Dog-minder has ear ripped off by XL Bully after it attacked him while he slept
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 dog 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 ten-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.
He spent three days in intensive care and was told he would need plastic surgery to reconstruct his ear reconstructed.
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.
'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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Kenneth Noye's new life. He brutally stabbed two men and stole £26m. Now as he swans around Kent with a much younger lover and plays doting grandfather, friends expose the dark truth
Life, of late, has been undeservedly kind to Kenneth Noye. Despite having a couple of killings under his belt, not to mention a ruthless hand in one of the most lucrative heists in British history, the gangster is a familiar sight on the streets of Sevenoaks, Kent. He is often seen pottering around his local supermarket, clutching an eco-friendly bag for life, nipping into the gym opposite his top-floor flat or simply whizzing around in his Mercedes 4x4. Noye, 78, has been spotted, too, playing the part of doting grandfather alongside other families during sports day at a nearby £30,000-a-year private school.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Erectile dysfunction drug Viagra has surprise new health benefit, scientists find - offering new hope to 3million ageing Britons
A surprising new health benefit has emerged from the sex drug Viagra - which means three million ageing Britons can now also enjoy a harder skull. The little blue tablet was found to increase the production of vital bone cells, preventing back pain and fractures in old age. Sildenafil - also known as Viagra - can help human stem cells transform into osteoblasts which help the human skeleton regenerate as it is completely replaced roughly once every 10 years. As humans get older, they lose more bone than is built, increasing the risk of breaks or osteoporosis, which makes bones brittle and painful. Follow-up tests on mice by Peking University also suggested a prevention of bone loss. Dr Menglong Hu and Dr Likun Wu told MailOnline: 'Our findings offer new insights into the physiological effects of the medicine. 'Sildenafil enhanced stem cell osteogenic differentiation and inhibited bone loss — it may usefully treat osteoporosis.' Viagra was invented as a heart drug in the 1980s before being found to help with erectile dysfunction. Some studies suggest it may also help reduce the risk of dementia. However, the have been cautions over the years that the drug could have some negative side effects, in particular if taken too much. A large quantity of the drug could result in a painful, 'uncomfortably and disproportionately large erection' called a priapism which could go on for hours. Some experts also found regularly taking the common drug may raise the risk of three serious eye conditions. Common side effects may include headaches, hot flushes, nausea, indigestion, dizziness and a stuffy nose. Nearly half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 suffer from erectile dysfunction in the UK - this is more than 4.5 million people. Though, reports suggest Viagra is now even becoming increasingly popular with younger individuals in their 20s and 30s. Last year, it emerged Viagra may help prevent dementia by boosting blood flow in the brain. 'This is the first trial to show that sildenafil gets into the blood vessels in the brain in people with this condition, improving blood flow and how responsive these blood vessels are,'Dr Alastair Webb, a neurologist and study author at Oxford University said.
Daily Mail
25 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
GUY ADAMS: Vegan influencer and founder of the hate-filled gossip website Tattle Life Sebastian Bond is said to be lying low in Thailand. Now he's feared to be trying to hide his fortune - as a raft of celebrities on his site line up to sue...
Every notable king has a castle – and, for Sebastian Bond, that fortress is a four-bedroom house lying a stone's throw from Glastonbury 's historic abbey. Security cameras monitor the driveway, which is protected by a set of tall metal gates, and, when the Mail visited this week, the curtains on every single window were firmly drawn.
