Joseph and Margaret Trueman were newlyweds when they left Ireland for America at the turn of the 20th century.

Carefully transported in her trunk, Margaret brought the family bible.  If you turn the delicate gold-edged pages to the section separating the old testament from the new testament, you will find the meticulously recorded births of all five of her sons, as well as the death of the one who did not survive.

Margaret Trueman was my great-grandmother, I found her bible when I was cleaning out my grandmother’s basement.  The cover has seen better days, but the words transcribed inside still remain to this day.

Many has been the day when I carefully turn the pages of that old bible, running my hands along the soft, silky pages and thinking of her and the life she left behind in Ireland.

I wonder, what dreams compelled her to leave the only home she knew and travel to another country far away from home and kin.  I wonder if  America helped her fulfill those dreams.

She died when I was very small and sadly I have no memory of her.

My whole life I’ve dreamed of going to Ireland, to the family farm for visits with cousins so far removed we can’t even determine how we are related.  Settled in at the old kitchen table, over cups of tea, with cream made fresh on the farm, we will get to know each other, to share our lives and dreams.

Today I dream of a world, where pets aren’t yanked out of loving arms and condemned to die, just because of the way they look.

Hey Belfast City Council, today’s WTF Wednesday is all yours.

Lennox the dog ‘humanely put to sleep’ – Belfast, Ireland

I don’t know about you, but I call bullshit.

There is nothing humane about what the Belfast City Council did to Lennox or his family.

If you live in the ‘dog’ world, you more than likely know about Lennox, deemed a ‘dangerous breed’ by the Belfast City Council, he was removed from his family and sentenced to die.

For the last two years, Lennox remained isolated from his family, alone but certainly not forgotten.  For two years his family fought valiantly for his return but they were denied every step of the way.

Despite the fact that well-known dog trainers offered to take Lennox and bring him to the United States, the city council refused.

Victoria Stillwell flew to Ireland prepared to take Lennox on a moment’s notice, still the council refused.

No, the Nazi’s of the dog world had spoken.

This morning the sad news was released that Lennox was put to sleep.

Truthfully I’m not surprised and I’ll tell you why.

My belief is that Lennox has been gone for quite some time.  What other explanation is there for not allowing anyone to see the dog in two years, why would they refuse to allow the family to have the body of the dog?  Why did the council vehemently refuse any and all offers to re-home the dog?

Because the dog was already gone.

Whether he died from their negligence or whether they just went ahead and euthanized him before all efforts in court were exhausted, I truly believe they COULD NOT produce the dog.

Sadly Ireland does not stand alone in their ignorance.  Many cities in this country have Breed Specific Legislation and it’s wrong.  A dog should never be judged on looks alone.

When will we learn to punish the deed and not the breed?

I have a dream that one day we all will be judged by what’s in our hearts, not by how we look.

Run Fast, Run Free Lennox, you may be gone but those you left behind will continue to fight.