Man jailed after woman mauled by two XL Bully dogs during terrifying ‘prolonged’ attack

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A banned dog owner has been jailed for 18 months after his two XL Bully dogs mauled a woman during a vicious seven-minute attack.

Rachael Millard, 35, was walking her own two dogs in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, when the “aggressive” XL bullies charged out of an open door towards her.

Ms Millard tried to protect her puppy and was left with serious puncture wounds as the two dogs repeatedly bit and dragged her in the “prolonged” savaging.

A court heard Marcus Walsh, 41, was banned from owning dogs at the time when the two dangerous dogs carried out the attack.

Walsh, of Penydarren, pleaded guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury and received an 18-month sentence.

The latest attack comes as the government looks to ban American XL Bully dogs in response to a series of attacks. Prime minister Rishi Sunak pledged to ban the breed in September by the end of the year.

Ms Millard suffered puncture wounds to her legs and fingers and had been left scarred by the “prolonged attack” which lasted seven minutes.

In a victim personal statement, she said she was “overwhelmed” when seeing two dogs approaching and would “look for an exit” whenever she entered a park in case she needed to escape.

She told Newport Crown Court she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was “hypervigilant” when walking her own pets.

Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said: “Ms Walsh saw two young girls open the front door of a property and two dogs ran out of the property and ran towards her to attack.”

Following the attack Mr Walsh went to Ms Millard’s house armed with flowers and begged her not to tell police as he was banned from owning dogs, the prosecutor added..

Mr Walsh pleaded guilty to owning a dog dangerously out of control and causing injury and was jailed for 18 months and banned from owning dogs for a further 10 years.

The court heard he had previous convictions for another dangerous dog attack and at the time of the offence was serving a five-year ban from owning them.

Judge Daniel Williams told Walsh: “You are not a fit a proper person to own a dog.”

Earlier this month, a 54-year-old man was mauled to death by an XL bully in Sunderland. Officers from Northumbria Police shot the dog involved in the attack and took another, also believed to be an XL Bully, into custody.

In September, a 60-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possessing a dog dangerously out of control after two men and an 11-year-old girl were injured by an XL bully crossbreed in Birmingham.

In a separate incident Ian Price, a 52-year-old from Staffordshire, died in hospital after being attacked by two XL bullies.

Under new laws, owners could face a requirement to neuter their dogs and muzzle them in public, the government’s chief vet has suggested.

Many XL bully owners have protested Rishi Sunak’s ban as crowds amassed in London in September to protest the move, insisting their dogs are completely safe and that only a minority are dangerous.