Battle comes to an end; Lennox is dead
Lennox has been put down, the Belfast City Council has confirmed.
The dog whose only crime was resembling a pit bull was euthanized today, after a deadline for legal appeals expired.
His execution – despite 200,000 signatures supporting a reprieve — brings an end to an international effort to save him.
The BBC reports that the city council issued a statement that read:
“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.”
In June, after two lower courts had already ruled that the dog should be put down, Northern Ireland’s highest court rejected Caroline Barnes’ legal bid to overturn an order calling for the destruction of her pet.
Ms. Barnes insisted that Lennox was not dangerous, and her battle to save Lennox snowballed into an often-heated international campaign to save his life.
One Belfast councillor has received a death threat over Lennox’s proposed destruction, the BBC reported, and workers in Belfast City Council have become the target of a fresh series of intimidating messages.
Lennox was impounded by Belfast City Council’s dog wardens in May of 2010, when a new breed specific law went into effect, banning pit bull types in the UK.
Among those calling for Lennox to be spared were boxer Lennox Lewis, Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson, and television dog training expert Victoria Stillwell, who had offered to have Lennox re-homed in America where he would not be in contact with the public.
Stillwell said she was “absolutely devastated” that Lennox had been put down. “I hoped Belfast City Council would realize that there were alternatives that provided a sanctuary for Lennox in the USA where he would be safe but they did not listen,” she said.
Stillwell said requests that the family be allowed to visit the dog one last time before he was put down were declined — as were requests to allow the family see the dog after he was euthanized.
Posted by jwoestendiek July 11th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: belfast, belfast city council, breed bans, breed-specific, breeds, campaign, dangerous, denied, dog, dogs, euthanized, executed, global, international, ireland, killed, laws, lennox, news, pit bull, pit bull type, put down, put to sleep, resemblance, uk, victoria stillwell, visits
Comments
Comment from Miss Jan
Time July 11, 2012 at 10:04 pm
As I recall the family was not allowed to visit Lennox after he was “taken” and “jailed.” My conclusion and I believe many have come to the same conclusion – Lennox was killed soon after his impoundment and this whole thing dragged out so that the Belfast City Council and their thugs could try to cover their sorry behinds. What other reason could there be for refusing a last visit and even refusing his grieving family to collect his body for burial and instead only vaguely saying the family might get “some ashes via the mail” at some point. I think the dog was abused and killed well before today’s announcement and the rest is cover-up.
Comment from Anonymous
Time July 12, 2012 at 8:08 am
After decades of killing each other, one supposes that the Northern Irish have grown so accustomed to killing that to put down a “mere” dog hardly registered on these Cretins. Killing was certainly not the only option in this case, so WHY where they so hell-bent to get on with it?
Soulless bastards all! May they rot in hell for this crime against a helpless innocent!
Comment from robert schlosser
Time July 12, 2012 at 10:14 am
Why do I get the feeling they had Lennox euthanized a long time ago. Maybe that’s why they were not going to give in at all- they’d have to admit what they had done.
Comment from Alicia
Time July 13, 2012 at 1:50 am
While I agree with Miss Jan that there had to be a cover-up, especially since they were not allowed to retrieve Lennox’s body–only his ashes, I don’t think he was killed shortly after impoundment. There are pictures of his playing with one of the dog wardens (who testified he was dangerous), but pictures from last fall showed he was injured or had some terrible skin condition.
Petitions:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/520/114/848/lennox-dog-murdered-by-belfast-city-council/
http://digitaljournal.com/article/318458
Belfast City Council refused to let several international dog trainers, including Victoria Stillwell, to take Lennox to a sanctuary. BCC also refused to allow several certified behaviorists to assess Lennox. They relied on the untrained assessment of a part-time police dog handler. It is truly terrible. You can read about it at Victoria Stillwell’s site–she put a lot of effort into trying to save Lennox. She was also the one to tell the family. She heard it in the news, and since she knew the familly did not know, took it upon herself to call them before they were surprised by reporters.
Comment from Miss Jan
Time July 13, 2012 at 1:56 pm
Perhaps using the word “shortly” was inappropriate. My recollection is that Lennox was seized in the last half of 2010 and the video of the person named Sandie who was the “dog warden” and another unidentified person who was allegedly a dog behaviorist retained by the family were videoed testing Lennox’ for behavior issues, of which there were none, not even on provocation. The video was in early 2011. It is my belief and that of others that Lennox died at some point in the first half of 2011 and people are pointing to this Sandie person who was the dog warden, who was also the principal complainant about Lennox, as the key to what may or may not have actually happened.
BTW the family was not allowed to collect Lennox’ ashes. They were in fact told that they “might” expect to get “some ashes” in the mail at some point. No one on the family’s team and no witnesses who were on Lennox’ side fighting for his release actually saw the dog much past mid-2011 at least as far as the myriad of news reports I read (and as well blog posts, forums, witness accounts, etc.). I will re-read Victoria’s account though this whole thing has been so painful that it’s very hard to do.
There are just too many unanswered questions and as a long-time non-fiction writer who has worked in animal (horse and dog) rescue and investigations for many decades, I am again expressing my opinion that things do not add up in this case and it also looks very much to me like a concentrated, orchestrated vendetta against the family itself. Lennox was just an unfortunate part of what I am beginning to view as a small war on the family.
Comment from Kris
Time July 11, 2012 at 9:40 pm
This breaks my heart. I can only imagine how the family feels after struggling for two years only to have him euthanized anyway. Belfast City Council needs to get new counselors; the ones currently in charge are unfit and undeserving of their positions. May Lennox rest in peace.