good person! I’m an animal lover but not as psychotic as Sunstein. I don’t even want to comment on that little ***** VIRGIN who killed the dog with an arrow.

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- RedDawn2012
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 9:15am
  You indeed ARE a monkey.
  
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zb1977
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 4:09pm
Am I the only who has a hard time believing any man would leave his wife and children for days or weeks at a time over a dog? I have owned dogs and enjoy them, but cannot fathom the logic behind this decision.

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potvin
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 3:09pm
I guess even overpaid athletes can’t get everything they want. Dog’s ugly, too.

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PhantomsPhorever
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 2:52pm
NEWSFLASH!! Pit Bulls have been illegal to have in Miami Dade County where the Marlins are located for over 20 years. It sounds like Canada enforces their laws unlike down here in New Sau Paulo. Of course he could have lived north in Broward but Miami does not enforce ANY laws to speak of anyway. Boy those Viszlas are lovely, killed a quail or two above a red dog in past years. Now THATS and excellent dog.

http://www.animallawcoalition.com/breed-bans/article/1902

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AlaskaismyEden
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 2:03pm
How refreshing – a responsible pet owner who takes his obligation seriously! Pets are not fashion statements. Having a pet is like taking on a child: you must be committed to raising, training and loving that pet. So many think they’re humans, getting angry when they don’t respond to being ‘talked to.’ If you’re not up to the task, don’t get one! A dog must be loved, exercised and walked (yes, even if you have a FENCED YARD, your dog needs walks), fed, watered, etc. AND THEY MUST BE TRAINED. It’s not that difficult, but it does require consistency, kindness and patience, under which most dogs thrive.

God will judge us by the way we treat helpless animals, and we should be judged. Most pet owners aren’t as worthy as the animals they own. As Sonny Burgess said, “The more I’m around some people, the more I like my dog.” They are the greatest example of unconditional love most of us will ever encounter in this world. In most cases, only God’s love is more perfect. Would that we, as humans, could come as close.

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- pitmom
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 10:51am
  Well said, AlaskaismyEden, dogs are living beings who depend on us just as kids do, I would never live anywhere my pits were not allowed. Responsibility is the key to having pets, I have 3 pits and I know all of their strenghts and weaknesses. All 3 love people but my yougest female is dog selective so I would never put her in a situation with other dogs, for her sake and for theirs. Because of the stigma that pits have I am very vigilant with training and exercise. Most breeds need lots of exercise and stimulation, which mine get. Leave any breed chained in a back yard un-neutered/un-spayed and with little human contact and 90% of the time you will have an aggressive dog. Pits are the most abused, neglected and killed breed all of which is done by humans, yet they are the monsters? I think not!
  
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The Big Mick
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 1:34pm
Time to BAN the PEOPLE who insist on BANNING STUFF! Permanently.
Drag them into the streets and either beat them to death with baseball bats or blow their heads off.
This is Tyranny at the level of one Vote over 50%. Tyrants, Tyrant Wannabees, and Tyrant Enablers. NO place for them anywhere on Earth in the 21st Century.
Read Walter Williams’ April 7, 2010 Column “Parting Company” and follow what Theologian Francis Schaeffer calls “the logical outcome of presuppositions” all the way out, not just within The Republic, but without.
The Trend is Clear, comrades, toward Greater and Greater Collective Control, you can either Fight it by killing them or be enslaved by them.

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- PhantomsPhorever
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 2:57pm
  Hank Jr. said it best “this is the coalition, to ban coalitions…..”
  
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- The Big Mick
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 6:04pm
  Phantom.
  50 points on The Official Big Mick “Name that Classic Allusion” Scoring list for the Bocephus allusion.
  
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pagraywolf
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 1:07pm
My family always had dogs, so I understand loving them. However, there’s no way I’d be separated from my 3 and 5 year old children just to keep a dog. I’d probably do the Buffalo thing and suffer the commute to keep my family together – 2 legged and 4 legged.

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- The Big Mick
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 1:35pm
  Why should they suffer because Ontario is stupid?
  What should be happening is everybody who voted for the ordinance should be waking up to find their homes in flames.
  
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- pagraywolf
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 2:27pm
  This is his choice. No one forced him. And we’re talking about a province in a foreign country; they have a right to outlaw a dog breed if they choose. I’m not saying I agree with it, but they have that right. No one has the right to burn down someone’s home over a law about dog breeds.
  
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- The Big Mick
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 6:01pm
  PA Gray wolf.
  They take one’s dog, one take’s their house, why is the one more full of “right” than the other, because a “Majority” agree with it? Would it be equally “right” if The Majority banned “black” people, say?
  I have no more truk with the Tyranny of the One Over 50% then I do with the Tyranny of the One.
  If my dog injures someone then I am responsible, telling me what KIND of dog I can have is not ANYONE’s right, even if it is EVERYBODY but me.
  
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- Casca1
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 8:50pm
  Oh geez. That’s the typical pit bull nutters tactic. To call all those who dislike, are wary of, or tell the brutal, honest truth about pit bulls, ‘racists’.
  It’s not just ‘rescued’, or ‘abused’, or ‘mistreated’ pit bulls that are mauling, killing, disfiguring human beings, it’s ANY pit bull that ‘has a moment’ like most dogs do. Trouble is, the wounds from pit bulls are terribly severe and often life-threatening. By the way….no other dog but a pit bull will try to bring down a full grown horse, bite, hang onto it and try to drag it to the ground to kill it. NO OTHER DOG but a pit bull.
  If ‘special training’ is needed to own one, then make it a requirement, a law, before one can purchase it. Even responsible pit bull trainers, breeders, and kennel owners will tell prospective owners the danger of owning a pit bull and the extra-special care and training required in owning one.
  
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226crimsontrace
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:55pm
Lot of strange people here letting animal ownership overtake common sense

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Rowgue
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:53pm
Why is this news. It’s not uncommon at all for players in all sports to not move their families to every new city they end up playing in. There are a thousand different reasons they don’t always want to establish a new permanent residence for the entire family every time they change teams. Especially a guy that’s on his third team in as many years and is pretty much washed up and most likely going to retire after this year anyway.

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spearharper
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:47pm
The truth about Pitbulls ….

http://www.beyondthemythmovie.com/

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sta
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:14pm
Dog breeds have been bred to become what humans needed them for. “Pit Bulls” (American Pit Bull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and any crosses between the three.) were bred to care for cattle and fight boar. They are great dogs to serve a purpose. However, people think that one can take on a dog and keep them from their nature. The nature of these dogs is to be protectors. One cannot reason with them to say that the kitty that came in the yard, the dog being walked on a lead or the new child who runs at them for a pet, is not an enemy. A city neighborhood is not the best place for these dogs. Suburbs are better, country is best.
One has to put tons of time into a dog who is not in the proper environment. Unless one is willing to do that, it is bad for the dog and bad for the environment.

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Casca1
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 12:03pm
Pit bull laws and restrictions has NOTHING to do with how ‘nice’ or ‘friendly’ your pit bull is. NOTHING. It has to do with the fact that a lot of dogs, over many breeds, ‘snap’ at one time or another. Once a strong dog like a pit bull ‘snaps’, it’s usually not a little injury. Pit bulls are not ‘bite and release’ type of dogs. They hold one, rending and tearing flesh, dragging its victim to the ground so it can kill it properly. You need a gun or other weapon to get the dog off the victim. Don’t give me that nonsense of how friendly your pit bull is. Of course it’s probably friendly. But if it bites, it usually results in a terrific and terrible injury, if not death. Blaming or prosecuting the owner of a pit bull that mauled or killed a human being REQUIRES a victim. Ontario, Denver, many US cities and countries have laws banning or severely restricting ownership of them. There’s a REASON for this. It’s NOT a conspiracy. Check google. I don’t care how friendly your pit bull is. The excuses owners give when their dog mauls or kills someone is ALWAYS the same: ‘he/she never did anything like this before’. ‘The kids always played with him/her, he never even growled at them.’ It’s sickening hearing it.

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123abc
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:59am
Well I see that he has 3 Vizsla’s. Perhaps the finest dog breed known to man (as long as they get their hour of daily exercise in). We have one and she is one fantastic dog.

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zombiestopper
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:34am
Guns…. Pit bulls…… 20+ounce sodas……..Styrofoam cups
People on both sides of the border should get tired of and becoming very wary of the NANNY/Big brother state we are creating…….. Did anyone watch the hunger games, or 1984
This crap is happening right before our eyes…..
We are living the Zombie Apocalypse except these Zombies vote and are willingly allowing their freedom to be eaten along with their brains

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hi
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:24am
He is stupid to have a pit bull around his 3 an 5 year old.

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- RinkyDink34
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:57am
  @HI
  Great Handle;
  I agree with you about not having a Pitt Bull around little kids; I just don’t trust Pitt Bulls nor my Rocky Boy. I am a K-9 lover and have 2 German Sheppard dogs and a Carolina Dingo Dog. But, my 8 year old Male German Sheppard Rocky is a great watch dog and will and has attacked strangers, and has snapped at my grand kids; therefore we make certain that Rocky is never in the house when kids are present. But, this Gov. banning of Pitt Bulls is what happens when the Stupid people vote Marxism aka Comrade Obama instead of Freedom.
  
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- Casca1
  Posted on February 19, 2013 at 8:55pm
  Sorry RINKYDINK34, but to own any dog that must be locked up when kids are around is ludicrous. Why take the chance a child may open the door where the dog is or the dog escapes and kills the kid? I never, ever can understand the mindset of people owning dogs that are so dangerous they must be locked up if kids are around.
  
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Warphead
Posted on February 19, 2013 at 11:20am
After banning all Pit Bulls the Canadian Government was thrilled to announce that the incidents of Pit Bull attacks dropped 100%. What they are scratching their heads over though is that there is no decrease in dog attacks as well as the severity. I’ve had three Pit Bulls over the years. Each has been the most gentle loyal friend anyone would ever hope to find. If someone were to have tried to harm any one of them it wouldn’t be the dog they would have to had worry about.

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- pitmom
  Posted on February 20, 2013 at 11:05am
  Exactly, all breed bans do is punish the honest, good dog owners and cost tax payers lots of money. Lots of cities are doing away with the bans because they don’t work in bringing down dog bite stats. Having dangerous dog laws that covers all breeds does.
  
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