User:ShaneMc1

Shane McNeil, born in Toronto, June 13, 1966. Educated in Toronto, he holds a Bachelor degree. He is the first person in his family and extended family, to hold a degree. In 2008, Shane ran for Mississauga Ward 7 City Councillor, against incumbent Nando Iannicca, and he finished second, in a field of five candidates. In 2011, Shane was elected as Director of North America's oldest dog park association, Leash Free Mississauga. While at LFM, Shane Chaired the Relationship committee, with Mississauga councillor, Ron Starr. The purpose of this committee was to establish a better relationship between LFM and the city of Mississauga, and to make humane recommendations regarding the welfare of our dogs. In 2014, with the help of councillor Nando Iannicca, Shane formed Mississauga's Animal Standards committee. The purpose of this committee was to form new protective bylaws for outdoor dogs, and dogs being transported. Shane's main goal was to initiate temperature restrictions for outdoor dogs. The committee consisted of Shane, councillors Iannicca, George Carlson and Chairperson Pat Saito. On December 1, 2014, recommendations from this committee became law, and were the first of its kind for anywhere in Canada, as reported in the National Post, the Toronto Star and the Mississauga News. These newly-made bylaws included a very-first no-tethering law, for anywhere in Canada, which prohibits dogs being tethered for longer than four hours in a twenty-four hour period, and dogs can only be tethered when in plain view of a handler. Other laws made it illegal to deny Veterinary attention to dogs; No dog can be kept in a dog run without being let out, a minium of four hours per day; Dog runs to be a minium of 100 square feet in size, with an additional 30 square feet for each additional dog; No dog can be left outdoors without a weather-proof dog house, that is constructed double-panelled, insulated between panels with home insulation, and be fully waterproof; Multiple dogs can not be transported without being crated and crates securely fastened, when outside the passenger compartment of a vehicle. Shane insisted the Chair of his committee wrongly recorded particulars regarding dog runs, in that the committee required dogs be not kept in dog runs for longer than four hours per day, to mirror the no-tethering law. When this was brought to the attention of the Chair, she refused to reopen the discussion, and the law moved ahead with this mistake uncorrected. Shane then formed S.A.D, Society Advocating for Dogs, as he became a reoccurring on-air correspondent for animal- welfare issues, on Newstalk1010, the Jim Richards Showgram, between 2014-2016. Shane's beloved dog, Smokey, a German Shepherd-Boxer, sadly passed away from Leukemia on February 11, 2019. Shane was devastated, as he strongly attributed all work done for dogs, and all ground-breaking changes to the law, including Canada's very first no-tethering law, all only came because of Smokey. Without Smokey, he felt he would have not been involved in such issues. Smokey is buried in a nearby Pet Cemetery. Shane wishes to have Smokey moved to a people cemetery, so he can later be buried with Smokey. Currently, in 2019, Provincial laws in Canada do not yet allow for this.

-Shane continues with his advocacy work for dogs, with S.A.D. He has been approached by MPP Nicholls' office, in their attempt to reverse the province-wide breed-specific ban on Pitbulls. Shane is a former CRA Tax Officer, and currently practices as a private tax accountant. He is also a guitarist and songwriter by hobby, but writes under a pseudonym. He is currently fostering a dog in need, a stray Lab from the streets of Istanbul,Turkey.