Belfast dog Lennox put to sleep after 2-year fight

[xchrom]

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_NIRELAND_DOOMED_DOG?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-07-11-06-51-37

DUBLIN (AP) -- A pug-nosed Belfast dog named Lennox, who inspired a two-year legal fight and animal-rights protests on both sides of the Atlantic, has been put to sleep by city officials.

Belfast City Council confirmed the 7-year-old dog was put down Wednesday after a deadline for legal appeals expired.

Dog wardens deemed the pit bull-type dog to be a public danger and seized him from his owners in April 2010. Northern Ireland's senior appeals court last month upheld two 2011 court rulings that Lennox should be put down.

His owners argued that Lennox was not even a pit bull, never attacked anyone and could be resettled outside Northern Ireland rather than killed. An online "Save Lennox" petition and social media campaign spurred protests in Belfast and New York seeking his freedom.

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[a la izquierda]

1. How very sad and tragic for his owners...

I've had to put three dogs to sleep- because of illness- and each one took a part of me. This is an entirely different scenario.

[smokey nj]

2. I'm so heartbroken and angry about this. I hope the members of the Belfast city council never enjoy

a peaceful night's sleep again.

[smokey nj]

3. Also, the euphemism "put to sleep" is completely inappropriate here. Lennox was killed in cold blood

[magical thyme]

4. that they would not even allow that poor dog to leave the country

to go where he was welcome, proves that they simply were bent on murdering him under the cover of "law." For no goddam reason other than that they could.

Absolutely disgusting. Senseless. Vile. Despicable. Inhumane. Vicious.

Remind me never NEVER to visit or have anything to do with Belfast. All my prior sympathies for those vile people are gone to hell, where they quite frankly belong.

[Odin2005]

5. How could ANYONE murder such a sweet doggie?

I sure hope the anti-Pit Bull assholes are happy!

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Not everyone thought he was 'sweet'

In a statement on Wednesday, the council said: "Whilst there is an exemption scheme to which dogs of this type (pit-bull terrier type) may be admitted as an alternative to destruction, there were no such measures that could be applied in this case that would address the concerns relating to public safety.

"The council's expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across."
...
"The people looking after Lennox for the past two years said that one minute the dog was placid and friendly and the next he would try to get through the fence to get at you.

"Now do we release that dog into society? We have a duty of care to people."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-18794360

[smokey nj]

7. The council's "experts" have no credibility.

[muriel_volestrangler]

8. How many times have you observed the dog? (nt)

[smokey nj]

13. I'll take the word of the independent experts who observed Lennox.

[joeybee12]

15. I agree...the asshole council members were making general statements about a breed...

And the dog could have been put in another family elsewhere...these council members are scum.

[smokey nj]

16. They are scum and I hope none of them gets a restful night's sleep ever again.

There wasn't any problem with the Barnes family. They were responsible owners and Lennox was neutered, microchipped, and registered while they had him. They were also fostered for shelters. Lennox was taken from them just because he looked like a pit bull.

[magical thyme]

9. ime, k-9 trainers tend to be aggressive in their handling, and bring out the worst

"A former Metropolitan Police dog handler claimed the dog represented a danger due to his unpredictability."

Take a family pet away from his people, and put him in a situation with aggressive strangers, and I think an intelligent and sensitive dog might well become fearful and defensive.

I watched a former k-9 trainer pick a puppy/young dog by his leash and hang him as punishment for growling at another dog. That only increases the fear aggression, imo. It certainly did nothing to calm or reassure the nervous, growling dog.

This was in a dog obedience class, too boot. The trainer was also very mean to my 5-month old puppy, encouraged him to run ahead of her and then yanked him off his feet while barking heel at him. I saw the look of betrayal and confusion on his face and it was all I could do to not deck her one for the blatant abuse. He did what she encouraged and she punished him for it. After she saw the look on my face, she did not ask again to use him as a demo. She was not allowed to touch him again.

[SwissTony]

10. Em...

"The people looking after Lennox for the past two years said that one minute the dog was placid and friendly and the next he would try to get through the fence to get at you."

That's actually called "being a dog". My 45kg Dobermann charged to the fence (when I lived in a house with a fence) barking and growling. Once you got inside the fence, he was your friend (if I were there).

I've lost count of doge who are "aggressive" behind a fence, but are friendly when the fence isn't there (e.g. gate open) or were even too scared to come close to me - and, no, I don't become aggressive and don't carry a big stick.

This was discussed on another thread a while ago. One of the council people who assessed the dog as dangerous was photographed with her arm around him, smile on her face.

One of the points raised against the dog was that he was called "Lennox", supposedly after the boxer (Annie L wasn't a possibility, apparently). So, the owners must have raised him to be aggressive. Guess what...my dog's called "Ripper". Not after Jack. I came home one day to find he had ripped a piece of paper into tiny pieces, none larger than a postage stamp. I said "You're a real little ripper, aren't you?" We had just got him and he didn't have a name and that just stuck. But some people would say I called him that because I wanted an aggressive dog. He's the biggest wuss on the planet.

And, as a final point, you will notice, it's the council quoting other people. Not the other people themselves. The Council have to put a negative spin on it.

[Odin2005]

11. The same can be said for ANY large dog.

The negative reputation of pit bulls is based on prejudice and stereotypes, they are nothing but a scapegoat for problems that come from ANY large dog.

[smokey nj]

14. Here's a link to Victoria Stillwell discussing Lennox's case earlier today.

http://positively.com/2012/07/11/victoria-debates-bcc-representative-on-the-radio/

[xchrom]

17. he doesn't deny that the council didn't present a credible behavioral witness.

that just sorta jumps out.

[smokey nj]

18. He also doesn't say why they refused to allow the family to see Lennox before he was killed or

retrieve his body after. I suspect they killed this poor dog a long time ago.

[xchrom]

19. their behavior is a bit strange -- and your notion would explain a lot. nt