One unexpected snafu in this week’s still-unofficial blockbuster trade between the Blue Jays and the Miami Marlins may be Ontario’s ban on pit bulls.

Mark Buehrle, one of the Jays’ key acquisitions in the proposed 12-player swap, is the proud owner of four rescue dogs, including Slater, a 2-year-old American Staffordshire terrier, which is one of the breeds covered under the Dog Owner’s Liability Act, the province’s seven-year prohibition on pit bulls.

Buehrle, who has not made any public statement since reports of the trade surfaced Tuesday night, is not likely to easily part with his beloved pet.

When the 33-year-old lefty signed with the Marlins last year, he and his wife Jamie chose to buy a house 80 kilometres north of Miami so they could live in a county that allowed pit bulls in order to keep Slater in the family.

Like Ontario, Miami bans pit bull breeds.

Jamie Buehrle actually started a Change.org petition when they moved to Florida to try and get the county to change the law.

“When my husband, Mark, became the new pitcher for the Miami Marlins, we were excited to move our family down to Florida and join our team’s community,” the petition reads. “But then we found out our family wasn’t welcome in Miami-Dade County, because one of our rescued dogs, Slater, is a pit bull. We were lucky enough to be able to afford to buy a house outside of Miami-Dade County so we could keep Slater. Many families aren’t as fortunate, and they love their dogs just as much.”

The trouble for Slater and the Buerhles is that pit bulls are banned across Ontario, not just Toronto. The nearest haven for the breed would be across the U.S. border in Buffalo or Niagara Falls — a solid two-hour drive away.

Only animals born before the ban took effect in 2005 are exempt from the bylaw, so there would be no exception for Buehrle, said Kim Smithers supervisor of animal services with the City of Toronto.

“The dog is prohibited from being in the province of Ontario.”

The Jays-Marlins trade — viewed in Miami as a controversial salary dump — is currently being reviewed by Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig while the players involved continue to undergo physicals.

Once it is made official it will be interesting to see if Ontario’s exclusion of Slater presents a new obstacle.

Buehrle was an outspoken critic of Michael Vick — the NFL quarterback who was convicted in 2007 of operating a dog-fighting ring — and if he decides to take a stand on this issue for Slater, Buehrle could provide the kind of celebrity endorsement the movement needs to succeed in its long fight to repeal the ban.

“Trust me, I will be behind him every step of the way,” says Cheri Di Novo, the Toronto NDP MPP who has been leading the fight against the ban in the Ontario legislature. “We’ll do everything within our power to try to assist him and try to keep his dog safe.”

Bill 16, the tri-partisan member’s bill co-authored by Di Novo, Conservative Randy Hillier and Liberal Kim Craitor — which would repeal the ban and amend the Act to remove any breed-specific language — made it to a third reading in May but was denied by the governing Liberals.

Di Novo says as soon as the legislature resumes, she will re-table the bill and she is confident it will eventually be overturned.

Ohio removed pit bulls from their definition of “vicious” dogs in May, the Netherlands repealed their 15-year ban in 2009, Vancouver in 2005 and Delta, B.C., in 2011. The Ontario Veterinary Medical Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association, the OSPCA and the Toronto Humane Society have publicly opposed the ban as a means of reducing dog aggression.

“Other jurisdictions around the world have overthrown (breed-specific language) one by one so we expect it will happen in Ontario as well,” Di Novo said. “The question is when. Will it be in time for his dog? I don’t know.”

Di Novo also suggested Buehrle could simply flout the law.

“Chances are the enforcement officers aren’t going to come after his dog because he’s a celebrity. … People with money tend not to be targeted, because animal enforcement knows they can get lawyers to fight it.”

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Ontario’s pit bull ban has been in place since 2005 and it prohibits the owning of any pit bulls, with exceptions for animals born in the province before the ban took effect, or owned by Ontario residents before the ban took effect.

Dogs covered by the ban include: pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers,

American Staffordshire terriers and American pit bull terriers. As well as any dogs physically resembling the above-named breeds.

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