The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 3, 2003 - A3 Pit bulls could be banned from Clearview leash-free zone Upon entering, Vracarevic said she saw two dogs playing and three pitbulls -- what appeared to be a puppy and two adults -- near the entrance. With the two other dogs present, she thought the pitbulls would be fine. She also asked their owner if the dogs were friendly and the owner said yes and asked her if Lincoln was friendly. The puppy pitbull soon came in search of Lincoln, said Vracarevic. and when her dog shied away, the two adult pitbulls came running and pounced on Lincoln. "In an instant they were on top of Lincoln and began to attack him. Without much thought. 1 snatched Lincoln and ran toward the exit. The whole event transpired in a matter of seconds." said Vracarevic. Vracarevic said the pitbulls were quickly leashed and she didn't bother to talk to either their owners or other wit nesses because she was upset and didn't know her dog had been injured. She simply got him out fast. It wasn't until walking the Chinese Shar-Pei home however that Vracarevic noticed he was walking oddly and upon feeling through his fur discovered two puncture wounds. When Lincoln's fur was shaved at the vet's, five more wounds were dis covered. He required seven stitches. Vracarevic said she returned to the park every night after work last week and visited about five times last Sunday to see if she could meet up with the owners or anyone else who may have been in the park at the time. Vracarevic has also contacted numerous people, including the Oakville and District Humane Society which recorded her experience, and the Town of Oakville. She also contacted the local residents' group that helps fund the park's leash-free zone, Clearview Oakville Community Alliance (CO CA), which is e-mailing Vracarevic's account of the attack and pictures of Lincoln's injuries to its membership. " I really don't know what the best thing to do is," Vracarevic said. Vracarevic wants people to be aware of what can happen, especially the own ers of the pitbulls. " I want to notify the community to be careful of these pitbulls. The owners thought they had control over the dogs, but they didn't," said Vracarevic. " It would sadden me to discover that in future they did not take any precau tion and another dog or even a child was injdred. I implore those in the commu nity to aid me in finding the owners of the pitbulls and to prevent future occur rences." said Vracarevic. She believes the pitbulls were purebreds. They were white with gray patch es on their body and head and were very strong and muscular. One was a puppy and the other two appeared to be the puppy's parents. " I 'm only returning to the park to see if I can find out more information. I wouldn't go back." said Vracarevic, adding. " I would hesitate before taking Lincoln in there again." The resident said the dogs' owners were a white man and woman in their 30s and were with a girl in her mid teens. They drove a small, red four-door car. Michelle Sloan, CO CA president, helped form the leash-free zone five years ago when her dog, Duke, was just a puppy. Last August, Sloan said her 140pound dog came under attack by a Doberman pinscher. Sloan said COCA is circulating word of the attack among its membership and is keeping a close watch on the park's leash-free zone. It's also investigating whether it could legally ban certain breeds from the leash-free zone. " I know that's not fair, but it's an aggressive type dog and once it does fight, it's hard to break up " said Sloan. Having seen pictures of Lincoln's injuries. Sloan said the pitbull's jaw was wide open and clamped. Sloan said she hopes the pitbulls' owners w ill come forward and take responsibility not only for Lincoln's vet bills, but also to keep their dogs out of the park -- or at least to muzzle them. "The dogs' owners might not know (Lincoln) was injured." said Sloan who admitted dogs w ill get into scraps. " It does happen and with certain breeds of dogs you can control it. With other breeds of dogs, it's hard to control it," she said. Leash-free zones have been a suc cess story at six Oakville parks and Bronte Creek Provincial Park. The zones are fenced areas in which dogs can roam free. They're at Bronte's Shell Park: near Glen Abbey's Recreation Centre; Kingsford Gardens in Clearview; Glenashton Park in Iroquois Shore Ridge; Post Park on Chartwell Road and there's a trail and an unfenced, open space, at Bronte Creek Provincial Park. The trail is accessible off Burloak Drive. The open space is off Bronte Road at Upper Middle Road. Outside the zones, dogs in Oakville must be leashed. Leash-free zones were initially a bone of contention, but dog owners spearheaded the bid for leash-firee zones at Post Park and Shell Park in the late 1990s and what were trial runs, became promising additions to the parks. The zones have benches, bags to facilitate the Town's mandatory stoopand-scoop rules and on Town property, are fully, fenced with pedestrian gates and signs that not only identify the leash-free areas in the parks, but also its " code of ethics." Dogs must be kept under voice con trol and in sight at all time. If they get aggressive, the leash goes back on. Each park is funded, not by the Town, but by a dog walking group. At Kingsford Gardens, CO CA supervises the one-acre leash-free zone. Each of the dog walking groups holds fundraisers, from auctions to pub nights, to raise funds for their park's leash-free zone. We're Glad to Announce December Glad Tidings Great Savings Event! C-Cotpo Kompreasor C-Oass M-Class THE END OF O UR YEAR C O U L D M A R K T H E B E G IN N IN G O F Y O U R S . M E R C E D E S -B E N Z YEAR EN D SALE Lease Rate 5 .9 0 % for 39 months closed end lease Retail Finance 3 .9 0 % for 24 & 36 m onths Retail Finance 4 .9 0 % for 48 & 60 m onths Call for more details. Lease & finance rates available for m odel year 2004 only. NOTE: Lease and finance rates do not apply to AMG Models M e rce d e s B e n z O a k v ille V ln ra y M o to rs U ! W & D o rv a l l)riv< \ O a k v ille · 905-845-6623 \vww.m oray motors.com | <32003 Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.. Toronto, Ontario Please see your dealer for details BEAT THE W INTER C H ILL H O T DEALS FR O M K E R R 2003 Pontiac [ontana Extended tB a s e do n2 0 0 3E n e tg u id * H ig h w a yC o n s u m p tio n M O S T FUEL EFFICIENT M INIVAN IN C AN AD A 2003 Pontiac id AM GT Coupe *23,699! ( Y ' * FINANCING ^ ` Not applicable with cash price *20,999 CASH or PRICE %* FINANCING ` Not applicable with cash price Includes: front and rear air conditioning, cruise control, power windows and locks, CD stereo, dual air bags, ABS brakes, aluminum wheels and remote keyless entry. 7 or 8 passenger your choice. Includes: 3.4L SFI 175hp V6 engine, 16" aluminum wheels, spoiler, fog lamps, power driver's seat, cruise control, A/C, CD stereo with 8 speaker Monsoon speaker system, ABS brakes, dual airbags, remote keyless entry and premium bucket seats. Includes: NEW 2.2L 140 hp Ecotec engine, 4-speed automatic transmission, theft deterrent system, airbags, CD player, spoiler, 60/40 split folding rear seat and a " Kerr exclusive". THIS SUNFIRE HAS LEATHER! SAVE THOUSANDS ON OUR 2003 DEMONSTRATORS 2 Buick Rendezvous 1 Cadillac Escalade ESV 1 Pontiac Montana 1 GMC Sierra Crew Cab Guaranteed off 2004 G M VISA REDEMPTION CENTRE 1 GMC Yukon SLT 1 GMC Yukon Denali XL e off 2003 You Could Win Your RING IN &WIN Vehicle GRADUATE PROGRAM $1000 f M o liih u f !/ 750 si MORE SELECTION MORE AFFORDABLE We are Oakville's Exclusive Cadillac, Pontiac, Buick G M C superstore. Priccs include all applicable incentives. Cash price are plus freight, A/C tax, gas tax, admin., license. GST and PST. Deal with a fam ily o w n e d G M store serving the c o m m u n ity for o ve r 32 years Burlington - Kerr s T ^ M il:sissauga QEW T3 410 South Service Rd. W., Oakville 905.845.1681 P O N T I A C o ^ Wyecroft Rd. BUICK www.kerrcadillac.gmcanada.com £ o o to ro C D