lennox

[kittykat10]

i dont know if people know the story but a beautiful dog called lennox was murdered by belfast city council yesterday, destroying a child and familys hearts no doubt.
www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/news.asp?id=3109

there a petition on face book to change the law against dangerous dogs!

please look and sign

www.belfastcity.gov.uk/news/news.asp?id=3109

just converting the link, I always forget to tick the box.

off to have a read.

Yep see the 'I hate Belfast city council' thread...

the dog was illegal - end of story. The owners must have known it was an illegal dog when they acquired it.
If people stop buying them, people will stop breeding them.

"The dog was murdered"

Can a dog be murdered?

Yes, and apparently people who work for Belfast City Council have been receiving death threats from nutters supporters of Lennox's cause. Nice.

By "littermate" - do you mean brother or sister? If you do, it probably is illegal too then. It says in the article "The Council`s expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across.". Seems a good enough reason to put a dog down to me. There are so many incidents where this type of dog attacks humans - one just recently near me.
There are so many other types of dogs to chose from - why chose an illegal one?

So was he an illegal dog or not?

To be honnest, I haven't done any research, but pit-bull type dogs are illegal whether or not they are cute and cudly or raving monsters.

I repeat - why would anyone deliberately buy/breed an illegal dog? This family must have known the law would catch up with them one day.
There are so many other dogs to chose from.

my dog so called bit some one who was basically after money couldnt even identify the dog in a police line up !

had lennox bitten? no its the deed not the breed that should be looked at

The family bought him from the Dogs Trust and he was listed as as American Bulldog/ Labrador cross....I am so sick of repeating that....HE WAS NOT A PIT BULL TYPE!

His litter mate was listed as as a Labrador.

He was videoed playing in his home with the warden who was 'terrified' of him.

And let me say that again, he was rehomed to the family by the Dogs Trust he was not 'aquired', he was not bought from a back yard breeder, he was responsibly rehomed from a reputable pet rescue, the family did all the right things and were matched with the dog (the Dogs Trust are very strict with making sure the right dog goes to the right home).

Yes, sued, it's obvious you haven't done any research..

He was not an illegal dog. He was an American Bulldog crossed with a lab. He never showed signs of aggression. He had the wrong shaped head. Therefore to the unqualified so called 'expert' he was a pitbull type. And he lost his life because of it.

All over the internet there are picture of the dog warden, playing with him and allowing him to lick her face. The same woman who deemed him dangerous and unpredictable. Would you let a 'dangerous and unpredictable' dog lick your face????? I doubt it.

Google it, and get the facts.

At the end of the day though - it is only a dog. I expect that's a bit controversial on this thread, but sorry, that's how I feel.

only a dog?

From that comment, I take it you have never been so fortunate as to have such a loyal and faithful companion, which by the sounds of you is a good thing.

Did the family get to say goodbye to Lennox in the end?
The council were refusing to let them say goodbye a couple of weeks ago.

this has been plastered all over my FB and ive tried to ignore it - could some please dispassionately tell me what the actual FACTS of this case are without any pearl clutching or hysterics.

how did the council come to know of lennox existence?
who determined the breed?
had there been any issues around the dog?

i did the dangerous dogs act in March.....im going to go and dig out my notes but im sure that possessing a banned breed is an offence and im also sure that legislation states (DEFRA) that a dog only has to look like a banned breed.....

if the dogs trust rehomed the dog then they also committed an offence - you cannot make a gift or expose for sale a banned breed.

its sad though if the dog did not ever do anything that caused concern i agree - i am a dog lover.

No, they were refused persomission to go and say goodbye.
They were refused permission to have the body back
They were refused permission to have even his collar.
BCC have said they will 'post' them 'some' of his ashes.

And people wonder why the outcry.

found this from the beeb

sorry but it does state on there that the owner had accepted that the dog was a pit bull type - the law is clear on banned breeds, the real criminals are the idiots who bred him in the first place.

pit bulls need to be allowed to die out, they serve no purpose other than fighting.

I have owned a dog - but always remembered that they are only dogs, and only there because we caused them to be there in the first place. I would never be cruel to an animal - but they are not people!!!
Pit bulls, or pit bull look alikes are illegal. Whilst I empathise with the family - the law is the law.

Mrs Barnes accepted Lennox was of the pitbull type. This had been taken out of context when Lennox head measurements were of pitbull type. She never accepted that he was a pitbull.

Vicar in the USA, where Pitbulls aren't banned they are assistance dogs, rescue dogs and police dogs. So, it's not true at all that they serve no purpose other than fighting.

However, Lennox was not a Pitbull or Pitbull cross. He was a labrador/american bulldog cross and described as 'pitbull type' because he fitted the measurements which deem a dog of pitbull type, as do an awful lot of pedigree labs and other dogs too, none of which are pitbulls or theri crosses. His owners adopted him in good faith, as no doubt the Dogs Trust rehomed him in good faith and neither of them were wrong as the dog was not a pitbull cross.

Pitbull types are allowed within the law provided certain conditions are met, they are not completely illegal just for being them.

Do we really want a situation where the authorities can come into our homes and take our much loved family pets, which are owned responsibly and taken on in good will, not pitbulls or their crosses and kill them, just because of how they look.

Aside from which, although we should not allow dangerous dogs, dogs should be judged on their behaviour and temprement, not on their breed or how they look.

pitbull types are illegal.

good info here

the law is quite clear. the options are quite clear. do we truly believe that the dog was destroyed just because the law said it could be - or do we believe that the dog was looked at by experts on dogs and dog behaviouralists and deemed to be unsafe and unpredictable?

there are 4 banned breeds in the uk - they were banned for a reason. thats good enough for me. why anyone would want one of those breeds is beyond me.