The Owner's Temperament, However, Is Another Matter...

Jenner Stronge was convicted of possessing a prohibited pitbull-type dog called Bleu in January 2017, but was allowed to keep him with conditions including that he be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.

Well, those are easy to fol...

Oh. 

But, in February 2018, Mr Stronge was sentenced for failing to keep Bleu on a lead and muzzled, and an immediate destruction order was made, with Mr Stronge banned from keeping a dog for five years.

And that should be the end of it. But no, of course not. 

He failed to surrender Bleu because he was 'desperate to save his dog from destruction'.

The animal was later seized by the Metropolitan Police and held in private kennels pending the outcome of an appeal against his destruction.

Mr Stronge brought a legal challenge against the force for refusing to move Bleu to the kennels of the Dogs Trust, where he said a member of charity staff could take responsibility for Bleu and therefore could be his keeper.

I wonder how he could afford it?  

But, in a judgment today, Judge Roger ter Haar QC dismissed the claim.

The judge said Bleu had an 'excellent temperament and is not known ever to have shown aggressive or dangerous behaviour'.

Unlike the owner. 

The judge added: 'The basis of the destruction order was that the claimant was not a fit and proper person to be in charge of Bleu; the police did not suggest that Bleu's temperament or behaviour made him a danger to the public.'

Again, unlike the owner.