A teenage dog owner was left traumatised after her four-month-old puppy was mauled to death by two XL Bully dogs – before attacking her.
Nikita Devon, 18, from Ferryhill in County Durham, watched on in horror as her cocker spaniel Maisie was ripped from her arms by the powerful canines before being shaken around ‘as if she was a toy’.
The young pup died at the scene following the lunchtime attack, which took place on the afternoon of September 3, The Northern Echo reported.
Vets later confirmed Maisie had been left with a broken jaw and puncture wounds to the head, face, neck and body.
Nikita was only five doors away from home when the XL Bullies struck – and was herself left with bite injuries to her arms and legs.
Police confirmed that the dogs had escaped from a nearby property.
Her mother, Mellissa Ann Devon, 49, had only just returned from work when her daughter took the puppy out for her daily lunchtime walk.
After hearing ‘screaming and shouting’ she ran out of the house to locate the source of the commotion.
Four-month-old cocker spaniel Maisie was ripped from her arms of her owner Nikita by two XL Bullies before being shaken around by the dogs ‘as if she was a toy’
Maisie (pictured) tragically died at the scene, having been left with a broken jaw and puncture wounds to the head, face, neck and body
‘I just saw this big dog running up the street with Maisie in her mouth as if she was a toy,’ she said.
‘We have only had Maisie since June 27, and she made our lives complete. We have been left utterly devastated.’
Melissa added: ‘Nikita usually takes my two-year-old grandson with her on the walks so again we can only imagine how that would have been.’
Meanwhile Mellissa’s daughter-in-law Shannon Leigh is calling for a tightening of dangerous dog laws and stricter enforcement of existing legislation in a bid to avoid any more such incidents.
Shannon, who was an eyewtiness to the attack, told ChronicleLive: ‘I stayed at the other end of the street but I’ve still had flashbacks of it happening since. It comes in waves.’
She has launched a petition calling for a licensing system for all dogs, regular property checks by councils to ensure secure housing of registered dogs and harsher penalties for owners who breach the law.
Other measures include a proper support for victims and families, including trauma counselling and specialist referrals for those on the receiving end of canine aggression.
‘It’s not about breed hate. There’s so many breeds that can be dangerous. This is about the laws that are in place being stricter and people abiding by those rules,’ Shannon said.
Maisie’s owner Mellissa said the pup had ‘made our lives complete’ and that her death had left the family ‘utterly devastated’
‘If there are people with these dogs that are registered, why aren’t there people coming to their houses to do checks to make sure that if they do have that dog, their property is secure enough to own that dog?’
A YouGov poll in July this year revealed the majority of Britons want stricter laws enforced on the XL Bully breed – with just five percent thinking they should be allowed as pets without a licence.
Others have called for the reintroduction of dog licences in the UK for all breeds, with more than half (54 per cent) believing this should be mandatory.
Meanwhile, 53 per cent believe the controversial XL Bully breed should be banned altogether.
In 2023, the breed became the first to be added to the Dangerous Dogs Act since it became law in 1991, meaning owners in England and Wales now require a Certificate of Exemption in order to keep their pet.
Some people want the law to go even further, calling for a full reintroduction of dog licences.
This measure was required to own a dog in England, Scotland and Wales before 1988, and still exists in Northern Ireland, costing £12.50 a year.
Durham Constabulary have been contacted for comment.
