4 days Ago
It was feared that Max, who had been abandoned last week, was to be euthanised, but after thousands of people joined in calling for him to be saved, will now wait until the dog is nine months old before making a decision. The news came as a huge relief for Zara Duncan from Antrim who had taken to social media to voice her concerns. She had previously agreed to foster Max over Christmas, only to be informed this week the council had decided to euthanise him.
Zara said the action of the council had left her heartbroken, adding that Max had “done nothing wrong other than to look a certain way”. In an initial response to appeals from the public, the council decided to give the owners of the dog further time to come forward and claim him. Having discussed the case during Tuesday night’s council meeting, it concluded that Max could not be robustly deemed as a pitbull.
“This was backed by the opinion of the USPCA who aired concerns around the classification of Max,” Zara added. “The outcome agreed is that Max would not be immediately euthanised until an independent assessment is completed when he is at a older age (usually 9-11 months). “I have sent a follow-up email to all councillors asking for Max to be released from kennels to a foster home until an independent assessment can be completed at a later age.
“This boy does not deserve to spend months in kennels, as an untyped dog there is no reason he should. We are hopeful that Max can be released to foster care with an assessment to follow when he reaches an older age. I’m not giving up on him.
” Zara had posted on Facebook earlier this week: “Today, we are absolutely heartbroken to hear that this boy we had lined up to foster over the Christmas break, 5 months old, won’t be leaving the dog pound and instead will be euthanised at the decision of Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council.” It received hundreds of replies from people voicing their concerns over council policy and urging the council to think again over the decision to euthanise. Zara added: “Max was found straying in Dundonald area on Friday 6th December.
He spent the weekend at a temporary home before being collected by dog wardens on Monday 9th December. “When this boy was admitted to the pound, all measurements suggested he did not meet the XL Bully criteria, he measured 15 inches in height from the withers - he was too small. "At this stage the pound were made aware that Max had both permanent rescue space and a foster home lined up once his seven days had concluded.
Despite clearly not meeting the XL criteria on Friday 13th December, dog wardens pulled him from the pound [to] complete an additional assessment (again funded by tax payer money) the pound informed us he would be returned on Monday and they would be able to update us then. “We rang the pound to be told that he had been collected taken by the dog warden. The rescue organisation so keen to help Max also made contact with the wardens and were told the outcome of Friday’s assessment deemed this five month old puppy as a Pitbull Type.
This means nothing other than his height/head size met a certain criteria that easily could be met by another cross breed..
