A young mother has told of her horror after two dogs – one thought to be an XL Bully – attacked her beloved pet during a family walk.
The 23-year-old woman was pushing her eight-week-old baby in a pram in the Cheadle area of Stockport, accompanied by her 50-year-old mother, who also had her 10-year-old Labradoodle on a leash.
The mother said she was desperately trying to protect her dog when two off-leash dogs jumped out of the side road and started attacking her ‘savagely’.
READ MORE: Cull of 22,000 XL Bully dogs prevented after owners apply for exemption
The woman filmed the disturbing scenes after getting her baby to safety. Screams of panic and shouts of ‘he killed my dog’ can be heard as bystanders try to remove one of the Bully-type dogs, a labradoodle whose jaws appear to be locked onto the smaller dog, by pulling and kicking its hindquarters.
At one stage a man brought out a leaf blower to end the attack. The Labradoodle survived and was left with multiple injuries to his body. He was taken to the vet and required emergency surgery. His owners were left paying a four-figure vet bill.
You can watch the video of the attack here. Warning: Contains content that some readers may find disturbing
The woman said she was walking along Brookfield Road in Cheadle with her baby, mother and dogs at around 12.20pm on Tuesday, July 23, when the dogs appeared from the direction of Hazel Street.
“They came rushing around the corner,” he said. Manchester Evening News“We did not expect this at all, we were very surprised.
“I was in front but they were looking straight past me. I knew right away that they were focused on our dog and I think I said to my mom, ‘get him.’ My mom tried to get him but the dogs were jumping on her legs.
“They managed to grab hold of the dog’s hind legs. They were so strong that they pulled my mother down with our dog and they both fell to the ground.”
The woman said she took her baby out of the stroller at that point, but then a bystander in the vehicle pulled up and allowed her to take the baby to safety.
At this point, the woman, feeling powerless because she has to stay with the puppy, begins filming the man and other onlookers trying to help the labradoodle. This is where the video begins.
The woman said one of the dogs ‘turned on’ and a person intervened ‘grabbing it by the head’ and putting a makeshift collar around its neck, which proved difficult as it had no collar. However, the second dog continues to attack, as can be seen in the video.
“My mom and I still had a dog on top of us,” he continued. “He was holding on to his ear. He was shaking his head back and forth. Trying to get his ear off. My mom was just trying to stay on top of him and protect our dog. But he was locked on.
“A lot of people were trying to get it out, but the dog wasn’t paying any attention. Then someone brought a leaf blower and it worked and it opened up and someone could have gotten it too.”
He said a woman eventually came and picked up the dogs “one by one” and carried them away from the scene.
Police were called during the terrifying brawl. However, after their dog got loose, the victim and his mother jumped into a waiting car and took him straight to the vet, leaving when officers arrived fearing the labradoodle would not survive.
“I’ve never seen anything like it before,” he said. “His eyes were darting from side to side. There was blood coming from everywhere. He looked like he was going to die.
“I was like, ‘They killed my dog.’ I thought when we went to the vet they would say we had to put him to sleep.”
“He’s more than just a dog to us,” she added. “He’s our family. He’s our baby. He means so much to us.”
The labradoodle, who underwent surgery and suffered several puncture wounds, is now recovering at home. The woman’s mother had swelling and marks on her hand and was advised by her vet to get a tetanus shot.
The woman said a police officer came to the vet and told her that armed police had seized the dogs.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have confirmed that two dogs have been seized. They said one is suspected to be XL Bully, while the other is confirmed not to be.
A spokesman said: “At around 12.30pm on July 23, we received reports of a dog attack on Brookfield Road in Cheadle. Officers attended the scene and a woman was treated for injuries that thankfully were not life-threatening. Two dogs were seized and enquiries are ongoing.”
The woman says both she and her mother have been left shaken by the ordeal, and are now questioning how the dogs were able to roam the streets freely to attack them.
XL Bullies are a prohibited breed of dog under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. This means that it is illegal to sell, breed or give away an XL Bully in England and Wales. It is also illegal to own an XL Bully in England and Wales without an exemption certificate.
Owners of exempt dogs must always comply with the conditions, otherwise they may commit an offence and have their dog confiscated.
“It was just scary,” she said. “Heartbreaking. Embarrassing. Sad. If there’s another word you can think of to describe it, that’s it. We didn’t expect this. I have a little baby and if I was walking them both by myself, I wouldn’t be able to protect either of them, I would have had to let them attack my dog.
“And if it wasn’t for my dog I think they would have attacked my baby. It’s horrible to think about. It’s not right. It’s also very shocking. This is such a beautiful area and everyone has beautiful dogs. A lot of the other dog owners were horrified by what happened.
“These dogs cannot be returned. If they are returned, I have zero confidence in the legal system.”