Terrifying footage shows the moment an XL Bully launched a savage attack on a small dog as its owner struggles to get it under control.
Samantha Kneale, 37, from Maghull, Merseyside, was walking her one-year-old dog, Bruno – a small, white chihuahua-shih tzu cross – on September 10.
She came across two men walking an XL Bully dog which she had never seen before, which appeared to be pulling on the lead.
Describing the scene, Ms Kneale said: “The man was grabbing onto the school fence trying to keep control of the dog and he shouted ‘lift your dog because I can’t control her’. The dog just broke the lead and came across the road and got my dog by the harness.”
Explaining the incident to the Liverpool Echo, Ms Kneal said: “It was ragging him around. The man walking the dog wasn’t the owner, the other man didn’t help, he just watched and looked terrified.”
“At one point he shouted ‘he’s dead’, so I thought he was gone. Two children went to ride past and saw it happening, they were screaming.”
A kind stranger stopped his car after seeing the incident and grabbed the XL Bully’s back legs. The dog then lost its balance long enough for Bruno to be taken to safety.
Covered in blood following the attack, Bruno was taken to the emergency vet, where it was confirmed he had suffered puncture wounds. The visit to the vet cost an eye-watering £500 bill.
Ms Kneale said: “The friend of the owner said they would pay for the vet bill initially but have blanked me when I sent over the invoice. I went to post it through their door and they still haven’t sent any money.”
Ms Kneale says she would welcome a ban on the breed and believes her “playful” dog is now “traumatised” following the incident, and is not the same pet he used to be.
Bully Watch, a UK group that advocates for a ban on selling and breeding large bullies, says American Bully XLs or American Bully Mixes have been responsible for 316—or 38% of—dog attacks in the county so far this year.
There is a petition to make the XL Bully a banned dog breed, and so far it has gained over 19,000 signatures. At 100,000 signatures, a petition is considered for debate in parliament.
