Jonathan Hogg had been looking after a friend’s two dogs when one of them, an XL Bully, suddenly launched a sickening 15-minute attack that cost the father of five his life
A beloved father killed in an attack by an XL Bully dog suffered the “worst injuries” ever seen by a trauma doctor, an inquest was told.
Jonathan Hogg, 37, was looking after his friend’s two dogs in Leigh, Greater Manchester, when one of them, named Poseidon, attacked when he entered their pen. The dog bit at his scalp and the back of his neck in a sickening attack lasting around 15 minutes.
The dad of five was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital, where it was found he had gone into cardiac arrest and suffered catastrophic blood loss. He was pronounced dead at around 2.05am on May 19 last year.
Dr Matthew Muldoon, who was on duty at the hospital, said Mr Hogg’s injuries were the “single worst trauma case” he had seen in his ten-year-career. The attack was witnessed by Jordan Broxan, who told the court Mr Hogg shouted: “Poseidon, what are you doing?”
The victim made repeated attempts to get away from the dog while Mr Broxan tried to distract the animal by throwing food and objects at him. Mr Broxan told proceedings: “Hoggy had come out of the caravan to see what the dogs were barking at. They both knew him and were comfortable around him. To begin with, Poseidon was jumping up at Mr Hogg playfully. Then the dog showed some form of aggression towards Hoggy and started tugging the sleeve of his jacket.”
The inquest heard the week before the fatal attack, the RSPCA had visited the house of William Bates, who owned the dog, over a concern for welfare of the animals. When the inspector visited the property in Tyldesley, Greater Manchester, she discovered 19 dogs, including 13 puppies and six XL bullies, including Poseidon.
A welfare notice was subsequently issued to Mr Bates over the ‘sub-optimal’ conditions the inspector found the dogs to be living in. Giving evidence, Mr Bates said he had known Mr Hogg all his life and he was more like an “older brother” to him. The mobile car valeter told the coroner he had “fallen in love with” the dog breed and acquired dogs from both the USA and Ukraine.
Mr Bates, who denied he was using his home for the breeding of selling of dogs, said: “There’s not a minute when I don’t think about what’s happened. I still miss Johnny, it doesn’t seem real. I was trying to better the breed and produce show quality, champion XL bullies.” Following the attack, Mr Bates was arrested and a criminal investigation was launched but no further action was taken by police. The dog was destroyed shortly after the attack.
A post-mortem examination carried out on the dad-of-five gave the cause of death as head and neck injuries as a result of dog bites. Mr Pemberton, returned a narrative conclusion, saying Mr Hogg died as a result of an unforeseen, unexpected and sustained attack by an American XL bully-type dog.
He said: “It’s clear Johnny was a much-loved father, brother and son who will be missed terribly following the unexpected events of that evening. This is a stark reminder however people may be familiar with animals, things can change very rapidly. Johnny was in an environment he was familiar with and one he chose to be in.”