Dog trainer victoria stilwell helps family fight to keep dog despite breed ban

In Northern Ireland a family is struggling to fight the legal system and keep their beloved dog, Hank.

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The city of Belfast has a ban on Pit Bulls. Because it’s enforced, owners Leonard Collins and Joanne Meadows are fighting to keep custody of their dog, Hank–which could also mean sparing his life.

Hank’s owners, who’ve had him since he was a puppy, say that they were under the impression he is a Staffordshire Terrier-Labrador mix–not a Pit Bull. And renowned dog trainer Victoria Stilwell, who starred in Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog,” is ready to join in on the fight.

She recalls a case from 2010, involving a Pittie named Lennox. It was ruled that he was a banned breed, and despite a desperate battle with the legal system, he was eventually euthanized. Stilwell fears that this could happen again.

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“There was nothing that any expert could say, and nothing that any of us could do, to change the minds of Belfast City Council,”she said in an article by the Belfast Telegraph. “Lennox just did not stand a chance, and that is what really worries me right now about Hank.”

She also has back-up, she added, and they’re ready to make the trip overseas to help this family out.

“The world’s top forensic dog bite investigator, Jim Crosby, who is a friend of mine and who helped in the Lennox case, is also ready to come to Belfast and do a behavioral evaluation. We’re ready to come – we’ll do it,” she said in the story.

Because of her position in the spotlight, Stilwell is not afraid to gather the support of her loyal fans.

“My social media reaches about two million people every week,” she told the Belfast Telegraph.

A petition has been started to save Hank, and has currently collected over 100,000 signatures. There is also a Save Hank Facebook Page, which has over 50,000 likes, as well as a crowdfunding page that has raised over £14,000 to help pay for the pup’s legal fees.

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We hope that with all the support behind Hank, as well as his charming personality, the Belfast legal system will give him a fair chance to be the loving family dog he wants to be.

(h/t: Belfast Telegraph)

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