Calls for deadly dog ban after breed that killed baby chews up man's hound
09.04.2022 - 11:47
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
A pet owner says an attack dog tried to rip his prize pup limb-from-limb - a month before another of the same breed killed a baby.
The Mirror reports that Alan Hickman's pet Molly was lucky to be alive following the ravaging she endured on February 25.
Over the course of a terrifying five minutes, an American Bully XL raced towards Alan and his Shih Tzu, snatching the pooch from his arms and clamping her in its jaws.
It took a barrage of punches from the 62-year-old and a flurry of kicks from a passer-by for the larger hound to relax its jaw.
In the month since the attack in Birmingham's Manor Farm Park, Molly has made a good physical recovery yet remains a shadow of her former self.
Alan has also been left deeply shocked by the attack, which was carried out by the same breed of dog which killed Bella-Rae Birch in Liverpool last week.
"She was in such a state I thought she was going to die," Alan told the Mirror.
"It had a head like a T-rex and a body like a Staffy on steroids.
"If it wanted to kill me, it would've. It's like the owners were walking around with a loaded weapon.
"I would like the owners found and I hope that the dog is seized and destroyed.
"It is not a family pet, it is an extremely powerful, dangerous dog when those in charge of it are incapable and uninterested in attempting to control it.
"It is a potential killer. I believe it is a 'tool of the trade' rather than a family pet."
Since 1980 the American Bully XL has emerged as a distinct breed, descended from the banned Pit Bull and recognised by the UK Kennel Club in 2013.
In the past four months it has been responsible for three deaths in the UK alone, including a 10-year-old and 17-month-old child.
When Alan saw the dog, which he estimated to weigh