Devon man's guide dog attacked by bully XL dog

Steve's guide dog had to be seen by an out-of-hours vet after the attack

A man whose guide dog was attacked by an American bully XL dog is calling for more regulation around dog aggression.

Steve Darling, leader of the Liberal Democrat group at Torbay Council, said his dog Jennie suffered bites and scratches in the attack on 10 August.

Mr Darling, who is registered blind, said it took himself and three others to pull the dog away from Jennie.

He said he had written to the Home Office to call for "more effective enforcement and early interventions".

The attack, which happened in Torquay, was reported to police at the time.

The BBC has approached Devon and Cornwall Police for more information.

Serious injuries

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed the American XL bully dog would be banned by the end of the year following a series of attacks.

The Prime Minister made the promise after it emerged a man had died after being attacked by two dogs - suspected to be bully XLs - near Walsall in Staffordshire.

The man's death comes just days after another attack in Birmingham in which an 11-year-old girl suffered serious injuries.

Mr Sunak said on Friday he had ordered ministers to bring together police and experts to define the breed of dog behind these attacks so they could then be outlawed.

'Straight for the throat'

Mr Darling said the owner of the dog who attacked his had confirmed to him and those who witnessed the attack that it was an American bully XL.

Recalling the attack, Mr Darling said: "Sadly, it just went straight for the throat of my guide dog Jennie and Jennie ended up being on the floor and screaming - something I never want to hear again in my life.

"I ended up wrestling with both dogs on the floor, [there was] no sign of the owner.

"We ended up having four people trying to get the dog off of Jennie.

"We then managed to get Jennie behind a gate while I just lay on the floor on top of this dog to hold it down, and it was really quite traumatic."

Steve said he was pleased to report Jennie was recovering well and was "back to her lovely self"

Mr Darling said he was carrying out a survey of vets locally regarding dog attacks, to understand the level of the problem in Torbay.

He added that he had also written a letter to the Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

In the letter, he wrote: "The law shouldn't focus on certain types of dogs but instead deal with aggression in all dogs, with the response tailored on a case-by-case basis.

"Only then can we properly protect the public and other dogs from aggressive behaviour in all dogs.

"When dogs, including XL bullies, are bred and reared poorly and denied training, socialisation and good care, aggression becomes more likely. That's what needs tackling.

"We cannot and should not keep adding dogs to the banned list.

"We need a fundamental change to the law on dogs acting dangerously to protect the public now and in the future."

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