The Montreal SPCA has sent 134 dogs to shelters outside of Quebec since Montreal's pit bull ban came into effect last October.

The dogs have been taken in by shelters in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Vermont.

As a practice, sending animals out of province was once limited to exotic animals and farm animals, the Montreal SPCA said.

However, the organization introduced the "temporary placement" protocol to protest what it said was the City of Montreal's "vague and broad" definition of what now constitutes a prohibited dog. The city, for its part, maintains that the bylaw is clear.

In a statement, Marc-André Gosselin, a spokesperson for the mayor, said there shouldn't be "any surprise for anyone regarding the necessary conditions to obtain a dog."

Montreal's new rules ban new ownership of pit bull or pit bull-type dogs, which are defined as:

Staffordshire bull terriers.

American pit bull terriers.

American Staffordshire terriers.

Any mix with these breeds.

Any dog that presents characteristics of one of those breeds.

The SPCA says it can't allow about a third of the dogs it is currently sheltering to be adopted by Montreal residents due to the bylaw.

Dogs now classified by weight, not breed

The SPCA said the city's definition made it "impossible" to determine which dogs are banned and began transferring dogs of all breeds weighing more than 10 kilograms to shelters outside of Montreal, or making them available for adoption to citizens residing outside of Montreal.

"We don't classify dogs by breed, but by weight," said Marie-Noël Gingras of the Montreal SPCA's animal protection service.

Of the 134 dogs that have been transferred, 22 were pit bull-type dogs and others might have had pit bull-type characteristics, Gingras said.

Two pit bull-type dogs, Trinity and Big Daddy, were sent to the Humane Society of Chittenden County in Vermont.

Devon Krusko, the shelter's director, said they were happy to partner with the Montreal SPCA, given the City of Montreal's "discouraging" law.

"These are good dogs without options, and that makes us sad," she said.