An 11-year-old girl and two men were injured in the attack in Birmingham on Saturday
By Vanessa Pearce & Navtej Johal
BBC News, West Midlands
The mother of an 11-year-old girl who was attacked by a dog in Birmingham said she thanked God her daughter was alive.
Ana Paun and two men who intervened were treated after being bitten in Bordesley Green on Saturday.
“I’m thanking to God she is alive and [you] just keep going,” the mum said, adding her daughter was feeling fine.
The animal was a bully XL crossed with a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, police confirmed.
The prime minister’s spokesman said the attack was shocking and the government was taking it extremely seriously.
Ana Paun, 11, suffered bite injuries but is now home from hospital
Ana was visiting shops with her sister when the dog attacked, her mum said.
She spent a night in hospital being treated for serious injuries to her shoulder and forearms and returned home on Sunday evening.
“Everything is okay,” her mum said. “[I] just keep going and look after my daughter.”
West Midlands Police said the child was bitten after the animal broke free from its owner.
A 20-year-old man was then chased across a garage forecourt and was taken to hospital with bites to his forearm, along with cuts and bruises from being dragged across the floor, the force said.
Another injured man took himself to hospital for treatment.
The dog’s owner is currently in hospital and would be spoken to in due course, police said.
Footage was posted online of the incident.
Yousf Khan Ahmadzai was injured after intervening in the attack
Car wash worker Yousf Khan Ahmadzai was also injured by the dog as he tried to intervene during the attack.
“The dog was out of control, it went crazy,” he said.
He spoke in Pashto to the BBC as his friend translated, near to the scene of the incident.
He had been prompted to act after hearing the girl’s screams, he explained.
‘So scared’
“I tried to grab the girl, my first attempt failed and the second time I managed to free the girl from the dog,” he said.
“The owner of the dog pulled the dog and I pulled the girl.”
He described how the dog had brought another man to the ground.
“Then I picked up a stick and tried to hit the dog a couple of times.
“I feel bad for the girl, I was so scared for her,” he said.
The dog was taken to a vet suffering from heat exhaustion and had been placed in secure police kennels.
“Our dog unit will consider what will happen to it,” police said in a statement.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the attack was “appalling” and the American bully XL breed was a particular danger to children.
West Midlands Police statistics show that suspected Bully XLs have been making up a greater proportion of dogs seized by officers in recent years.
In 2018, suspected bully XLs made up 3% of the 361 dogs seized. By the end of May this year, of the 407 dogs seized, 96 were believed to be bully XLs (23.5%), far outstripping the number of banned breeds seized (11).
It was a similar picture last year, according to Freedom of Information figures, with suspected bully XLs making up 137 of the 1,033 dogs seized (13%).
The incident was both alarming and shocking, on a busy road in high temperatures, police said in a statement.
“The public showed immense courage in tackling such a ferocious dog.”
Police patrols in the area have been increased.
The attack raised questions from victims about why the breed – which has already killed in the UK – had not been banned already.
But the Dog Control Coalition, a group including RSPCA, Battersea Dogs Home and the Royal Kennel Club, says banning specific breeds is not the solution – pointing to “irresponsible breeding, rearing and ownership”.
Jack Lis was killed by an American bully XL in Caerphilly in 2021
Emma Whitfield, whose 10-year-old son Jack Lis was mauled to death in Caerphilly, Wales, in 2021, questioned why it had “taken this video and not a child’s life to do something?”
“The government could have responded a lot sooner, I was in Parliament in March of this year speaking to MPs about why there should be changes in the law, they weren’t interested then,” she said.
“These dogs aren’t cared for by the breeders, they just want money, so from the greed at the start, irresponsible ownership in the middle, we’ve got children dying.”
The American bully XL is not subject to any legal restrictions in the UK but advice on a ban was commissioned last week, an adviser said.
Adding dogs to the banned list is the responsibility of the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), and it is illegal to own, breed or sell dogs on that list.
The Dog Control Coalition argues that the Dangerous Dogs Act – which has focused on banning specific types – has coincided with a “a troubling increase in dog bites and fatalities”.
A spokesperson said: “Sadly, the increased popularity of American XL bullies has made them valuable commodities, resulting in irresponsible breeding, rearing and ownership, which can all contribute to an increased likelihood of aggression in dogs, regardless of breed.”
The American bully XL is the largest variation of the American bully breed, a type of bulldog developed by breeding several dogs including the American Pit Bull Terrier, American Bulldog and English Bulldog.
The PA news agency reported that there were concerns over the feasibility of adding the American bully XL to the banned list.
The dog is not recognised as a specific breed by the Royal Kennel Club, the UK’s largest organisation for breeding and welfare.
How many people die because of dog bites?
- Ten people died because of dog bite injuries in England and Wales last year
- Numbers of attacks are rising. There were 8,819 admissions to hospitals in England with dog bites last year. There were 4,699 in 2007
- Four dog breeds are banned in the UK – the Pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, the Dogo Argentino and the Fila Brasileiro
- Dogs that share physical characteristics to banned breeds, such as cross-breeds, are also banned
- Owning a banned dog can result in an unlimited fine and a prison sentence of up to six months
- Read government guidance on dog ownership for more information.
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