Can you imagine if someone came to your house and said that they were going to take your dog away because of how he or she looked? How about if they kept your family pet in a concrete pen for 11 months and did not allow you or your family to visit him? You had no idea of how he was being treated, apart from a photograph in which your dog is sitting in sawdust with no visible signs of toys or even a bed to sleep on.
And then what if a judge ruled that after all of this time your dog was to be destroyed.
It is hard to imagine how you might feel, heartbroken, angry, frustrated and utterly sick to your stomach, well this is exactly the situation that a family from Northern Ireland find themselves in today. On Tuesday this week all of twitter held it's breath for the update from @savelennox who had been in court to receive the sickening news that their boy Lennox who is a cross between an American Bull Dog a Pedigree Staffordshire Bull Terrier and a Labrador has been sentenced to death.
All of this is because he was declared a "Pit Bull Type" by the Belfast City Council dog wardens. This is as a direct result of the flawed Breed Specific Legislation.
In the mainland Great Britain, four breeds are currently subject to BSL under the Dangerous Dogs Act (DDA):
The Japanese Tosa
The Pit Bull Terrier
The Dogo Argentino
Fila Braziliero
However, also be aware that 'types' of these dogs are also affected. This means that your dog doesn't have to be a Pit Bull or Tosa to be subject to the DDA: it simply has display physical and behavioural characteristics similar to those displayed in breeds covered by the act.
The current legislation does nothing to protect an honest dog owner who takes all of the steps necessary to comply with exemption conditions ( which do not apply in Northern Ireland).
Lennox is Micro chipped, Neutered, DNA Registered, Pet Safe Registered, Insured and Licensed every year with the Council. Lennox's owners have taken all of these steps and yet their boy was taken.
Lennox has never harmed anyone, he is looked after by a responsible loving family, he could be your dog or mine. He has been away from his family for almost a year.
He should not be destroyed because this is all wrong.
Imagine if you were a happy dog enjoying life with your family and then one day some people you did not know came to your house, appeared friendly and then took you away from everything and everyone you had ever known. I can not begin to imagine what Lennox must be going through.
The family are trying to get even more support and media attention to highlight their case and are gaining a huge following on twitter and facebook. An On line petition has over 25,000 signatures , you can show your support here. Time may be running out for Lennox so please take action today.
As a further show of support I would like to invite any bloggers to join this Blog Hop to show their support for Lennox.
All you have to do is write a blogpost showing your support for Lennox and link it to this blog. If you already have a blog post about Lennox then simply link it as well. Show the world the massive support that Lennox and his family have.
The animal community across the world is very powerful and has a voice , we have helped thousands of less fortunate animals with out fundraising efforts.
Now is the time to raise a paw in support of one lonely dog who needs to be reunited with his family, not sentenced to death.
FrugalDougal
