The anipal world has been watching Belfast, where the fate of a dog named Lennox rests on the judge who has already rendered an opinion in the case. Lennox has only a few more days to live unless the judge decides that he should not die.
Thousands of people around the world have not only followed the case as it unfolds in Belfast, but have organized a social media and web campaign to influence the outcome of the case. Supporters of Lennox called for a round-the-world vigil Sunday 9 October, the Belfast Telegraph reported. The website, petition and vigil all aim to get the judge in the case to change the decision that means Lennox will be euthanized sometime in the next week as a dangerous dog.
Experienced and knowledgeable dog trainers have also spoken out about the case. Notably, Victoria Stilwell of It’s Me or the Dog who is from the UK although living in New York now, asked to review the case and has spoken out strongly in favor of Lennox. Stilwell said that her review of the video evidence of the assessment of Lennox by police dog handlers indicated that Lennox engaged in remarkably restrained behavior given the stress he was under. Stilwell maintains that Lennox has been doomed by his close resemblance to a pit bull terrier, a dog that is banned in the U.K. under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
Stilwell presented her views 30 September at BarkWorld Expo and published them 9 October in the North Country Gazette.
This breed-specific law makes it illegal to breed, sell or own Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brazileiro unless the dog is given a special exemption, the BBC reported.
Stilwell says that those who want to ban certain breeds of dog are looking at the “wrong end of the leash” for the culprits of aggressive dog behavior. She is not alone in insisting that Lennox is not a dangerous dog. Pete Wedderburn, otherwise known as Pete the Vet, spoke on behalf of Lennox on Irish TV. Wedderburn told Ireland: AM, “Judging a dog based on his looks is just silly.”
Another British trainer, Mic Martin, who stars in a TV show in the UK after a 30-year career training dogs for the British police and military and for for films such as The Dark Knight and Harry Potter 5, said the decision to euthanize Lennox is one of the “top 10 worse decisions of all time,” according to North Country Gazette.
“Let me get this right,” Martin said. “Lennox is being put to sleep because it jumped up at the warden? Are you all totally mad? We might have to PTS about half the dogs in the UK if jumping up is all it takes.”
Lennox ended up facing a death sentence at the age of six because he jumped up on officials who had come to his family’s home to check on his license. Before authorities seized him on 19 May, 2010, Lennox lived with the Barnes family in North Belfast. The family and supporters including Stilwell, say that he is an American bull cross, rather than a Pit Bull Terrier. He was more than a pet for the daughter of the family, for whom he was a therapy dog. After a long court battle, the judge denied Lennox and his family’s appeal of the judgment that he is dangerous on 30 September, the same day Stilwell spoke at BarkWorld Expo.
The online petition addressed to the leaders of the government of Northern Ireland to Save and Release Lennox currently has 111,992 signatures (10 pm EDT 9 October).
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That judge is totally off base. But, now I think he knows the whole world is against him, but he refuses to give in to “save face.” His own face! What a nasty man.
Apparently, the judge rather be seen as a tyrannical monster, instead of a World-Wide Hero, that changed the view of the Country…
Belfast, Northern Ireland and the court system would gain worldwide respect with a display of compassion and humanity with the release of Lennox to the little disabled girl who’s waiting for her bestest friend to come home. It’s likely if the BCC wanted to impose a condition holding them harmless from any harm caused by Lennox that the family would do so. The eyes of the world are upon Belfast. How the world perceives the country and its people rests in their hands and the fate of Lennox.
Lennox has been given a stay of execution until 14 October for the family to prove its case with a second appeal. Please sign and forward the petition to release this dog to his family. http://www.petitiononline.com/sl190510/petition.html
Do the right thing, and send Lennox home to his family!!
This has been going on too long.
Its all wrong!!!!
So shaming that a respected judge did not listen to the experts in this case but, instead, accepted the ignorant views of someone who was actively trying to make Lennox attack him and failed. This ex police dog handler should be ashamed of himself as should the judge for failing to familiarise himself with what is and is not aggressive dog behaviour. If Lennox is put to death on such trumped up evidence British justice will be held up to ridicule around the world – and rightly so!
This is a dreadful outcome to a shameful case which has destroyed my faith in British justice. It is almost as if “the system” wants to show animal lovers it doesn’t approve of them.
In my opinion, a society can be judged by how well it treats other living creatures. Our society will be found wanting. There is nothing fair or just about what is happening here and the idea that voters are really in charge in a democracy doesn’t hold up. The only comfort I take from it is that there are many other people who feel the same as I do. We must never give up the fight against BSL and must continue to do our best for the oppressed, whether animal or human. We may not always be able to prevent injustice from happening but we have to keep raising our voices to say that something is wrong.
As a person of Irish descent, I expect more rational, merciful decisions on the part of my fellow Irishmen. Taking the disabled little girl’s dog away from her, when the family abided by all your laws regarding dogs, is wrong. Just because I am short & Irish does not make me a Leprachaun. Just because a horse has 4 legs, a cat has 4 legs, and a table has 4 legs, does not make a horse & cat a table. This is the logic Belfast is using to assess this dog. He is not a pitbull. He is a mixed lab/retriever American bulldog. This 12 yr. old girld did not train her mixed breed Lennox to fight. He was taken illegally, many testimonies against the dog have been false. DO THE RIGHT THING BELFAST. GIVE LENNOX BACK TO THE LITTLE GIRL. She needs this dog as a service dog, her health is deteriorating, & you will be responsible if anything happens to her. Please Give Lennox back to her alive & well. For the Love of God, use your heart & head & not your politics to decide.
How do we even know Lennox is still alive? I have serious doubts. I presume they are just hoping this will “go away” if they stay silent. How absurd. This whole debacle is just so wrong on all levels.
The animal people are nuts! Lennox is not a bad dog. This is a cause celebre in which the victim, a family pet is being victimised. Shame on Belfast Council.
And today, because of how we all feel in the UK, there are a number of protests around the UK to end BSL (Breed Specific Law) and reform the DDA (Dangerous Dogs Act). Today in Wesminster at 11-4pm.
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