It’s Me or the Dog’s Victoria Stilwell on Why Breed-Specific Legislation Is Bad

For many of us, our dogs are like our kids. We love them, we care for them, and they can torture us with the same kind of behavior issues: barking, chewing, aggression. It’s like the canine version of crying, drawing on the walls and temper tantrums.

Luckily, you can teach an old dog, young dog, or in-between dog new tricks, as proven by Animal Planet’s Victoria Stilwell, host of It’s Me or the Dog.

Stilwell is known for her positive, reward-based pooch training, and she recently released a new book, Train Your Dog Positively. She’ll also be passing through Sunny Isles on Friday, April 26, hosting a Dog Bite Prevention & Awareness Conference. We caught up with Stilwell and chatted about breed-specific legislation (BSL), how relationships are affected by pets, and dogs as eternal optimists… [MORE]

 

Lennoxgate? Outcry for Investigation of Belfast After Lennox’s Death

The story of Lennox the dog (background story here) took a final, tragic turn on July 11 when Belfast City Council announced he had been killed, after a desperate legal fight by the family and in spite of a worldwide “Save Lennox” movement. In keeping with the less-than-stellar community relations skills Belfast City Council has demonstrated over the past two years (Lennox was seized in May of 2010), they did not even have the courtesy to inform Lennox’s family, the Barnes, instead issuing a tersely worded press announcement that “Lennox, an illegal pit-bull terrier type, has been humanely put to sleep.” The task of informing the family fell to respected, celebrity dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, a close ally of the Barnes family throughout their ordeal, who heard it from a source at Radio Ulster; Stilwell later expressed disgust over this insensitivity, saying in a Facebook post “Belfast City Council should hang their heads… heartless doesn’t even begin to describe the people surrounding this case.”…

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Lennox – The Whole Story – The Hidden Cost of BSL

Attorney Fred Kray and his co-host Jo Staats will discuss with Victoria Stilwell the entire behind the scenes story of Lennox. Katie Bray Barnett from Best Friends and John Dunham will discuss how to calculate all the costs of BSL, including enforcement. Regular segments include:

• Weekly News
• BSL Alerts with Jodi Preis
• Dog Bite Investigation with Jim Crosby
• Fact checking on Dogsbite.org
• Inane Comment of the Week
• Weekly “Rant”

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Celebrity Dog Trainer Says She Was Threatened Over ‘Save Lennox’ Campaign

Following a weekend of protests over the Belfast City Council’s (BCC) killing of Lennox the dog, a celebrity dog trainer has claimed she was threatened over her support of the campaign.

Animal Planet dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, star of the TV show “It’s Me or The Dog” says she was harassed by BCC over her support of the ‘Save Lennox’ campaign.

Stilwell questioned the credentials of the Council’s expert who assessed the breed of the dog and as a result they allegedly threatened the dog expert with legal action…

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Gehrt: Lennox Offers Life Lesson for All

His tale tugged at the heartstrings of animal lovers all over the world. Lennox, a beloved dog in Northern Ireland, was ripped away from his family and condemned to die merely for resembling a “pit bull-type dog” — which is illegal in that country.

But despite international outcry, a viral “Save Lennox” campaign that drew more than 200,000 supporters, including lawmakers and celebrities, and protests on both sides of the Atlantic, efforts to save his life failed last week when the Belfast City Council announced Lennox had been executed…

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