York woman does not blame XL bully after leg savaged

Kirstie Sandford was attacked by an XL bully dog at her friend's house in York

A woman left unable to work after her leg was mauled by an American XL bully says she does not blame the dog.

Kirstie Sandford, from Acomb, in York, was attacked by the animal at a friend's house on 6 December.

Data gathered by the BBC show it was one of 3,043 out-of-control dog attacks in Yorkshire in 2023 - up from 1,993 in 2018.

Despite her injuries, Ms Sandford said "irresponsible" owners and breeders were to blame - not the animals.

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She said she thought she was going to lose her leg in the attack.

"My friend had to sit on the dog to nearly stop it breathing while I was booting it with my other leg," she said.

"I managed to crawl into the hallway and the ambulance was called."

Ms Sandford, now unable to work or drive because she has to rely on crutches due to the deep cut to her left leg, was told she may not fully recover for another 18 months.

But she added she did not blame the dog for what happened.

"It is irresponsible breeding/owners, that's what it is, it is not the dog's fault," she said.

"I feel sorry for this dog that is going to get put down [for what it did] but it will kill a child."

Ms Sandford said she had been told her leg may not fully recover for another 18 months

Ms Sandford went on to say she hated "being laid up" as she was an active, independent person who had worked as a cleaner before the attack.

She also said she had become scared of dogs and "gets nervous" around them now.

Figures from the BBC's England Data Unit show the number of attacks by out-of-control dogs went up by 11% in West Yorkshire (981 to 1,088), 29% in South Yorkshire (735 to 947), 1% in North Yorkshire (431 to 437) and 33% in Humberside (430 to 571) between 2022 and 2023.

Nationally, Devon and Cornwall Constabulary saw the largest increase, with a 51% rise in attacks from 662 to 1,002.

The data was collected from police responses to Freedom of Information requests (FOIs).

A new law banning unregistered XL bullies also came into force last month following a rise in out of control dogs being reported to the police.

Samantha Gaines, RSPCA dog welfare expert, said as a result of the pandemic the charity had seen some dogs were "more likely to have increased behaviour problems that can increase aggression" but that factors such as how they have been bred, reared and managed were factors as well.