XL bully owner sentenced over dog walker attack

A man has been given a community order after his XL bully attacked a woman and her dog out on their morning walk.

The dog, named Kilo, attacked Jodie Jones and her dog Nugget in Trent, East Tilbury, Essex, on 28 May.

She suffered serious injuries to her hands and Nugget eventually had to be put down.

The defence barrister for Kilo's 27-year-old owner, Danny Dodge, told Basildon Crown Court that his client had a "momentary lapse of attention" and had not properly closed his front door when leaving for work earlier that morning, which had allowed his dog to escape.

Recorder Peter Clark handed down a 12-month community order and Dodge, of Trent, East Tilbury, was told he must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

During a previous hearing, Dodge admitted being the owner of a dangerously out of control dog and of owning a fighting dog.

Prosecutor Gavin Burrell said Jones and Nugget had been walking their usual route when they saw three loose dogs "without an owner in sight" before a fourth dog, an XL bully, "came running towards them".

Nugget was bitten multiple times around the neck and torso, with Jones screaming for help and trying to get her dog out of reach of the XL bully.

In a statement read out to the court, she said she could "still see Nugget being tossed around, his yelps of pain will live with me forever".

She also said that losing use of her hands because of her injuries had "dramatically affected" her mental health and she was having regular physiotherapy to try to improve things.

Jones had faced vet bills of more than £11,000 for the treatment Nugget received before the decision was made to put him down as his injuries were too significant, the court heard.

Burrell said Jones's pet insurers were still in dispute with Dodge's insurers, but about £5,000 of the cost had been covered.

Kilo was euthanised following the incident.

The court heard Dodge had the correct exemption certification for Kilo, under XL bully legislation introduced in February 2024.

Defence barrister Nick Wayne described the incident as "an offence of negligence as opposed to recklessness" and said Dodge was a responsible dog owner.

As well as the community order, Dodge was told to pay compensation of £1,900 to the victim.

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