HORROR XL BULLY STREET ATTACK
Sickening footage shows attempts to prise teeth from retriever’s head
Sickening footage has captured Scotland’s latest XL bully attack as desperate passersby battled to free a golden retriever from its jaws.
The incident unfolded on Irvine High Street, Ayrshire, on Wednesday after the dog clamped its jaws on the pet’s head.
In the clip, at least seven people can be seen trying to break the dogs apart with men raining kicks and punches on the dog.
One man is also shown hitting the bully with a walking stick.
The retriever can be heard yelping in pain as panicked witnesses scream and shout outside the Iceland store in the town. At one point, another man can be seen trying to push a long brush handle into the bully’s jaws to prise them apart.
It is understood the attack happened after a fight broke out between two men.
Eyewitness Chris Hamilton, who filmed the incident, said the dog had been wearing a muzzle but it had slipped off. He told the Record: “I heard some people shouting and then a fight broke out between two people in the doorway outside Iceland on Irvine High Street.
“I looked away but I heard the dogs starting to fight, so I started to film it.
The XL bully-type dog was with three people and its muzzle fell off during the initial altercation and it attacked the other dog.
“People were trying to get it off the other dog, who was just so helpless, but it just wouldn’t let go.
“Folk came running out of the shops with a brush trying to to prise its jaws open.
“You can’t blame people for getting involved. If it had got hold of someone in the street, it could have been far more serious.
“Eventually, it all came to an end and somehow the dog that was attacked did not seem to be too badly injured considering the XL bully-type clamped its jaws down on its head. I just hope the other dog is all right.”
It comes after a number of incidents involving XL bully-type breeds in Scotland in recent months. In December, a 77-year-old woman was rushed to hospital after being attacked in Clackmannanshire. The dog was seized by police and later destroyed.
An XL bully named Zeus was killed by police in Hamilton in January after attacking two men. And a dog named Kilo was shot dead by cops in East Kilbride in February after an incident with a Border collie.
That same month, two women were attacked. Esther Martin, a 68-year-old grandmother, died in Essex after being mauled by two XL bullies while visiting her 11-year-old grandson.
And a woman was taken to hospital after being bitten on the face by a “bulldog” in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, while trying to protect her puppy from an attack.
The Scottish Government introduced new legislation following a rise in dog attacks, after the UK Government took the lead in bringing in legal safeguards.
From February 23, anyone who owns an XL bully-type dog must keep them muzzled and on a lead in public places. It is also an offence to breed, sell, exchange, advertise or abandon dogs of this breed.
From August 1, all XL bully dogs in Scotland will require an exemption certificate or to be waiting for one to be issued. Penalties for breaching the new safeguards are up to six months imprisonment and or a fine up to £5000.
Police Scotland said: “Around 4.50pm on April 3, officers received a report of a disturbance and dog-on-dog attack on High Street, Irvine. One of the dogs was seen by the vet but has no lasting injuries. No one was injured. Inquiries are ongoing.”
folk came out with a brush to prise its jaws open
CHRIS HAMILTON ON REACTION OF PUBLIC