An XL bully dog ripped off a man’s right ear after the banned breed pounced on him as he slept. Darren Shuttleworth-Long, from Swindon, Wiltshire, was looking after the hound for someone else when he fell asleep next to it. But he was woken up when the beast locked its jaws underneath his armpit. Mr Shuttleworth-Long managed to shove it away but the crazed animal continued its savage attack, biting off his right ear and tearing at his nose.
He was finally able to escape the dog and was taken to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital where he spent three days in intensive care. The 52-year-old is now waiting for plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear. 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.
Mr Shuttleworth-Long 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 10 times – I thought ‘I’m in serious trouble’.”
Mr Shuttleworth-Long said the unprovoked attack lasted for about 10 minutes before he was able to get away.
He said: “My whole right side of my face was numb. 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 church volunteer was rushed 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.”
Since the attack, Mr Shuttleworth-Long has been recovering, but 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. Mr Shuttleworth-Long said: “Dogs barking sends cold chills through me.”
Since February 1 last year, owning an XL Bully breed has been a criminal offence in England and Wales unless owners have an exemption certificate. Anyone who owns one of the dogs needs to have the animal neutered and microchipped.
