Town may force child with cerebral palsy to give up his pony

[Are_grits_groceries]

A dispute has erupted in Caledon, Ont., over whether a family with a child with cerebral palsy should be allowed to keep a pony.

Three-year-old Sam Spiteri was born with a form of cerebral palsy that makes it hard for him to do ordinary tasks such as walk, hold toys, eat or speak.

The youngster has been riding his miniature pony, Emily, since he was an infant.

"Taking her away would be devastating to Sam. It is his best friend," said his mother Antonia Spiteri.

He's so attached to the animal that his rides usually end in tears because he doesn't want to leave Emily.

But a neighbour's complaint about the animal's smell is now being handled by the Town of Caledon, whose bylaw enforcement manager has ruled the Spiteris' half-hectare property is zoned rural-residential, meaning they cannot keep livestock.

Comment from reader:3) This article fails to mention that the complaining neighbours property joins onto a cow farm on the other side of their house.



http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/11/26/caledon-pony.html#articlecomments

I wish the person who owns the cows would let them shit by the fence adjoining the whiner's property.
That should give his nose something else to whiff.

[Vinca]

1. I wonder if Canada has any kind of provision that might enable

the pony to be classified as a service animal. Heck, there are dogs bigger than that little thing.

[annabanana]

2. Some people really go out of their way to be pricks. .

I don't get it.. If they're already next to a herd of cows, how much could a little theraputic pony bother them?

[LisaL]

6. And the pony is so cute.

Why would anyone be bothered by a such an adorable animal?

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. Like the OP?

"I wish the person who owns the cows would let them shit by the fence adjoining the whiner's property.
That should give his nose something else to whiff. "

So they both should have to breathe in animal odors while enjoying their barn^H^H^H^H homes?

[zanne]

3. Frig the neighbors!

If that was my little boy, I'd fight them tooth and nail.

[summer borealis]

4. Why are (some) Canadians such assholes???

just asking.

[Posteritatis]

22. Why are (some) Americans such assholes?

Why are (some) Nigerians such assholes?

Why are (some) Britons such assholes?

Come on. Parenthetical that's-not-what-I-meants notwithstanding it's ridiculous to treat a country of 35 million people as anything even close to a monolith. Every time there's a news article about someone being an idiot or worse up here, this "what's Canada's problem?" BS starts flying around.

[doodadem]

5. Reminds me of my asshole neighbors

They called the health dept., claiming that they were being bothered by the composted horse manure I use in the landscaping in front of my house. They live a quarter mile away.

What they neglected to mention was that, A) We have been in a nasty lawsuit the past 4 years, and they'll do anything to try to get at us, and B) They keep cattle, including right in their front yard. They do absolutely nothing for fly abatement, including never picking up manure. We clean twice a day, compost manure, use parasitic fly wasps, fly sprays, etc.

I also obtained a statement from my garden club president, saying we followed good organic gardening practices, and that she had observed no odor or flies whatsoever.

The Health Dept. could not boogey out of here fast enough!

There is no way in the world that one little pony could generate anything close to what the cattle on the other side of the people in this story are generating. There's something else going on there.

[Bobbieo]

9. Is Caledon, Ont. the same as Caledonia? If so, the town has other problems

between the Mohawks and the provincial gov't.

[Posteritatis]

23. There's like 78139589135 places named some variant of Caledonia up here

This country seems to draw from a pretty limited set of place names at times.

[IndyOp]

7. Could the parents afford - or could the community help - them build a place for the pony

on the location of their property that is farthest away from the complaining neighbor? Could they help make design/implement a clean-as-possible system for getting rid of the pony's waste?

The pony is not much larger than a couple of big dogs -- with the proper set up I would hope the next-door neighbor would be willing to chill out.

If, however, the pony is positioned right next to their back patio and the owners aren't keeping the pony's waste properly, then it is reasonable for the neighbors to complain - especially if the waste is attracting particularly nasty flies or other bugs.

[LisaL]

10. The neighbor lives next to the cattle farm.

HTF does he know he is smelling the pony and not the cows in the first place?
And his mother is a single parent. She is living with her parents. I don't think she has a lot of money.
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/11/26/town-threatens-to-evict-disabled-boy-s-pony.aspx

[doodadem]

29. And THAT's the other thing!

If the zoning would prohibit a small pony, it would definitely prohibit the other neighbor's cattle as livestock.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. That is just plain mean.

[liberalmuse]

11. Not gonna happen.

Enough people will express outrage that this child will be able to keep his pony. Animals smell. So do people. It's life. I think the neighbor is going to have to learn to deal with this very real fact.

[hlthe2b]

18. Enough fresh hay/straw and odor is really not an issue...

Geebus... I'd be thrilled to have them live next to me.

[RavingMadwoman]

12. Cerebral palsy and pony

Geez LOUISE! What the hell is WRONG with people?

[midnight]

13. Riding can help with muscular issues. I hope they decide to

keep the pony.

[moggie]

14. I guess this is a rural area

If you don't like smells, don't live in the country! Sheesh!

[pitohui]

15. can't they get it classed as a therapy animal?

there are some hoops to jump, but it's possible, years ago i know a woman who was able to get her parrot classified as a therapy animal -- i believe she had a medication resistant clinical depression or bipolar syndrome, can't recall anymore, but she was able to go through the steps and in this way keep her bird with her

horses/ponies aren't my favorite animal but they can mean a great deal to people who have trouble walking or who have never known the freedom to run

i'd definitely check around and see what steps need to be taken to go that route

a therapy animal can stay in your home no matter what the zoning

i agree w. others that there is prob. more going on w. the asshole neighbor, he probably just wants to harass the people, doesn't like living next to a handicapped kid, or whatever, some people are just hateful

[Warpy]

16. There's probably another ordinance covering

guide dogs and other service animals.

I'd suggest these people look under those statutes. I think they'd certainly apply in this one case. The kid is disabled and the pony is certainly his assistive animal.

As for the complainants, they need to be put to work every weekend doing community service shoveling out the cow barns on their other property border.

[demodonkey]

17. Lots of Mini Horses used as service animals. They live 2 to 4 times longer than a dog...

...many are being used by blind and other people with disabilities.

BTW, horses' manure really does not stink much, not nearly as much as cows' or even dogs'. If composted for a little while it actually smells good, like potting soil or clean earth.

[MadHound]

20. Riding horses of any size has been shown to be theraputic for people with CP

And other neurological disorders. The Spiteri's should get a good lawyer, who will take care of this in short order.

As far as the neighbor goes, I say that the Spiteris should start spraying pig shit in such a manner that it carries with the prevailing winds.

[MinneapolisMatt]

21. I'm so furious.

Let the kid keep his pony.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

[philosophie_en_rose]

24. Looks like a service animal. There should be an exception.

I think the family should be responsible and clean up after it, but how is one pony smellier than a farm of cows? I don't know about Canadian law, but exceptions are made for service animals in the US and I think the pony should count.

[The Doctor.]

25. Ohferchrist'ssake...

Shouldn't be a problem to get the name and number of the whiners.

[many a good man]

26. Make a mountain out of a molehill

If I lived nearby the Whiner family would come home from church on Sunday to find a six foot high mountain of cow shit in their living room.

[foxfeet]

27. Oh, now that is just plain tacky (no pun intended).

Is there a Canadian version of the ADA that would permit an accommodation of this kid's disability to override the local ordinance?

[Withywindle]

28. I wish there was a provision in the zoning laws anywhere

to keep mean-spirited control freaks out.

Seriously, a disabled child and a cute pony? Could these neighbors be any more stereotypical Dickensian villains?