Schoolgirl savaged by ‘ferocious’ XL Bully ‘too frightened to leave the house’
A schoolgirl savaged by a ‘ferocious’ American XL Bully dog has revealed how she is now ‘too frightened to leave home’.
Ana Paun, 11, told how the dog ‘just came at me out of nowhere’ after breaking free from its collar as she walked to the shops with her sister in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, on Saturday.
Recalling the attack, Ana told Mail Online: ‘The dog stared at me and as I got closer it suddenly jumped up and bit my arm.
‘It didn’t take its gaze off me and continued staring while it was biting.
‘It sort of locked on my arm and wouldn’t let go. I was screaming as loud as I could.’
A man hit the dog which then released its grip from Ana’s arm – but it lunged again, biting her shoulder.
Another man grabbed it from behind and pulled it off, before it chased another person into a petrol station forecourt.
The dog, a crossbreed XL Bully / Staffordshire Bull Terrier puppy, was seized by officers and taken to a vet suffering from heat exhaustion – as temperatures across the UK soared past 30C for several consecutive days.
West Midlands Police said it is now in ‘secure kennels’ and the police dog unit will now decide what happens to the animal.
The force said it will speak to the owner of the dog, describing the incident as ‘alarming and shocking’.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she has commissioned ‘urgent advice’ about banning the breed in the wake of the attack.
She branded the attack ‘appalling’ and said the breed is a ‘clear and lethal danger’, particularly to children.
Ana said the dog should be put down and its owner jailed.
She told Sky News: ‘I want him to go and die.
‘I think dogs like that should be banned.
‘The owner should be in prison.
‘He never did anything. He just let the dog bite everyone.’
West Midlands Police has praised the people who intervened for their bravery.
In a statement issued on Monday, the force said: ‘The dog was seized by officers and taken to a vet suffering from heat exhaustion.
‘He has now been taken into secure kennels and our dog unit will consider what will happen to it.
‘The dog’s owner is currently in hospital and we will be speaking to him in due course.
‘This was an alarming and shocking incident on a busy road in high temperatures and members of the public showed immense courage in tackling such a ferocious dog.
‘We are taking statements from the victims and witnesses, and will have increased patrols in the area for anyone who would like to speak to us.’
A campaign group calling for American XL Bully dogs to be outlawed warned attacks by the powerful breed have become ‘morbidly common’ in the UK.
The mother of Jack Lis, who was left with ‘unsurvivable injuries’ after being mauled by a 115lb XL Bully in Caerphilly, South Wales in November 2021, is also calling for dangerous dog laws to be reviewed.
Responding to the footage of the Birmingham attack on X, formerly known as Twitter, Emma Whitfield said: ‘I’ve seen with my own eyes the damage these dogs do when my son was killed.
‘Governments condolences mean nothing when they won’t act.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.