XL Bully attack | 8 year old boy seriously injured

[ThisOldThang]

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/schoolboy-8-seriously-injured-after-28610020

"A schoolboy is in a serious condition in hospital after being mauled by what is believed to be an XL bully.

Merseyside Police were called to Wadham Road in Bootle just after 5.20pm on Saturday following reports a dog had bitten an eight-year-old boy to the head in the communal area of flats nearby.

The boy was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries and required emergency surgery. He remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition."

IMHO the ban doesn't go anywhere near far enough and all XL Bullys need to be put to sleep.

AIBU?

I’m agree these dogs need to just be put down now, the vast majority are of a certain type so aren’t going to follow the law anyway.

i also agree that all dogs should be licensed and it made as inconvenient and expensive as possible which might make the irresponsible think twice. You see it time and again that rescues turn people down (not always for good reason of course) but there is obviously something stopping them giving them a dog so what do they do? Get a puppy from a dodgy background instead of stopping and thinking maybe now isn’t the right time, Instant gratification without thought for the next 10+ years. There seems to be far more irresponsible dog ownership than responsible these days

Sadly the failure to nip this issue in the bud is impacting the perception of all dogs and their owners. I now have a ‘note’ on my Amazon Prime delivery record that we have ‘potentially dangerous dogs’ - when we have a 6mo spaniel puppy and an adolescent sprocker who barks when the doorbell goes (given my neighbour was burgled this week, I am not inclined to discourage the barking).

Neither are allowed into the hallway when we answer the door out of consideration for delivery staff who may be wary of animals and - frankly - because it is easier to take parcels in without tripping over two excited dogs.

However, we have had staff refuse to come onto our driveway and literally call us from outside to collect items from the pavement. I’ve had to stop using them as a result - irritating as hell for us, but clearly fuelling anxiety and fear-inducing for delivery staff.

It is irresponsible dog ownership that has got us here - and the desire to own a Bully XL is a major indicator of that mindset.

There seems to be far more irresponsible dog ownership than responsible these days

Social media has a lot to answer for IMO. Because it IS social media that has done the damage. People see people having things and they instantly want them. You couldn't really do that twenty years ago - social media wasn't such a 'thing' and peoples jealousy/envy wasn't as bad.

Now its: "She has a dog. I deserve a dog. She has a nice house. I deserve a nice house. She has lots of money. I deserve lots of money. She has a nice car. I deserve a nice car."

Sadly, dogs are just considered another 'luxury item' too many people out there.

But, licensing won't work. There's no real way to implement it in an already stretched system.

@Devilshands what is the answer then? We can’t let this unfettered dog ownership continue when it is causing inconvenience for everyone else? All these dog friendly places etc when the people using them can barely keep them under control. Continuous barking, crap everywhere, being ran at when out walking because they can’t possibly keep their fur baby on a lead they need to ‘run free’ (boak). Dogs should be classed as a luxury no one needs a dog at the end of the day other than assistance and working dogs

Agree - the owners along with the dogs as far as I'm concerned!

How do other countries regulate?

all dogs need chips - that chip should include the breeder/rescue centre license. Breeding dogs should also have that info on their chip. When dog goes to vet it needs scanning and reporting if dogs aren’t in order. Yes vets will moan but given how much mine fleeced me I have limited sympathy!!

some exemptions for working dogs but again need a license

we need new ideas and a debate.

I agree, I think the tide is turning against dogs, it's a shame for the sweet little friendly ones, I now give a very wide birth to anything over ankles height

There isn't an answer.

However, everyone has the right to have a dog. But that doesn't mean people don't have a responsibility to ensure they have a dog that is appropriate for them and their circumstances.

Ultimately, the responsibility to ensuring that the right people have dogs rests with the individuals themselves (but it's the thicko's that are the problem, because they will get the 'hardest' dog they can and there's no educating someone with the brain the size of a goldfish') and breeders.

However, breeders cannot always accurately judge a person based off their appearance/accent/wealth/house size/job when it comes to selling them a dog. They can do their best. But it doesn't mean they will get it right. You also can't 'profile' who is going to be a responsible dog owner and who isn't. I am sure if that was the case, then I would have been profiled into not being sold a dog. And yet, I have three well-balanced, well trained dogs that are living the best life they could possibly have.

So we are at a stalemate.

You can't educate the thickos.
You cannot profile people and refuse to sell dogs to them just because you don't like how they look/sound/walk/live.
You can't licence dogs because that's not sustainable and is too costly to implement. And no way is anyone going to support the extensive costs associated when that money could go to the NHS...
You can't increase the price of dogs to price people out the market - it just results in backyard breeders
You can't just ban all dogs other than working dogs and assistance dogs because, quite frankly, that's insane and you shouldn't punish the majority just because of a few rotten eggs.

The best anyone can do is react when a new breed emerges that is a clear risk to public safety.

Yet still people will talk about poor innocent fur babies blah blah blah

Anyone who continues to own these dogs should be liable for murder / GBH charges if their dog attacks

There have been enough warnings

@Bruisername issue with chipping is that it can’t be controlled - lots of unscrupulous domestic breeders just don’t/won’t chip them and there’s no way to police which dogs you see in the street have or have not been done.

I personally do feel we need some sort of dog license system where you are vetted upon application (premises checked etc, just as the RSPCA/Battersea DH does before allowing you to adopt) together with a considerable charge (to fund the process). I think this would put off casual adopters, reduce the chances of needing to rehome, and possibly reduce the number of breeders as they’d be less likely to make a quick buck.

Never going to happen, though.

Af this point the owner should be done for attempted murder. If its not muzzled in a communal public area they ARE breaking the law and therefore should be held totally responsible, not just 'in possession of out of control dog'

This stupid country. Everything done half cocked and just pissing about at the edges.

What is it about the word 'cull' that offends people so much? Scared in case the thicko owners kick off? Diddums. Just get rid of them and imprison those who refuse. The prisons are all full though aren't they? More inadequacy.

I suppose the next government will have to do something and introduce further legislation to deal with the problem. I wonder how many more people will be killed and maimed in the meantime though.

Getting people to comply with a chip would be a hard as getting them to comply with a licence. I say bring vets into the loop as a lot of owners who buy from unscrupulous breeders will want their dog to be under a vet

im afraid I don’t believe rescue centre standards are good. They seem arbitrary and deny perfectly good owners the chance. I also know of one that keeps trying to get a foster owner to give the dog to adoptees with children despite the dog clearly not being suitable for a family. They need better regulation and more sensible terms

This just proves the ban doesn’t work as the owners don’t follow the law.
All XL bullies should be destroyed.

Agree! It’s sad for the genuinely responsible owners but it’s a necessary evil at this point.

not to derail but my relation lost a finger to a border collie!

(new mum, puppies taken away at appropriate time!)

Vile dogs owned by vile, weak, powerless people who need to hide behind an animal.
What angers me about the attacks is it’s hardly ever their pathetic owner that gets mauled and/or killed, it’s always an innocent victim.
I think if people get killed by these dogs the person who owns the dog should get a murder length prison sentence on behalf of the dog they have chosen to own. They know what these dogs are capable of and they know there is absolutely no stopping it when it decides to kill.

One thing for sure, an XL bulldog, humanely put to sleep, will suffer a hell of a lot less than the people maimed and killed by them.
I can't say XL "bully" it's just too cutesy, they aren't cute.

Yes, they are need to be PTS.

We aren't allowed to keep lions in domestic homes and these creatures are equally dangerous. They all need to be euthanased now. We can't wait the 15 years for them all to die out.

On the up side, hopefully this couple will be imprisoned, then banned from ever keeping another dog, making the local community safer.

Perhaps the boy's family can bring a civil suit against them too, and bankrupt them, if they haven't bothered to get insurance. Penalties need to get MUCH harsher to get through to these selfish idiots.

I'm totally a dog lover and do believe, to a point, that its the owners not the breed....BUT these dogs are bred for power and strength. Yes more breeds such as labs/terriers may actually give more nips/bites, but what is the power in their bites, size/shape of their jaws, what damage incomparison would they make?
Last week I read an online report regarding death by dog attacks (uk) over the last decaed or so, and the increase of xl bully attacks etc and although I feel sorry for the good owners/gentle dogs, it's that nature when triggered that we have no control over, and their power stops them being suitable as pets, especially by the arsehole, imbecile, 'tough lad' persona who often seem to own them (I know it's not all owners)
Although it breaks my heart to put down a healthy, friendly dog (I have literally cried over some stories from rescues etc) I'm not sure we have much choice!

Edit. Totally agree about murder charges!

According to the stats that I can find, around 30,000 registered for the exemption and around 15,000 not registered. thats 33% or thereabouts (probably more) Dog licences are not the way to go because those same people who arent registering their dog are also not going to get a licence either. you see what happens with car tax and insurance it will be the same thing with these dogs.

It’s been proven over and over that these dogs are dangerous.
You don’t read about children and adults being killed by labradors, collies or good old mongrels.
I’ve had dogs all my life, love them dearly, but these are not dogs as we know them, these are weapons of destruction.
And yes, sadly the right thing to do is to euthanise them all.

Honestly, we need much tighter rules on dog ownership in general.
I work often with families in extreme crisis. I can pretty much guarantee that when I'm involved with families who are really struggling to provide a basic level of care for their children at some point in our discussions they will mention "the dog" which 9 times out of 10 turns out to be a large dog often bully breed of some type. And if they can't meet the basic needs of their children then they similarly fail to meet the needs of the dog and that's when things get dangerous.

I find it sad and have a lot of sympathy for their reasons for dog ownership: company, safety, love.
But honestly they often need somebody to step in and make sure things are actually safe because they often aren't.

I think XL Bully attacks are part of the scourge of social deprivation. Irresponsible owners keeping them in inappropriate conditions in socially deprived areas. There are never any attacks in the likes of Harrogate or Highgate Village. Always in areas with lots of other social problems. Perhaps some funding from those projects might help, as well as laws about not keeping them in homes with children.

YANBU