# A small victory, a dog not to be killed.



## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I was glad to see how this story turned out.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-36915371


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## nickoff (Oct 11, 2005)

So pleased. I signed the online partion to get Hank returned to his owners. Result 

Nick.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

erneboy said:


> I was glad to see how this story turned out.
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-36915371


Although away from home at the moment it really pissed me off the way Belfast City Council acted in this case.
Hank's owner arrived home to find his house had been entered in his absence, by a 4 dog wardens and eight PSNI officers in riot gear, the dog was taken and a note left. All on the word of a neighbour.

But glad to see the tenacity of the dogs owners and the power and spread of social media has paid off, with articles as far as the Washington Post, La Monde and other news outlets around the world

Belfast City Council have been made look the fools that they are.

We are Northern Ireland not bloody Turkey.

#Hankssaved

Terry

http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/b...st-city-council-11677465#ICID=FB-Belfast-main

After 14 days they say Hank has some behavioural issues, they didn't mention he was taken from a loving home, kept in a sawdust floored kennel and not walked or had direct human contact for 11 days whilst in their "care", what a bunch of eejits.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

The dangerous dogs act of 1991 was a classic example of populist knee jerk tabloid driven bad legislation. Happy ending in this case well done.

Dick


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

We had a similar thing down here recently where a dog was taken and put in kennels and KEPT THERE WITHOUT EXERCISE FOR TWO YEARS while the idiots 'tried to decide' what to do with it. It had several mentions on our local telly and the great outcome was that it has been rehomed. I so hope it hasn't been traumatised beyond healing.

Any dog has the physiology to be potentially dangerous, but I'm of the camp that says any bad behaviour is down to the owner, not the dog.


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## greygit (Apr 15, 2007)

tugboat said:


> We had a similar thing down here recently where a dog was taken and put in kennels and KEPT THERE WITHOUT EXERCISE FOR TWO YEARS while the idiots 'tried to decide' what to do with it. It had several mentions on our local telly and the great outcome was that it has been rehomed. I so hope it hasn't been traumatised beyond healing.
> 
> Any dog has the physiology to be potentially dangerous, but I'm of the camp that says any bad behaviour is down to the owner, not the dog.


 Sorry Tugboat, I disagree I think we can all get a little too romantic regarding dogs, for instance certain breads, like staffie crosses, have shown certain aggressive tendencies above the norm. We have a rescued Bull Lurcher and although most of the time he is great lovable oaf you can see the latent aggression just under the surface. Around people and children he seems fine but we would never leave him alone with children and I think that is where the problem is, a lot of owners don't know the true animal they live with until it's too late.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

All dogs can have such tendencies, it is not breed specific, leaving any dog alone with children is the sign of poor ownership.

I base my statement on experience in an early career as an electricty meter reader entering several hundreds of homes daily and then management of over 100 staff. The dogs that constantly caused attack issues were wide and varied, but predominately small dogs, Jack Russells, corgis, poodles etc. but no laws to ban them. We never had a reported attack by Staffies or Pit Bull types in over 20 years.

The fact that larger dogs are deemed dangerous due the potential damage they could cause really doesn't address the fact that poor ownership of all breeds is the main cause and I have the scars to prove it. 

Oh and if I had a pound for every owner who stated "He's never done that before" after it had latched onto my leg I would be very rich, and still remember an owner complaining that I was hitting her corgi when it was attached to my shin, after she had told me the brute was friendly 

Terry


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Please consider this petition to end BSL

http://email.change.org/mpss/c/_AA/...2FSCxocmNYFwXeBADFkJcc6IZxbzLPjpZvEkcHg-3D-3D

Terry


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## greygit (Apr 15, 2007)

dghr272 said:


> All dogs can have such tendencies, it is not breed specific, leaving any dog alone with children is the sign of poor ownership.
> 
> I base my statement on experience in an early career as an electricty meter reader entering several hundreds of homes daily and then management of over 100 staff. The dogs that constantly caused attack issues were wide and varied, but predominately small dogs, Jack Russells, corgis, poodles etc. but no laws to ban them. We never had a reported attack by Staffies or Pit Bull types in over 20 years.
> 
> ...


 Do you think a lot of French campsites banning staffie crosses is just being bias against staffies then? Are they doing it without any evidence or previous experiences? 
I'm a staffie cross dog owner and I love my dog but I still feel mixing in a large number of Staffies into the general dog population of this country is not a good thing.

PS. I don't think the Staffies of today are the same as the Staffies of yesteryear


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

dghr272 said:


> Please consider this petition to end BSL
> 
> http://email.change.org/mpss/c/_AA/...2FSCxocmNYFwXeBADFkJcc6IZxbzLPjpZvEkcHg-3D-3D
> 
> Terry


Done that.
When this dogs act first came out we had 3 months of trouble. Our 9 month old GSD had run out into the road and barked at another dog, she also ran along side our neighbours boy on his bike, we had only had the dog a couple of days so she had no idea of rules, but she did not harm anyone.
The police took up the complaints, we were summond to court, but the dog was not taken thank goodness she remained with us. 
To cut a long story short, after 3 months of worry they dropped the case. This was at the beginning of the dangerous dogs act, had she have been found guilty she would have been put to sleep we were told by our lawyer. We had made alternative arrangement, she was not chipped at the time, she would have disappeared. 
She was a wonderful dog, came everwhere with us, as all our dogs have, we could take her anywhere she lived for 12 years.
Jan


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

greygit said:


> Do you think a lot of French campsites banning staffie crosses is just being bias against staffies then? Are they doing it without any evidence or previous experiences?
> I'm a staffie cross dog owner and I love my dog but I still feel mixing in a large number of Staffies into the general dog population of this country is not a good thing.
> 
> PS. I don't think the Staffies of today are the same as the Staffies of yesteryear


Possibly just ignorance and being classified incorrectly by closed mindsets.

Examples can always be found I'm sure, but I would bet more people are attacked and bitten by other breeds.

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Frequently-asked-questions,17660

Terry


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## tugboat (Sep 14, 2013)

dghr272 said:


> Please consider this petition to end BSL
> 
> http://email.change.org/mpss/c/_AA/...2FSCxocmNYFwXeBADFkJcc6IZxbzLPjpZvEkcHg-3D-3D
> 
> Terry


Signed.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

*Update*

Thanks to all those that signed the petition, Belfast City Council have had to give way and admit he is not a dangerous dog to be destroyed.

A court in Befast returned Hank to his owners today.

End BSL now!

Thanks again.

Terry


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

dghr272 said:


> Thanks to all those that signed the petition, Belfast City Council have had to give way and admit he is not a dangerous dog to be destroyed.
> 
> A court in Befast returned Hank to his owners today.
> 
> ...
























good dog.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Happy owners and dog !

http://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/locked-up-hank-finally-reunited-11693089


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