I've received word that tomorrow is the date for the final appeal for Lennox. If the new judge rules to uphold Ken Nixon's tragically erroneous ruling of last week, then poor Lennox will be put down on the grounds that he is a dangerous pit bull dog even though he is not a pit bull and has never demonstrated any aggression or received a single complaint.
Look. This entire situation is ridiculous. The Belfast City Council Dog Wardens had a warrant, and the address was wrong on the warrant, and they wound up at Lennox's house. Being the stunning paragons of intellect that they are, the Dog Wardens looked about, spied a black dog, and hauled him away on suspicion of being a pit bull.
Fast forward ten months. Yes. Ten freaking months. I've seen photos that leaked out of poor Lennox, a beloved housepet, crammed into a tiny cage surrounded by his own feces. That's what passes for animal care in the merry old town of Belfast. Hay and crap.
You go, Belfast. Keep that sort of mindset up, and you'll hit the thirteenth century any decade now.
The Belfast City Council also kept Lennox's status and whereabouts a secret during this time. Lennox's owner, a twelve-year-old girl in ill health, had no idea whether her furry friend was alive or dead.
Another score for Belfast. First we've got animal cruelty, now we get just a hint of child abuse.
Belfast, is there any reprehensible low to which you will not stoop?
But the story gets worse. When poor Lennox's case is finally heard by a judge (remember the ten months part?), District Judge Ken Nixon ignores DNA evidence which proves Lennox is not a prohibited breed pit bull dog. This judge ignores Lennox's lifetime of good behavior.
No, District Judge Ken Nixon sentences Lennox to death, because apparently all pit bulls are black and thus all black dogs are pit bulls and ipso facto, hocus pocus, abracadabra!
Guilty. The sentence is death. Next case please.
Nice work there, Judge Nixon. I suppose jurisprudence is a lot simpler when you hide an old Magic 8 Ball toy under those robes. Guilty, Innocent, Reply Hazy Try Again Later -- have I told you how much I admire your keen legal mind?
No? Good.
But now Lennox has one final chance, before one last judge.
I hope that justice will win the day. I hope that finally, someone in authority will look at this whole sordid convergence of incompetence and outright stupidity and dismiss the wretched case once and for all.
That won't make up for the year Lennox has suffered at the barbaric hands of the Belfast City Council Dog Wardens, or the little girl's suffering as she mourned for her missing friend.
But it's at least a step in the right direction.
And that will be a first for Belfast in this sad matter.
UPDATE: The news I got about Lennox's appeal was incorrect. Today is the day the date for the appeal will be set, not the day of the actual appeal. My apologies.
Look. This entire situation is ridiculous. The Belfast City Council Dog Wardens had a warrant, and the address was wrong on the warrant, and they wound up at Lennox's house. Being the stunning paragons of intellect that they are, the Dog Wardens looked about, spied a black dog, and hauled him away on suspicion of being a pit bull.
Fast forward ten months. Yes. Ten freaking months. I've seen photos that leaked out of poor Lennox, a beloved housepet, crammed into a tiny cage surrounded by his own feces. That's what passes for animal care in the merry old town of Belfast. Hay and crap.
You go, Belfast. Keep that sort of mindset up, and you'll hit the thirteenth century any decade now.
The Belfast City Council also kept Lennox's status and whereabouts a secret during this time. Lennox's owner, a twelve-year-old girl in ill health, had no idea whether her furry friend was alive or dead.
Another score for Belfast. First we've got animal cruelty, now we get just a hint of child abuse.
Belfast, is there any reprehensible low to which you will not stoop?
But the story gets worse. When poor Lennox's case is finally heard by a judge (remember the ten months part?), District Judge Ken Nixon ignores DNA evidence which proves Lennox is not a prohibited breed pit bull dog. This judge ignores Lennox's lifetime of good behavior.
No, District Judge Ken Nixon sentences Lennox to death, because apparently all pit bulls are black and thus all black dogs are pit bulls and ipso facto, hocus pocus, abracadabra!
Guilty. The sentence is death. Next case please.
Nice work there, Judge Nixon. I suppose jurisprudence is a lot simpler when you hide an old Magic 8 Ball toy under those robes. Guilty, Innocent, Reply Hazy Try Again Later -- have I told you how much I admire your keen legal mind?
No? Good.
But now Lennox has one final chance, before one last judge.
I hope that justice will win the day. I hope that finally, someone in authority will look at this whole sordid convergence of incompetence and outright stupidity and dismiss the wretched case once and for all.
That won't make up for the year Lennox has suffered at the barbaric hands of the Belfast City Council Dog Wardens, or the little girl's suffering as she mourned for her missing friend.
But it's at least a step in the right direction.
And that will be a first for Belfast in this sad matter.
UPDATE: The news I got about Lennox's appeal was incorrect. Today is the day the date for the appeal will be set, not the day of the actual appeal. My apologies.
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