Thursday, July 12, 2012

Lennox


This post is a bit unusual for me as I typically try to stay away from controversial topics.  I don’t care to start arguments.  But today I’m making an exception; with the potentially controversial topic that is, I still don’t want to start arguments.  I would have posted this last night, but I was at book club, not on Facebook, and so didn’t find out until today.

Any of you who’ve read my blog have probably figured out that I’m a pet person.  A major pet person.  We don’t have human children, and aren’t planning to.  We call the pets our fur kids.  We donate to various animal rescue organizations and volunteer our time as well.  I don’t consider myself to be much of an activist, or a very passionate person, but if I qualify in any area, it would be the way I feel about cats and dogs.  So it probably comes as no surprise that I’ve been following the story of Lennox, the pit bull type dog in Belfast.  You can read more about it here if you’re not familiar.

I was holding out a lot of hope that Cesar Milan’s offer to take Lennox to the U.S. and work with him would be accepted.  I love his show and books, and he has done amazing things with dogs that have been dealt a very bad hand in life.  It seemed like a good solution, but it wasn’t allowed.  Lennox was euthanized yesterday.

From what I’ve read, Lennox’s human family wasn’t permitted to see him to say goodbye.  For any of you who are not pet people this may not seem like a big deal, but as a fur kid mom I can tell you it matters very much.  When you love and care for an animal you form a bond with them.  You need to be able to tell them goodbye whenever and however their end comes.  I cannot imagine being denied this simple human kindness.   I’ll be honest, I’ve spent most of my lunch break crying and hugging Emma just thinking about how those people must be feeling right now.

Breed Specific Legislation is a very sore subject with me, as it is with most people involved in animal rescue.   Outlawing a specific breed isn’t the solution to dog fights, dogs biting humans, or any other dog related issue.  Guess what?  If you do away with pit bulls, people who want to fight dogs will simply begin to use another breed.  Changing people’s behavior is the only solution. 

Any loss of life, be it human or animal, as the direct result of ignorance, bigotry, or fear simply makes me angry.  It’s needless and wasteful. 

My husband and I have long said that our next dog will be a pit bull, rescued of course.  We feel very strongly about that.  They’re typically much harder for shelters to adopt, so we feel that we can do the most good by adopting one whenever we’re in a position to have another dog.  Today, I stand by that even more. 

I’ll end this post with thanking you for “listening” to my little rant (if you’re still here, that is) and applauding you if you’re one of the people working in any way to prevent more stories like this from happening.

12 comments:

  1. I'm so sorry that they turned down Cesar Milan's generous offer. I agree that it is very sad not to have allowed the family a chance to say goodbye. It's wonderful that you take such good care of your pets, and are looking forward to adopting a pit bull in the future. Julie

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    1. It was just sad that they didn't get to say goodbye.

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  2. If a person takes a pet into his home, nurtures him and treats him as a member of the family, he should be allowed to say good-bye. Thanks for sharing, Danielle.

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    1. I agree with you Linda. Once a pet is in your home like that they become family.

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  3. my DIL works in an animal hospital and is very involved in pet rescue. She loves pit bulls and is frustrated by the terrible and unfair reputation they have. I do not know the Lennox story, but I agree w/ you that this should not have happened. Pets certainly are family members and need to be treated as such. Very nice post to bring attention to this.

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    1. I imagine your DIL sees a lot of the ignorance surrounding pit bulls. You're so right that their reputation is unfair. It's hard to believe they used to be considered nanny dogs.

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  4. I am so with you on this one. Animals are a gift we are given, just like our children. While I understand that God put man above animals, in my opinion that did not give us the right to do as we please with them regardless of the effects on the animal. I don't feel a home is a home without some fur on the sofa, and I think that it is a common courtesy to be able to kiss your baby good-bye. I say this as two rescue kittens tear through my house, clawing at one-year-old sofas and brand-new carpet, as I measure the months until they can be de-clawed because without that, I would not be able to keep even one of them. I had a vet tell me once (when I asked about declawing because I always found it cruel) that she would rather declaw a loved pet than put a pet to sleep because the owner was angry over ruined furniture. And I stand by that. So there is my side tangent!

    Anyway, I appreciate your heart and your rant - and for realizing that sometimes children come in all different packages!

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    1. I totally agree with you about a house not being a home without fur on the sofa! All of my children of the furry, four-legged variety.

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  5. we got our reduce dog 3 weeks ago. he moved right in, and is now a part of our family. even he knows this. i guess I am a pet person. he is part pit bull..and is wonderful wonderful with the kids..he just wanted someone to love....and now we love him back.

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    1. Good for you for adopting and for getting a pit bull mix! That is awesome! Rescue dogs really do have so much love to give.

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