Desperate effort to save Belfast pitbull Lennox from death

Belfast Mum takes Save Lennox campaign to the highest court in the land

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Brooke and Caroline with pic of Lennox

Photo by people.co.uk

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Belfast woman Caroline Barnes has taken her case to save Lennox the pit bull to the highest court in Northern Ireland.

Barnes has pleaded with judges at the Court of Appeal to save her child’s pet after he was seized by City Council dog wardens in May 2010.

Her two year fight to preserve the dog, now seven, has attracted huge interest across the globe.
An online petition to save Lennox’s life has also gained massive support.

Lawyers for Barnes have told the Court of Appeal that she has not been given enough time to prove the dog can be made safe.

They argued that Lennox had never bitten anyone and had behaved impeccably since being impounded.

Already two lower courts have ruled that Lennox should be destroyed because he poses a danger to the public.

The Irish Times reports that the dog looked set to be put down last September when a County Court judge decided there was ‘too great a risk’.

The report states that the decision only came after the Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act 1997 in England and Wales was extended to the North.

New legislation allows for a discretionary element to automatic destruction for pitbull-types, based on whether the animal is deemed a danger to the public.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan told the court that judgment would be given shortly.

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