- Have YOU been attacked by an XL bully? Email: poppy.gibson@mailonline.co.uk
A dog-minder had his ear ripped off by an XL bully after it attacked him while he slept.
Darren Shuttleworth-Long, 52, from Swindon was sleeping peacefully next to the banned breed on his sofa on April 26, but was woken up after it started biting him.
The dog-sitter was caring for the hound for someone else and described the animal crashing in to him several times and snapping and snarling before biting his face.
He will now require plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear and confessed he struggles to leave the house and even hearing a dog bark sends shivers down his spine.
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control
Mr Shuttleworth-Long admitted the attack left him in shock after he initially found the dog’s jaw had locked while it was nestled in to his armpit but as he tried to move it, the dog broke free and started to attack him.
The church volunteer managed to move it off him but the dog continued to attack him in a 10-minute long fight that also saw half his nose ripped off.
The 52-year-old was finally able to get away and was taken to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital.
Darren Shuttleworth-Long, 52, from Swindon was sleeping peacefully next to an XL Bully on his sofa on April, 26, but was woken up after it started biting him, ripping his ear off
The dog-sitter will now require plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear and confessed he struggles to leave the house and is scared of big dogs
He spent three days in intensive care and was told he would need plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear.
Mr Shuttleworth-Long, a volunteer at his local church said: ‘I went to sleep and had the dog asleep next to me.
‘I woke up and it had latched on the side of me. I managed to move it off.
‘It attacked me again and hit me on the side.
‘I crashed against the bedroom door and locked myself in with the dog. He was having a go on my right ear. He bit my ear off.
‘He hit me about eight to ten times – I thought “I’m in serious trouble”.’
Mr Shuttleworth-Long says the attack was unprompted and lasted for around ten minutes before he was able to get away from the dog.
He said: ‘My whole right side of my face was numb.
Mr Shuttleworth-Long said he initially found the dog’s jaw had locked while it was nestled in to his armpit but as he tried to move it, the dog broke free and started to attack him
The dog-sitter was taken to hospital and had what was left of his ear stitched up, he said: ‘The tissue had to come off – there was nothing to attach it to’
‘There was blood everywhere. It was pouring out of me. It was like a horror movie.
‘My whole face was covered in blood. Half my nose was hanging off.’
The dog-sitter was taken to hospital and had what was left of his ear stitched up. He said: ‘The tissue had to come off – there was nothing to attach it to.’
Mr Shuttleworth-Long has been recovering since and struggles to go out.
He said: ‘I can’t go anywhere near big dogs now.
‘It’s a long-lasting stress that will be there for the rest of my life now.’
He is waiting for the soft tissue on his ear to harden before he can then have an appointment with a plastic surgeon to look at reconstruction.
He added: ‘Dogs barking sends cold chills through me.’
Wiltshire police confirmed a 24-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury.
She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Since February 1, 2024, owning the XL Bully breed has become a criminal offence in England and Wales unless owners have an exemption certificate and anyone who owns one of the dogs needs to have the animal neutered and microchipped.
