[Donna5503]

My heart breaks for this dog & his family. It is the saddest story I've ever heard. The poor dog didn't do anything, and to kill him for that is so unbelievable. The poor thing was taken from his family & died not knowing why or what happened to his family. Shame on Northern Ireland....just to save face, there face should be hidden forever.

 

[Abbylynn]

It is just too sad for words. RIP Lennox ... may your family be blessed ... may you know that they fought for you for so long.

 

[spanielorbust]

My heart breaks for this dog & his family. It is the saddest story I've ever heard. The poor dog didn't do anything, and to kill him for that is so unbelievable. The poor thing was taken from his family & died not knowing why or what happened to his family. Shame on Northern Ireland....just to save face, there face should be hidden forever.

This is so sad for the dog and the situation is horrible. I really despise breed specific legislation, which is what Lennox and his family have been caught up in.

I always try to read different perspectives and take in both sides, however, and Terrierman today has some food for thought on this issue - probably not politically correct but I think some of his points are worth some pondering.

SOB

 

[trainingjunkie]

I was about to post the Terrierman link myself. Not a feel-good read, but definately food for thought.

His statements about the "pit bull problem" being caused by the pit bull lovers are sobering. And frustrating. I have no idea how the responsible rescuers are supposed to police the scum bag producers... But that is where the answer most likely lies...

RIP Lennox, whatever the truth is. Sounds like you suffered more than any dog ought to have...

 

[JulieK1967]

Thanks for the Terrierman suggestion. I'd not heard of him before and found his comments interesting, too. He did seem to have a bit of a beef with Victoria Stilwell that I don't quite understand and he didn't seem too willing to look at the Barnes' side of the story or the dreadful actions of the BCC over the last 2 years, including now even refusing to return Lennox's collar to his little girl. I also understand that they didn't have the decency to contact the Barnes' to inform them that Lennox was dead.

RIP, Lennox. You're free now.

 

[trainingjunkie]

I *think* I understand his frustration. Every day, thousands of pit bulls are killed in shelters. Many of them are very, very nice dogs. Rescuing one would be easy. And THAT shelter pit bull is just as worthy of life as Lennox. However, the people willing to step up for Lennox probably didn't head out to the shelters today and pull a "different" Lennox who is about to suffer the same fate. If the goal is to save a pit bull, go save one. Instead, the goal was to save "Lennox," a dog in the spot light.

When I ran a shelter, I always said that the best thing we could do to save the greatest number of dogs was to run down the aisle and lop off legs. People would fight to save a 3-legged dog, but a similar 4 legged dog would die. I NEVER euthanized a 3 legged dog. (Obviously, I never maimed a dog. It was just interesting to me that the hard-luck cases got snatched up the quickest.)

We people are funny. We are drawn in by the story. The worse the story, the better the save. I've done it myself, so it's not like I don't get it. I turned my life inside out to save a dog full of buckshot with a missing ear who was found starving to death tied to a tree in the woods. If that same dog has been an ordinary surrender, I wouldn't have even looked at her twice. Shame on me.

I think that THAT is the Terrierman's point, but I won't pretend to speak for him! If the uproar really was about saving a pit bull, then a bunch of dogs should have found homes today in Lennox's memory.

 

[JulieK1967]

I totally get that frustration and I agreed with a lot of what he had to say. A lot of dogs besides Lennox were PTS today all over the world and countless more flounder in shelters. Where are the tears & outrage for them? For me personally, this story has motivated me to work towards being a rescue home for the group that rescued Molly & her litter. I've been thinking about it for a while and it will take some time because we're not exactly in the right situation for it but if anything good has happened out this horrible mess, I think it's inspired a lot of people to help dogs. I know for a lot of them it will be a flash-in-the-pan interest, but I believe this has grabbed the minds of many people who will walk the talk. I have to think something positive can come out of such misery.

 

[HollowHeaven]

My heart breaks for this family, and not only them but every other family that has had to relinquish their completely innocent animal for no reason. All those families who have had no choice but to sit back and feel their hearts break in a senseless act of discrimination and hate.
They're just dogs, not monsters, but unfortunately they're the dog of choice for monsters. For those sick people who get their kicks by forcing others to do things, these dogs are the best tool.
They're a popular dog, easy to breed easy to sell. They fall into the hands of people who will either use them for their bloodsport to use them just to make themselves look better, while making the dogs look like death machines at the same time. On the other end of the rope there are people out there who blindly love the breed and all breeds similar because I suppose they feel the need to root for the underdog. They buy them and/or adopt them because it's PUNISHTHEDEEDNOTTHEBREED and they have no idea that they're getting an albeit awesome but intelligent, high energy, strong willed DOG, not a stuffed animal. They screw up with their good-heartedness but ignorance and that doesn't do any good for the dogs either.

The popular versions of the dog are the version of them being monsters, and the version of them being plushies, not dogs. Unfortunately the truth, the version most responsible owners would preach, that they're just dogs too, is not the version that's heard. And I think until people are willing to wholeheartedly educate themselves on what they're getting into, the 'pit bull problem' will never be resolved. As long as it's ignorance vs. anger, they'll never be just dogs.

Lennox is one dog among lord knows how many others who suffer the fate that he has. But it will take the popularity and heartbreak of Lennox to help all the others. It will take a single story about a little girl who has lost her best friend to make people start to realize that something like this could easily happen to their own dog if they don't start standing up.
And, while Lennox may be one dog in the spotlight among millions in the dark that doesn't mean he should be shrugged off. He is important too. Those other dogs are important too.


And I'll be honest here, getting off of my little speech, I think this whole time they've been putting this family through torture, Lennox was already gone. It may not be true, but they didn't let the family see him, from what I gather, they're not allowed his things. What if not too long after he was stolen he was PTS or even died in their care and they've spent this whole time covering it up.

 

[JulieK1967]

And I'll be honest here, getting off of my little speech, I think this whole time they've been putting this family through torture, Lennox was already gone. It may not be true, but they didn't let the family see him, from what I gather, they're not allowed his things. What if not too long after he was stolen he was PTS or even died in their care and they've spent this whole time covering it up.

ITA. It is SO suspicious to me that they weren't allowed to say goodbye or to have his body. Just for argument's sake, let's say the BCC's stance to the Barnes was "he's too dangerous for even you to see. We can't legally take the chance that he could hurt you." Fine, okay, don't let the family say goodbye but a dead dog can't hurt anyone so why can't they have his body? Could it be because it will tell the tale of what he's been through over the last 2 years? Could it be because he died long ago and there's a massive cover up? I really hope someone investigates and gets to the bottom of it. The last pics of him show him looking very poorly, missing lots of his coat & with a possible neck injury. Something isn't right with BCC's story.

 

[osdbmom]

I think the uproar is maybe less about "pit bulls " in general and more about the horrifying idea that people could randomly barge into your home and take and kill your beloved pet Bc of the body it happened to be born into. What right should anyone have to do that?
It IS sad that pit bulls die in shelters every day....but it seems to me that what had everyone so upset is the idea that this could happen to them personally. Poodles have been known to bite.....what if there were suddenly a poodle ban? Or any other breed you happen to own and love?

 

[mas0475]

To say that I am appalled by this whole thing is an understatement. I understand the point that the BCC was trying to make in that they would not want to release a dangerous dog to anyone. I can dig that. HOWEVER, they could not prove that the dog was aggressive nor could they conclusively prove that if he was then he would not respond to the many proven rehabilitation practices/techniques that are out there. Also, their comments about how he was in what I can only call captivity showed just how little they know about dogs. A caged animal (and that is what he was) will not behave the same as he would were he in a caring environment. To not accept the help that was offered to them showed how indifferent they are animals in general. And to not allow the family to visit nor pay their last respects shows how indifferent they are towards others period.

I have a mixed breed dog and I would hate for someone to take him away just because he *looks* like a breed that is considered dangerous, regardless of the fact that he has not, nor made an attempt to, harm anyone. I cannot begin to imagine how much suffering Lennox and his family went through because of this ordeal.

My heart goes out to them.

 

[Pawzk9]

I *think* I understand his frustration. Every day, thousands of pit bulls are killed in shelters. Many of them are very, very nice dogs. Rescuing one would be easy. And THAT shelter pit bull is just as worthy of life as Lennox. However, the people willing to step up for Lennox probably didn't head out to the shelters today and pull a "different" Lennox who is about to suffer the same fate. If the goal is to save a pit bull, go save one. Instead, the goal was to save "Lennox," a dog in the spot light.
.

To most pet owners their dog is not interchangable with other dogs who may share its breed or look similar. The owners who fought the fight for Lennox don't have the option to get another dog like him, as it would also be stolen by the government and killed. And I think Lennox and the fight for Lennox did serve the cause of shining the spotlight on stupid and inhumane laws that are all too common. Despite nutter Terrierman's suggestions that he was a vicious dog, there had been no reported incidents that I could find which would indicate that he was seized because of his behavior, only how he looked. It's not uncommon that dogs held long term in terrible conditions in shelters can become unbalanced and behave badly. Or, he could have had an evaluator like this woman, who despite a degree in animal behavior and a professorship at a major univerisity in it, either doesn't know her hindermost parts from a hole in the ground, or simply flunked this dog for looking like a pitbull, and hoped nobody would get wind of it.
http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/court-orders-killing-of-michigan-shelter-dog/

 

[Laurelin]

You said it better than I could. It's not about 'pit bulls' to that family it's about a specific dog that is their pet. This was an OWNED dog, not just a random dog in a shelter.

 

[ThoseWordsAtBest]

To most pet owners their dog is not interchangable with other dogs who may share its breed or look similar. The owners who fought the fight for Lennox don't have the option to get another dog like him, as it would also be stolen by the government and killed. And I think Lennox and the fight for Lennox did serve the cause of shining the spotlight on stupid and inhumane laws that are all too common. Despite nutter Terrierman's suggestions that he was a vicious dog, there had been no reported incidents that I could find which would indicate that he was seized because of his behavior, only how he looked. It's not uncommon that dogs held long term in terrible conditions in shelters can become unbalanced and behave badly. Or, he could have had an evaluator like this woman, who despite a degree in animal behavior and a professorship at a major univerisity in it, either doesn't know her hindermost parts from a hole in the ground, or simply flunked this dog for looking like a pitbull, and hoped nobody would get wind of it.
http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/court-orders-killing-of-michigan-shelter-dog/

This, thanks.

Lennox became a martyr for his cause. The point isn't that this ONE dog was special. As a result more and more people are aware of what is going on with BSL every where, not just one dog in Northern Ireland. That's how people become aware of things. One incident. Doesn't mean no one in the world fights every day against BSL.

Terrierman reads as a dramatic teenager who didn't actually read any thing about the situation, just opted to stir the turd.

 

[trainingjunkie]

To most pet owners their dog is not interchangable with other dogs who may share its breed or look similar. The owners who fought the fight for Lennox don't have the option to get another dog like him, as it would also be stolen by the government and killed. ]

My response was directed towards everyone BUT the family of Lennox. I understand that another dog would in NO WAY replace him. I can't imagine their pain or their loss.

 

[CptJack]

My response was directed towards everyone BUT the family of Lennox. I understand that another dog would in NO WAY replace him. I can't imagine their pain or their loss.

I understand the frustration - especially in cases where Stillwell, for example were stepping up to help HIM, but other dogs affected by BSL are put down every day, but the reality is I think a lot of the reason outrage was raised was because of the family's pain. It wasn't for many people, about dogs in shelters, or BSL in other locations. They were responding to, and wanting to help this family.

Not necessarily A Dog.

There is a difference.

 

[trainingjunkie]

There's a big difference.

I appreciate the complexity of the emotions and facts of this case.

I find it all heart-breaking and depressing. I can't imagine what I would do if this happened to me.

 

[JulieK1967]

A video has surfaced with Lennox, the warden and an evaluator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZz2V0aCXmI

 

[sassafras]

My response was directed towards everyone BUT the family of Lennox. I understand that another dog would in NO WAY replace him. I can't imagine their pain or their loss.

But really this was about more than Lennox as an individual or even as his breed. This struck a chord with so many people not because Lennox was a pit bull, but because Lennox was just a dog who was loved by his family and taken away from them for a completely arbitrary reason.

Any of our dogs could be the next Lennox. It's something not only limited to those of us who have bully breeds or dogs who look like they might have bully in them depending on how the fickle winds of BSL blow. Any dog and any family who just wants to love their dog who has done nothing wrong ultimately could be affected by BSL... and that is complete and utter BS.

So Terrierman can shove that right in his pipe and smoke it.

 

[xxxxdogdragoness]

my rescue dogs, both of them werre headed for death in a 'shelter' (i say thsat in quotes because their real name should be 'consentration camp') Josefina because she was abandoned too young (4 wks) & Buddy because he was orginally deemed 'too scared' for adoption, when all he needed was to just get out of the 'shelter'.

When i reference Lennox, i always try to advise ppl to be against BSL (which orginally i thought to mean bull sh**t law LMBO... i guess in a way it still can) as it partains to DOGS & go instead after negligant OWNERS, ppl are the real prob.