To report my neighbours XL bully, it is ruining my life

[TheLangyers]

I’m 14 weeks pregnant. Me and my partner currently live on quite a rough council estate as we are saving up for a house deposit. Won’t be able to move for another couple of years.

Our next door neighbour has an XL bully. I am usually a dog lover but feel really uneasy about these dogs. My mum was a dog walker for a few years and I got bit by a pit-bull and repeatedly witnessed incidents involving them. My childhood best friend was left with lifelong facial scares after her rescue pitbull randomly decided to bite her face off during a game of fetch.

The XL bully hasn’t personally attacked us yet but it’s been involved in several incidents. It’s been known to get in fights on the local field with other dogs on the estate but owner insists it’s always the other dog’s fault. She leaves it unattended in the front garden, gate is usually closed but it could easily jump over. My partner doesn’t understand the danger that these dogs present and often encourages it to come over to stroke it when we go out. Our walls are very thin and I know from overhearing domestic arguments that it’s bitten the owners autistic grandson before when they’ve been playing.

She often walks 2 minutes the road to another friend’s house and doesn’t bother muzzling or leashing it for this as it’s a short walk. It just runs down the road in front of her. For proper walks it’s on a leash but no muzzle as it “doesn’t like a muzzle.” She often moans to be that she’s suspicious that people on the estate will “snitch” on her so she tries to walk early morning or late at night.

Being pregnant I’ve been a lot more cautious and try to only go out when my partner can give me a lift - I can’t drive. However an incident today has left me terrified. I was on the road in front of our house at lunchtime cleaning the car and they come out to walk to the friend’s house. It jumps on my back trying to be friendly and lick me - this dog weighs 70kg. I froze and was terrified and she didn’t pull him off, she just kept shouting its name until it ran to her and they left.

It’s really starting to ruin my life and my partner doesn’t care as he just thinks it’s a funny, goofy big dog. He always brings up my parent’s cockerpoo as an example as occasionally nips at people when it is guarding food but the difference is that a cockerpoo isn’t capable of killing a healthy adult, and a cockerpoo usually will bite once then back off. XL bullies generally are genetically wired to try to kill and could turn at any moment.

I’ve now fallen out with my mum too as she’s very worried about mine and the baby’s safety and she says we should look at private renting somewhere else until we can afford to buy. This annoyed me as we only pay £500 a month rent at the moment and if we were to move to another private rental it’d be hundreds
more and we would lose a load to our savings to moving costs. I don’t see why we should have to do this. My mum says I’m putting money over my baby’s safety and has become angry at me. I feel like I can’t win.

I want to report as she’s breaking the law letting it out unleashed and unmuzzled but I’m concerned that the neighbour would know it’s me after the incident today and make my life hell. She is somewhat unhinged, nice enough on a shallow level, will invite you in for a cuppa and chat to you etc bit get on the wrong side of her and she’s as rough as a bears arse and will get family members to bang on your door etc. Police have been called before when she’s had disputes with another neighbour about rats in the garden. I hate confrontation and really don’t know what to do.

any advice appreciated

When I temporarily took on my ds's pocket money leaflet delivery job when he was in the 6th form as he'd damaged his ankle, I did notice that insecure fencing went hand in hand with the sort of people who had these beasts.
American bully lives here or some such notice on the gate.

I wouldn't deliver there or even the two houses either side.
(There were a set amount of leaflets and as long as they were all delivered you could miss a few here and there.)
If I went to large detached houses that had proper guard dogs, I could be sure that they couldn't get out and were extremely well trained. And the letterbox on the outside of a locked, very secure gate.

Get stupid effing dog fail to get 10% off at your nearest Harvester 😁

We have a Staffy. He's the most gentle soul ever. 3 years ago he was attacked by 3 XL Bullies whilst my daughter was walking him. They were actually on a lead, but we're so strong that they dragged their (male) owner across the street so they could get to our boy ( also on a lead ). The owner couldn't get them off him,my daughter was hitting and kicking the XL's to get them off our boy and ended up on the floor and getting bitten whilst defending him. Between the 3 Bullies, they could have killed her and our Staffy.
Despite all this, the owner of the Bullies eventually just walked off with them.
Our boy nearly had his ear ripped off and, once the vet had shaved the fir around his ear and neck you could see many other puncture wounds, including one in his throat. There were also many deep claw marks around his head and neck where they were grabbing at him.
It was a hugely distressing time, but thankfully they both recovered well.
The 3 Bullies involved then went on to attack and kill a spaniel in front of its owner and her children. My daughter reported her attack to the police and gave a description and it was the same man. When the spaniel owner was screaming at him after her dog was attacked, he told her to fuck off and walked away. He was eventually arrested and the dogs were impounded although I don't know what happened to them.
When then dog jumped up your back, it could have easily sunk its teeth in and you wouldn't have stood a chance- they're all muscle and weigh more than a lot of humans do.
To be surrounded by 3 of them must be a nightmare. Your husband is being a naive arsehole if he thinks they're not dangerous- with a lot of breeds, it is down to the owners. But not XL Bullies.

I really feel for you, and I'm really willing you to escape this situation. I do feel its unfair you have to move but it sounds like you are fairly outnumbered and not in the best area to raise a child anyhow. Have you looked into shared ownership maybe as a way to buy now with a smaller deposit? Otherwise I would go and live with your Mum and find somewhere else to rent longer term where you will feel more comfortable, its not worth the risk.

In the meantime put in an anonymous crime stopper online report in on a daily basis- everytime you see the dog unsecured and unmuzzled in the front garden and on the street she is not complying with the rules and the more reports they receive the better so they can investigate. The dog needs to be removed from an unfit and unhinged owner before someone gets hurt.
Please keep us updated!

I know this is an old thread now but things have escalated today. Not with the XL bully on one side of our house but the standard American pitbull on the other side of us (who fights gets in scraps with the XL).

It has bitten the leg of its owners child this morning whilst the child was playing on their small garden slide. The parents were indoors and child playing outside with the dog. I had been watching out of my window as had concerns and was prepared to need to intervene at any moment. I saw the child stood on top of the slide with the dog stood at the bottom waiting for him to slide down and eventually the dog went for his leg and pulled him off the slide. Thankfully at this stage the dad came out and separated them. As far as I know the child hasn’t been taken to hospital, from what I saw the dog only managed to grab his joggers and not flesh.

I’ve put in child safe-guarding reports for the kids on both sides of us and I am moving to my mums. Partner has finally seen some sense and says we can look at renting a small flat whilst continuing to save our house deposit.

I’m actually debating whether to call the police but the American bully isn’t actually banned as it’s not an XL and there was no serious injury so it may be futile

Hi OP, that’s really poor parenting on your neighbours. Good on you for reporting and getting out of there. You’re absolutely doing the right thing and good that your partner has finally seen sense.

Also if you’ve reported to social services they should make police aware as they will
likely investigate this jointly.

American pit bulls have been banned in the UK for years. However you also call it an American bully so not sure what kind of breed it is. When I google American bully I just get XL bully coming up.