Paul Ogden, 47, was walking his two dogs on November 3 when he says they were set upon by another dog, which looked to be an XL Bully, in a vicious street attack
A man says his beloved dog was mauled by a suspected XL Bully in a vicious street attack.
Paul Ogden, 47, was walking his two pooches – 13-year-old Jack Russell, Max, and three-year-old Pomeranian poodle, Willow – along Anchor Street, Longton, Stoke-on-Trent on November 3 when he says the dog attacked.
He described the animal as looking like an XL Bully, with a grey coat and white facial markings. The incident came just two weeks before a ‘Pitbull-type’ with a similar description reportedly launched an attack between nearby Speedwall Street and Albert Street on November 21.
Paul, of Longton, told StokeonTrentLive: “I was just taking the dogs down the same route I always go. I head down a big bank. There’s a quadrant of grass at the bottom where my dogs normally have a wee or a poo. They didn’t this time. I noticed these four teenage kids walking in the dark. Two were older, two were younger.
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“They had a dog with them. My dogs tend to react and bark at other dogs when they see them out and about, so I thought I’d hang back and let them go past first to avoid any issues. After they passed, I carried on and turned to the left. That’s when their dog got out of their control. It had managed to pull away and shot straight at my dogs.
“It looked like an XL Bully. It was young, powerful and fast. It pounced straight onto my Jack Russell. I thought it had latched onto his neck. I started pulling at my dog’s legs, trying to get him away. It wouldn’t let go and I started panicking.
“My dog was squealing in pain. So I just kicked this other dog in the head. It was all I could think to do. But I don’t know if that helped or not. It was such a blur that I don’t remember how it got off in the end.”
Following the incident, Paul rushed his injured pup back home. His wife, Donna Ogden, then took Max to Vets Now in Meir Park at around 6.15pm.
She recalled: “I took him to the emergency vets, which left us £430 lighter. Luckily we got most of that back on insurance. He had to be shaved and have his wounds closed up. He was really bruised with bad swelling. He had cuts on his ear. The vet said we were really lucky he wasn’t caught any lower, because that’s where the windpipe is. It could have killed him.
“He’s just a little old dog who likes going on walks and having his routine. But he was left having to take painkillers and antibiotics. He wouldn’t leave the house the next morning because he was scared. He’s still a bit shaken up now.
Now Paul and Donna say people in the Longton area should be on the lookout for ‘out of control’ dogs. Paul added: “The kids walking him weren’t any help. They were really rude and swearing. Telling me to ‘f**k off’ and all this. They didn’t say they were sorry or anything.
“Children shouldn’t be walking like that. Strong dogs with temperaments like that should be muzzled with someone who can control them. They shouldn’t be given the opportunity.
“I’ve seen the comments of people saying ‘it’s just dogs being dogs’ and ‘why do they always blame XL Bullies’. We’re not saying they’re a bad breed. But this is clearly a powerful dog that is out of control. It looks like it’s now attacked two dogs within just a few weeks. Something isn’t right there.”
The Mirror has contacted Staffordshire Police.
