Mark Buehrle and his family may have finally found a solution to their family pet problem, if you can even call it a solution. Last year, we told you how Buehrle was unable to live in Miami while playing for the Marlins because of a pit bull ban in Miami-Dade county. As (bad) luck would have it, Toronto also does not allow people to have pit bulls as pets, meaning Buehrle’s dog Slater is not allowed to join him in Blue Jays country either.
According to ESPN.com’s Jerry Crasnick, the Buehrle family has decided not to move to Toronto with Mark for the upcoming season in order to remain home with Slater.
“We’re not trying to make people feel sorry for us,” Buehrle explained. “Obviously they’re going to say, ‘You make a lot of money. Boo hoo.’ I know it’s part of baseball and every person deals with it, but this is our first time being away from each other all season. We’re going to travel and see each other and make it work. But those nights when we have a Sunday day game and I can go home and have dinner with the family and give the kids a bath and put them to bed, that’s what I’m going to miss.”
The Buehrles said that a number of people have suggested they leave Slater with a friend for the six months during the season or offered to watch after him, but Mark’s wife Jamie says they would not leave the dog behind just as they wouldn’t leave one of their children.
“A lot of people have said, ‘We’ll just keep Slater for you,'” Jamie said. “To me, that would be like if we moved somewhere that only allowed boys. I wouldn’t leave my daughter behind. Six or seven months is a lot of time. Slater would adjust. He’s real easygoing. But I don’t want him to bond with someone else. He’s our dog. That wasn’t really an option.”
Pit bull bans have been a heavily-debated topic across the country, and we all know which side of the argument the Buehrles are on. As we know from that time Buehrle unloaded on Michael Vick over the dogfighting scandal a few years ago, Mark and his wife are big time dog people. From all indications, Slater looks like a friendly dog. It’s a shame the irresponsible actions of some dog owners lead to laws like this one.
H/T Hardball Talk
