A thought for Lennox! Update

Lennox case update. Defence lawyers have made legal arguments to appeal judge. will have to wait to see what happens. Sorry I've not been around, hope to be fully back in the swing soon.

 

 

 

Statement on Lennox by Sarah Fisher

It has been brought to my attention that a small clip of my assessment of Lennox has been put on the

internet. This clip has been taken completely out of context and whilst I have remained relatively

quiet on this case since I spoke in court, I feel that I am now forced to make a statement to clarify

what actually happened during the time I was with Lennox.

Wrongly or rightly many documents and details about this case have been passed onto different

parties. I do not feel it is appropriate for me at this moment to discuss in detail everything that has

been said to me, nor to put forward my own ideas regarding all the statements made, as everyone is

entitled to their own opinion and beliefs. What I am qualified to do however is to discuss behaviour.

My assessments, statements and videos of those assessments have been accepted in other court cases

at Magistrates, County and Crown Courts here in the UK so the field of assessment in cases such as

this is not unknown to me.

I do not care if I am to be criticized by members of the public or even other professional bodies as I

have a wealth of experience handling and working with many breeds of dogs, large and small and I

also work with horses with behavioural issues so do not need to defend the claims that I have little or

no experience of working with powerful animals such as Pit Bull Types. I would however like to

clarify that a Pit Bull Type is often a mix of dogs. Nothing extraordinary happens to the psyche of a

dog when it conforms to certain measurements.

I do care however that Lennox is being portrayed in a poor light through this video clip as my

experience of handling Lennox was thoroughly enjoyable and I now feel the need to explain in greater

detail the truth, as I see it, about my assessment. I know that Victoria Stilwell has been what I would

consider to be a sane voice amidst the madness that surrounds this case and she has seen full video

footage of the assessments carried out by myself and David Ryan plus other documentation.

When the door to the van was first opened Lennox barked. He barked at me three times when I

approached. As I said in my report this is not uncommon behaviour in any dog that is in a confined

situation in a crate, kennel or in a car. He was also shaking like a leaf but this does not come over in

the video that my assistant took of this assessment. He was clearly frightened as he could not have

known what was going to happen to him and again this is not an uncommon behaviour in the dogs

that come to me for help. No one has ever disputed that Lennox can be anxious around some strangers

but I believe the key word some has sadly been overlooked.

I asked for someone that Lennox knew to take him out of the crate to keep his stress levels low. Entry

and exit points can be a source of conflict for any dog. I was told I had to handle Lennox on my own

for the entire assessment and that he had bitten the last person that came to see him. This is the clip

that has been released. Had I had any concerns for my safety or those around me given that I was to

be fully and wholly responsible for a dog that I do not know and that I had been told has bitten, I

would not have continued with the assessment if I believed that dog to be a danger either to myself or

those who were standing in the car park. Lennox gave me a lot of information about his temperament

whilst in the crate. In court however, and therefore under oath, Ms Lightfoot the Dog Warden stated

that in fact Lennox had not bitten anyone so I have to assume on the evidence placed before the court

that the statement made to me at the start of my assessment was untrue. Given the publicity

surrounding this case I am also confident that had Lennox actually bitten anyone whilst in the care of

his family as has been suggested someone would have come forward by now.

I spent approx 15 minutes with Lennox prior to being taken from the crate, working with a clicker and

some treats to see if, even in the environment that was causing him some anxiety, he could still learn

and take direction from a stranger. He could. His eyes were soft and he was friendly. At this point I

would also like to clarify the meaning of the word friendly. It does not mean confident. Was Lennox

anxious? Yes. Hostile? No.

I believe that Lennox would have been totally at ease had I indeed taken him out myself but I also

believe I have a duty of care to reduce stress where possible when handling any animal in a situation

that is causing them distress. No doubt this statement will also be taken out of context by those who

wish to discredit me and to discredit my belief that Lennox is not a danger to the public based on my

experience with him and also based on the video assessment carried out by David Ryan which I have

also seen.

I use food in an assessment to monitor the dogs stress levels and emotions at all times. It is not a

bribe. A habitually aggressive dog will generally seek out conflict in my experience but even these

dogs can often be rehabilitated. No amount of food can disguise this behaviour and giving food to a

dog with aggression issues can be extremely dangerous. The dog may be lured to a person by the

promise of food but once it has taken the food it may panic as the offering of the food has now

brought that dog into close proximity with the threat i.e. a stranger. I have worked with dogs with

aggression issues and whilst some may well take the food, the person delivering the food may not be

able to move once the food has gone as the movement of the person, even the smallest movement of

their arm, may trigger the dog to lunge and bite. I would not hand feed a dog that I deem to be

aggressive. The delivery of the treat must come from the person that the dog knows and trusts - not

the stranger. The dog can learn to approach a threat and then turn back to the person that the dog trusts

for the reward if the approach to the person is appropriate. I use food throughout an assessment to

monitor what is happening with the dog on an emotional and physical level not to make him my best

friend.

Lennox was so gentle with the taking of the food both in the crate and also later in the car park. He

was also appropriate in his behaviour with the games we played. He was also gentle when he jumped

up at me to see if he was allowed the food that I was withholding in my hand. When he realised it

wasn't forthcoming he politely backed off. This would suggest to me that he has been around a family.

Not chained up in a yard as has also been claimed by people who do not know the family or the dog.

Lennox showed excellent impulse control at all times and at no point did he grab me or my own

clothing which many dogs do when getting excited by a game. I have worked with some truly

challenging dogs and some will become increasingly aroused by lead ragging or games with toys and

start seriously mouthing or biting the handlers arms or clothing. This can quickly flip over to more

overt aggression and these dogs can be dangerous particularly if they are being handled by just one

person. It is imperative that dogs with this behaviour are taught a more appropriate way of interacting

with people and responding to the leash and also greater self control. There are many ways to help

dogs that have been encouraged, through mishandling and misunderstanding, to behave in such a

manner. Kicking and beating them is certainly not the answer.

Lennox does rag on the lead but it is very self controlled. He did not exhibit any of the behaviours that

I have mentioned above. Regardless of what some uneducated people may wish to think, it is possible

to glean a lot of information about a dog through games and food as many behaviour counsellors and

trainers will confirm.

I wrote a fifteen page report on my experience with Lennox and my thoughts about the David Ryan

assessment. In this report I state that I have concerns about the appearance of Lennox’s neck. In the

video I explain this too. His ears are unlevel and there was a change in the lay of his coat over the

Atlas in line with the nuchal ligament that is present between T1 and C2 vertebrae. Coat changes

often occur in dogs, cats and horses that have suffered injury or those that are unwell. I have studied

this over seventeen years of handling many animals. In all cases where I referred an animal back to a

vet, whether it was in the care of a shelter, owned by my private clients or students that I teach

changes to the soft tissue or skeleton were noted on further detailed investigation. When I see this

around the neck in a dog I know that it is likely to give the dog cause for concern when someone

unknown to that dog attempts to handle the collar or put on or take off a lead. Coat changes may well

be present where deep bruising has also occurred. Pain and pain memory is a key factor in many

behavioural problems.

Lennox was quite rightly put on Amitriptyline. I do not believe that the Council have failed in their

duty to care for Lennox when it comes to the stress that he has been under and I understand that this

drug is used to treat anxiety and depression. It was with interest, though, that I discovered that this

drug is also used to treat chronic pain in dogs. Again this was mentioned in my written report. This

may explain in part why my experience with Lennox seems to fly in the face of other evidence

presented before the courts. He was not on Amitriptyline when he was assessed by David Ryan.

I would absolutely move on to touch an animal all over its body in any assessment that I do. I may or

may not choose to muzzle a dog that is unknown to me to do this if I have concerns about the body

language that I have seen prior to this part of my assessment. I elected not to stroke Lennox all over

because of my concerns about his neck, the newly forming scabs that were present on his flanks and

the blood that was present around the nail beds around his right hind foot. This decision was made

based on the physical evidence before me not because I felt I would be in danger. I talked about this

in court which was open to the public and at the end of my assessment which is also on film I

explained this to a representative from the BCC Dog Warden team and asked if there was anything

else that she would like me to do with Lennox. She said no.

I cannot comment on what happened when Lennox was seized or measured by Peter Tallack because I

wasn't there. I can explain behaviour though and any frightened animal can be intimidating. I have

recently been in Romania working with traumatised horses and two stallions had not been mucked out

for months as the staff (men) were too scared to go in with them. They called them 'pitbulls' such is

the misguided impression of this type of dog. Hay had been simply thrown over the stable doors and

their water buckets were hanging crushed against the stable wall. I went in with them, not because I

have any desire to be a hero, but because I can read an animal well and within minutes they were

quiet, standing at the end of their stables albeit it pressed up against the walls. I was calm with them

and we took out all the filthy bedding and fetched new water buckets for them too. They didn't attack

anyone. They were simply terrified and they were not provoked. I spent time with one of them on my

own, hand feeding him and was finally able to touch his face. This process probably took less than

half an hour. I was totally absorbed in what I was doing and when I turned to walk out I realised that

one of the Romanian men had been watching me. He raised his eyebrows, gave me the thumbs up and

walked away. Other people could then go in with this magnificent horse too and hand feed him the

fresh sweet grass that we had picked from the surrounding fields so it isn’t simply that I am quiet in

my handling of animals nor possess some extraordinary skill that can make even the most savage lion

behave like a lamb when in my company.

I can perhaps, help an animal that is struggling, gain trust in human beings as many people can. I can

perhaps work with a difficult animal and make it look as though that animal is calm but all the time I

am reading that animal. Every second of the way. I am looking at the eyes if it is safe to do so, I am

watching the respiration, I am studying the movement, the set of the ears and the tail and so on and

my opinions about an animal are based on many years of working in this way. One case that will

always stand out in my mind was a large member of the Bull Breed family. I believe she was two

years old. I won’t go into the details here but I will say that when I worked with her she appeared to

be very good to the member of kennel staff that was watching. At the end of my assessment the

member of staff asked me what I thought. I sadly had to say that I thought the dog should be put to

sleep. The member of staff was horrified and I remember her saying ‘but she’s been so good with

you’. But I had noticed some worrying signs. The shelter ignored my advice and rehomed the dog

who savaged the new owner so badly the owner ended up in the ICU. Of course the dog was

immediately destroyed.

I knew what I was walking into when I agreed to go and assess Lennox for the family. To have to

defend Lennox outside of the court has, however, come as a surprise. I have made this statement to

shed a little more light on what is a distressing case for all those involved, knowing full well that I

will no doubt be subject to further scrutiny and criticism. So be it. I am not afraid. If nothing else this

case has highlighted some important issues about the fears and prejudice concerning dogs, their breed

types and their behaviour. Certainly it highlights the sad truth as Xenephon said so wisely in 400 BC.

Where knowledge ends, violence begins.

Done