Lennox

[spoiltdog]

Is it right that Lennox should be destroyed,when he hasnt done a single thing Wrong,even his owners have done all they are supposed to do under the Dangerouse Dog Act,I hope the Person Responsible for him being Destroyed I dont mean the Vet but the Judges who past the sentence for Lennox to be DESTROYED TOMORROW-RECONSIDER there actions on LENNOX,So many People of all walks of life have pleaded for Lennox to be released from his ordeal-MANS BEST FRIEND How can they do this Utter disgusting makes me feel sick

[DJKillaQueen]

It is a baffling case. The thing I find most ridiculous is that there has been no conclusive test done to determine that the dog is indeed a pit bull terrier. We are not even talking about a dog that has shown himself to be dangerous in behaviour either. Tragic for his owners and makes the legal system look idiotic.

[Mscrawthew]

Breed Specific legislation can mean that any dog that is the same size and "look" of a banned dog can be seized and sentenced to death. All it takes is a tape measure. The dog hasn`t got to of done anything aggresive or threatening. It cost`s millions in tax payers money every year to take these dogs to private kennels where they are not allowed to see their owners or anyone known to them and there they are kept until their case goes to court. Tax payers are billed for so called "Experts" to be brought in and access them, Cases are adjourned etc etc. Dogs have been kept for Months until a decision is made. This law has been around for 20 years and has be proven to be a complete joke time and time again. It is the responsibility of the person on the other end of the lead to ensure their dog is well balanced and sociable. Deed not Breed says it all and dogs born in the wrong skin have become victims of a law that was brought in because of a knee jerk reaction.

Lennox is an American bulldog x Labrador, Victoria Stillwell has offered to take Lennox to the USA but it doesn`t look like BCC will back down. Tonight at 12 is when time runs out for him, Belfast City Council will then by law be allowed to kill him. http://www.ddawatch.co.uk/

[spoiltdog]

If this happens to LENNOX ,How many more will be destroyed,think it sends out a message,LENNOX could go to Victoria Stillwell as easy as that ,WHY dont they let him go because they have NEGLECTED LENNOX ,Of all the Love and affection he was used to from his Family really feel for them , This is how Man repays his best friend by Murdering him for being LOYAL .Cant believe so many people have viewed this posting and not commented Shame on you for not Speaking out ,sorry to say that when im sure alot of you could Speak out before it could be youre Breed of dog.

[Mscrawthew]

Lennox lost his life this Morning, A draconion law that needs to be changed for the safety of everyone`s dog. There are protests going on around the country this Saturday 14th July. These were planned before Lennox was killed by BCC, Hopefully it will help to highlight what is wrong with this law and engage a lot more interest. Lennox will never be forgotton. RIP

[david_carnell]

The economy is in a double recession.

Unemployment is sky rocketing.

The banking industry is facing unprecedented attacks over corruption.

The media is in the dock over phone hacking and payments to police.

We have a radical government agenda on welfare and housing reform.

We still have troops in Afghanistan.

The Middle East is in perpetual termoil.

But here on the EDF, we care about the important issues of the day. A dog dying in Belfast.

[Marmora Man]

I agree with DC - it was just a dog. Calm down folks.

[StraferJack]

I think the story is massively out of proportion too but I hate hate hate it when people say that X can't be talked about because A B & C are much more important. May as well close down the whole forum

And the internet

[El Pibe]

I agree SJ. Maybe just talk about it without the emotive hyberbole.

RIP ... FFS

[DaveR]

"One Belfast councillor has received a death threat over Lennox's proposed destruction and workers in Belfast City Council have become the target of a fresh series of intimidating and threatening messages.....

Some of the dog's followers took the campaign to extremes and Belfast council workers became the focus of intimidation and abuse.

Last year, threatening letters, one drenched in petrol, were put through the letter-boxes of two female dog wardens. Another staff member had her car tyres slashed outside her home."

I think it's fair to say that some people have clearly lost all sense of proportion here, and it is they who should be ashamed of themselves.

This case followed the procedure of all cases involving a prohibited type (not breed) under s.1 i.e. an expert gives an opinion on whether it is a prohibited type, that is either challenged or not (it wasn't in this case), and then the court hears evidence and decides whether to make a destruction order or not.

This only happens to dogs that are prohibited types (in practice almost exclusively pit bulls) so it's not going to happen to anybody's dog unless it looks a whole lot like a pit bull. Anecdotally there are at most a couple of hundred s.1 cases annually (UK dog population estimated at 8 - 10 million) and the vast majority start from someone making a complaint about behaviour by the dog that falls short of being a separate offence under s.3 (dangerously out of control) but is worrying enough for someone to call the police or council, or where the owner has 'form' of one sort or another.

There will always be the odd case that seems very unfair, and this may be one of them, but the tone of the earlier posts is kind of apocalyptic compared to the cold reality.

[silverfox]

You could always the remove the dog's teeth and give them doggy dentures.

Might save the life of the dog and save many a child a facial mauling.

[Mscrawthew]

I totally agree with you regarding Death Threats etc, It takes away the whole point of what most people are trying to do with regards to getting a repeal. My point is that Breed specific Legislation does not work. It hasn`t stopped morons breeding (It does infact make breeding more of an attractive as the idiots in our society make themselves feel better by owning a "Banned" dog), It hasn`t reduced dog attacks and has cost millions in tax payers money to enforce a law that doesn`t work.

Since the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 was introduced, millions of pounds of public money and resources have been wasted by already overstretched police authorities in seizing dogs simply for being of a particular breed. 10 million pounds has been spent by the Metropolitan Police alone in the past 3 years simply to implement the Dangerous Dogs Act, relating to the seizure, kennelling and euthanasia of banned breeds. http://www.bva.co.uk/news/2274.aspx

There are many dogs seized, Many dogs euthanised in council pounds and many more awaiting their fate every day. The whole point is a dog can be seized because of it`s size, shape and look. If a tape measure can determine a dog is of "Type" and then the dog is seized and confined for months on end (At the cost of the taxpayer) then after the case goes to court is released, very often in very bad condition. Many of these dogs have never shown aggresion (Human or dog) and are seized purely because of the way they look. A female taken that may be classed as "Type" could have a litter, Some of the litter can and have been cleared and some typed and put to sleep. As I stated before, It is a law that doesn`t work and needs to change. As with all dogs, It will be the person at the other end of the lead at fault for it`s dogs behaviour and the law should reflect that. A dog is born in a certain skin and has a death penaly on it`s head because of it, Is that really a fair way of judging how that animal will behave?

Having all dogs microchipped for the purpose of owner identification is great if you are a responsible owner and lose your dog but time after time, council pounds phone the registered owners and are told they gave the dog away etc etc but when nothing is done when the dog changes hands or is thrown out in the street to the original person registered or back street breeder`s are churning them out without a care of where they end up and who never chip their litters. It is a total waste of time.

Dogs are not born bad, Humans determine their fate and that is where the blame should lay. To say all of one specific breed(Or a dog that resembles a certain breed) are Dangerous is just Ludicrous.

[DaveR]

"Dogs are not born bad, Humans determine their fate and that is where the blame should lay. To say all of one specific breed(Or a dog that resembles a certain breed) are Dangerous is just Ludicrous."

I agree that dogs are not born bad, but it is evident that certain types of dog have both the capacity and the tendency to be more dangerous to humans than other types. Where capacity and tendency overlap its not ludicrous to categorise a dog as dangerous, provided it is understood to mean potentially dangerous because of the identified factors. Whether such dogs should be automatically destroyed (as under the old law) or be liable to be destroyed (as now) or should not be subject to any legal control other than based on behaviour (as you advocate) is a public policy question, and the answer is not as obvious as you suggest. Cost is not the only issue, and cost issues can be addressed without changing the law if the policy position is agreed to be the right one. Dog lovers disagree but they are not the only constituency here. The law has already rowed back signficantly from the original knee-jerk legislation, and the specific case being highlighted here is not really very significant in the context of the argument as a whole. IMHO.

[Jeremy]

I'm not in favour of putting down animals with no history of violence. But I still don't understand why people want to own these bull breeds.

[spoiltdog]

Video has been leaked out showing that LENNOX WAS A WELL Behaved Dog,Just goes to show the Handler lied even though they swore an oath.To some people LENNOX was just a dog ,To others he was part of a Family,who were denied saying farewell and to be told they will only get some of his (LENNOX) ASHES back total disgrace

[Mscrawthew]

There are bad apples in all walks of life, Be it Human or Animal. Does it mean that everyone or thing is deemed to be the same?

[bonniebird]

121,000 people would disagree that he was "Just a dog" Victoria Stillwell has also recieved threats re Lennox. Wether people like dogs or not, what happened here was so wrong. He was taken, not because he had ever bitten anyone or shown any agression to anyone, but because he looked "wrong". I think he was put to sleep a while back and when he was offered refuge in the States, there was no dog to hand over because the deed had already been done. BSL does not work, something else needs to be done. These dogs are used by dickheads as weapons and we all know there are Pitbull type dogs all over the place, yet they have been a banned breed since 1991, something is obviously very wrong.

I would love a proper little Staffy, but the way things are I wouldn't have one, which is sad, they are great little dogs. Back yard breeders are breeding them with other bull breeds, treating them like sh*t and we wonder why we have dog attacks. Lennox was not even in that category, on his licence it says Breed, Bulldog, there is so much wrong with this case, it stinks of corruption and I am gutted as a dog/animal lover that this boy died through no fault of his own. Even if he were to be PTS, he was kept in awful conditions and there was no need for that, cruel, just cruel and I for one hope that something is done about this, this could have been anyone of our dogs, just because they look wrong :( bring back the dog license and use the money to train people on how to care for dogs and pick the right breed, more trainers and training classes, it should be law that all dogs have to be excersised daily, minimum an hour, if people can't be bothered to even walk a dog, they shouldn't have one, I could go on and on all night :D

[Mscrawthew]

Well said Bonnie :-) There will be a static demonstration againt BSL tomorrow at The old palace yard opposite the House of Commons as well as in Glasgow, Brighton and Manchester 12 -3pm. What has happened to Lennox and lots of other dogs has made people even more determined to peacefully fight this so called law and show it to be a complete waste of time and taxpayers money.

[DJKillaQueen]

I totally agree with the above two posts. The dangerous dogs act is flawed and clearly does not work given the number of attcks by truly out of control dogs every year (few of which are pit bull types). The emphasis of any law should be on owners. It is they that have the responsibility of making sure they know how to own an animal. When the owners are responsible, the pet usually is too (and Lennox was an example of that). There is no excuse for death threats etc but that too also highlights the gap between how we view people who are out of control and animals. We abolished capital punishment for very sound reasons. It's a pity we can't show the same value for the lives of animals.