A mum was bitten 25 times by one of her dogs after trying to stop him from attacking her other pooch.
Stephanie Jones, 32, had to put down six-month-old Chase after she was hospitalised from his vicious attack. Chase was an American Bully dog, and lived with Stephanie along with her three young children, her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lola, and her other American Bully, Cookie.
Fatal attacks on people from the dog breed have soared in recent months in the UK, with some calling for the breed - which is not recognised by the Kennel Club - to be banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act. However, Stephanie said that tarring all Bullies with the same brush is wrong, and that it depends on the individual dogs and how they were raised before being bought, the Mirror reports.
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She says that she should have spotted the red flags when she bought Chase. She originally put a post out on Snapchat asking if anyone had a Champagne-coloured Bully she could buy, and she was put in touch with a breeder.
But, when she arrived to collect the 10-week-old puppy in April 2021, she was refused entry into his home so she could not see the dog's living standards or meet the puppy's parents. However, Stephanie, who lives near Swansea in Wales, persisted, buying the pup for £3,000.
She said: “He literally came out to me by the car, passed the puppy through the car window and promised to send all the paperwork in the post and I never received anything. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Stephanie was later told by people who knew the breeder that he is unlicensed and there are “crates upon crates in the house of just dogs locked away, used for breeding”. After taking Chase home, Stephanie noticed a large scar on his ear, with the breeder saying it must have been done by the dog's mother.
But later that first night, the puppy started to have a seizure-like fit and she rushed him to an emergency vet. “I video recorded this seizure-like thing that he was having, sent it to the breeder and he asked did I want to go swap the puppy for another puppy?” explained Stephanie. “Obviously, I told him no.”
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She was originally meant to pay £4,000 for Chase through a payment plan, but the breeder knocked down the price to £3,000 due to the health concerns Stephanie raised with him. But when Stephanie tried to ask questions about the outstanding paperwork and the proof of his licence to breed, he threatened her. She said: “He sent me threatening voice calls and voicemails saying if I ever went to anyone about him that he knows where I live."
She also heart rumours about the breeder, including that he was breeding dogs from the same litters. Her suspicions were proven correct when Chase attacked Lola, with the two dogs kept apart from then.
Then, in August, he went for Cookie, the family's other Bully, in front her children, who are aged four, five, and seven. This is where Stephanie was attacked by Chase, stepping in to grab his collar - putting her in the hospital and resulting in her catching cellulitis in the hospital.
She said: “He went mad, he’s bitten me 25 times on my arms. He put me in hospital and I had both my arms flushed out then I caught cellulitis in hospital as well.”
But Stephanie's main priority was protecting her children, with Cookie also stepping in-between Chase and the three kids. While she was seriously injured by Chase, she believes it is down to improper breeding, rather than breeds being a danger overall.
She said: “I genuinely think that when you have these dogs that aren’t wired right, it is down to breeding and how people bring them up. My thing is, I brought both dogs up the same way and if the whole breed is a danger surely my other one would have turned as well, but she didn’t.”
Due to this belief, she kept Cookie after the attack, which shocked some of her family and friends, although she did have Chase put to sleep. Stephanie insists: “You can’t tar them all with the same brush.
“She’s literally my best friend. If I thought anything negative about this dog I wouldn’t have her round my children.
“If it’s anyone who should be against Bullies, it should be me after what he’s done to me. They are not all the same, 100 percent.”
Compared with Chase, Cookie came from a “beautiful house”, where Stephanie was invited inside and given the paperwork then and there. The dog had also been microchipped and had all of its vaccines.
Referring to when she bought Chase, she said: “It’s just ridiculous when I look back. I was very stupid.
“I should have thought more into it. I thought it’s a lovely puppy and took it home.”
Bullies were originally bred in the US, but in recent years their popularity has soared across the Atlantic. Pitbull Terriers and "Pitbull-types" are banned in the UK under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
