PA wire via AP, file

Lennox, deemed an illegal pitbull terrier type dog in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A pug-nosed Belfast dog named Lennox, who inspired a two-year legal fight and animal-rights protests on both sides of the Atlantic, has been put down, the Belfast City Council confirmed Wednesday.

A two-year international battle to save pug-nosed Lennox, whose resemblance to a pitbull brought it a death warrant from the City Council in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended Wednesday with the announcement that city officials killed the 7-year-old dog.

The City Council declared Lennox had a severe personality disorder, but his owners, the Barnes family, said he was a well-handled American bulldog-Labrador cross. After measuring his legs and snout, dog wardens declared Lennox a “possible pitbull type” and in 2010 seized him under the UK’s dangerous dog act.

Owner Caroline Barnes, said her teenage daughter, Brooke, had been denied the chance to say a final farewell, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

"We had told Brooke that even if we don't win (the case), she can still see Lennox, have her last pictures with him and say goodbye," said Caroline Barnes. "To then have to tell her that no, that is not happening, it has been extremely unfair."

Victoria Stilwell

The euthanizing sparked expressions of outrage, including from celebrities such as Victoria Stilwell, host of Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog.”

“Outraged & devastated for the Barnes family,” Stilwell tweeted. “@BelfastCC are defending their decision to murder this ‘dangerous dog, but the world knows different.'”

Stilwell had offered to the Belfast City Council to take Lennox, all expenses paid, to a new home in the United States, but her request for a meeting to discuss the proposal went unanswered.

"I think the council had something to prove, and they were going to do it even though it was wrong," Stilwell told msnbc.com.

To owners of dogs targeted by breed-specific legislation, she warned: "Don’t trust your council and don’t trust your county. There are vindictive people dead set against bully breeds who will find you and take your dogs away."

She said she will work to fight breed-specific legislation.

"We must target the deed not the breed," Stilwell said. "We must hold irresponsible pet owners accountable. Dogs of any breed can be fantastic, and dogs of any breed can be dangerous. Breed-specific law is flawed; it just doesn’t work."

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A Belfast council spokesman on Wednesday, quoted by the Belfast Telegraph, said:

"Lennox, an illegalpit-bull terrier type, has been humanely put to sleep. This was in accordance with the Order of the County Court which was affirmed by the Northern Ireland Court of Appeal.

"Whilst there is an exemption scheme to which dogs of this type (pit-bull terrier type) may be admitted as an alternative to destruction, there were no such measures that could be applied in this case that would address the concerns relating to public safety. The Council’s expert described the dog as one of the most unpredictable and dangerous dogs he had come across.

"Over the past two years, Council officials have been subjected to a sustained campaign of abuse including threats of violence and death threats. The Council has been in ongoing contact with the PSNI in relation to that.

"The Council regrets that the court action was necessary but would emphasise that the safety of the public remains its key priority."

Northern Ireland's senior appeals court last month upheld two 2011 court rulings that Lennox should be put down.

However, Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson suggested on Monday that the Belfast City Council consider offers to take the dog elsewhere, raising the hopes of Lennox supporters, some of whom were protesting in New York. Protests were also held Saturday in Belfast, and a candlelight vigil was held there Tuesday night. Protests were also held Tuesday in Spain.

Online petitions garnered 200,000 signatures.

Msnbc.com's Jim Gold contributed to this article. Follow him on Facebook here.

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LONDON -- Security checks of vehicles entering Olympic sites in the U.K. have not been properly carried out, according to a number of staff, ITV News reported Wednesday.

The unnamed staff claimed that in some cases fake searches of vehicles for bombs were carried out using dogs that had not been trained to detect explosives. 

The company involved, G4S, denied the claims and ITV News reported that some of the staff who spoke to them had been sacked.

The U.K. news station said the “key claims” were that:

• Cargo areas of trucks and vans have not been adequately searched by either dogs, scanners or other security teams.
• In some instances, dogs that were not trained to find explosives were used to carry out fake searches of vehicles.
• Some assessments of dogs and handlers have been faked.

Read more from ITV News

Ian Horseman Sewell, G4S’s managing director of global events, told ITV News the allegations were not true.

"At no point is there any evidence that dogs that have been trained to detect substances other than explosives have been used to try to detect explosives,” he said.

Olympic rings on London's Tower Bridge mark one month to games

The security operation at the Olympics will be the largest carried out in Britain in peacetime, ITV news said.

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Bernd Settnik / EPA

Postwoman Anneliese Knop interacts with dog 'Liesbeth' during her round in Mahlow, Germany, on Monday. Employees of the post office regularly attend training sessions because, according to the postal service, about 1,800 mail carriers per year are involved in incidents with dogs.

BERLIN -- Aid workers, journalists and embassy employees often undergo so-called Hostile Environment Training. But what about the threats that your ordinary postman faces on any given day?

Mailmen at the German Postal Service (Deutsche Post) are taking classes in dog defense so that they can learn how to behave when entering a dog's territory -- and to avoid any accompanying injuries.

Around 1,800 incidents involving dogs occur every year with roughly a third resulting in bites or more serious injuries, spokesman for Deutsche Post Rolf Schulz told NBC News. Mailmen in rural areas particularly benefit from the program because dogs often roam freely in people's front yards in smaller German towns, he said.

Letter-deliverers are more endangered "because the dog sees them every day," whereas package deliverymen are less vulnerable to the threat, Schulz said.

The classes, which are voluntary, advise mailmen not to shout at the dogs and to avoid sudden movements.

"For the worst-case scenario, we sometimes equip our delivery personnel with pepper spray," Schulz said.

But using the spray incorrectly can accelerate the dog's aggressive behavior. "We caution to be very careful with the use of the devices because you have to spray directly into the dog's nose to achieve an effect."

Deutsche Post has seen a decrease in numbers of dangerous encounters with dogs over the past decade and says the training is key for a safer working environment.

It is all about strict German health and safety regulations, officials say.

The employer of Germany's 86,000 mailmen hopes to save costs by reducing the amount of sick days for stress and injuries caused by encounters with territorial dachshunds, snarling pugs or aggressive German shepherds.

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