'XL Bully dog attacked my cockapoo and owner didn't say a word'
Family appeals for help with £10,000 vet's bill after their dog was allegedly attacked by an XL Bully
Dog owner claims Cockapoo was 'attacked by XL Bully', leaving him with serious injuries
Claim comes after government bans XL Bullies following series of attacks
Family have launched fundraiser to pay for vets' bills that they say amount to over £10,000
A family is appealing for help to pay a £10,000 vet's bill after their dog was allegedly attacked by an XL Bully.
Alex Leung launched an online fundraiser after the attack left his pet Cockapoo Maxi with a seriously injured leg.
Leung said he was walking three-year-old Maxi in Horsenden Hill near their home in Greenford, west London, on Sunday, 5 November when the dog, believed to be an XL Bully, approached him and attacked.
He told Yahoo News UK: "We live close to Horsenden Hill so often walk there. As usual, I let Maxi off the lead and he was just running round like he usually would, then I saw another dog - an XL Bully - and the next thing I knew it attacked him."
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He said the dogs were 20-30m away from him and while he did not see exactly what happened in the moments before the incident, he heard his own pet squeal.
"As soon as I heard Maxi I ran over and grabbed the dog by his neck to try to make it let go. It did let go after about 20 seconds - but the whole time the owner didn't say a word.
"He grabbed the dog's collar, but usually you would use a command to make your dog let go and he said nothing.
"I was shocked, and I didn't think to say anything to this person - I just wanted to get Maxi to the vet."
Leung, who works in e-commerce, said he had logged a report with the Met Police online but has not heard back from them yet.
Maxi was initially taken for emergency treatment at the vet's, which racked up a bill of £1,500, and then to a muscle and tissue specialist, with treatment expected to amount to £6-8,000.
Leung said that, along with expected bills for the dog psychiatrist he said Maxi will need to see due to being traumatised by the incident, means their bills are likely to total in excess of £10,000.
The 27-year-old and his wife have now launched a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover some of it, as he said they had to cancel their pet insurance last year because they couldn't afford it.
'Absolutely horrific'
Their fundraiser has a target of £2,000 because he said they felt £10,000 might be off-putting to potential well-wishers - but has already raised £1,400.
He said they may now change the amount to cover more of the bills, which he says they are unable to pay.
Leung described the incident as "absolutely horrific and dangerous to anyone in the area".
He said he was sure the dog responsible for the attack was an XL Bully and claimed others had seen the same dog in the area.
Yahoo News UK has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
Are XL Bullies banned?
American XL bullies will be added to the list of banned dogs from 31 December, which means it will be illegal to breed, sell, advertise, exchange, gift, rehome, abandon or allow XL bully dogs to stray in England and Wales.
The dogs must also be kept on a lead and muzzled in public.
By February 1 2024, owners are expected to have registered their XL bullies on the index of exempted dogs.
From that date it will be illegal to own an XL bully that is not registered on the index.
The dogs must also be microchipped and neutered, with animals under a year old given until the end of 2024 to be neutered while older dogs must be neutered by June.
XL bully owners who fail to register their dogs on the index face a criminal record and an unlimited fine. Their dog could also be seized. Owners have the option to have their dog put down by a vet, with the government providing compensation for those who choose this option.
