Gualberto Ramirez, a 49-year-old man from West London, was severely attacked by an XL Bully dog on May 9 while at Wormwood Scrubs park. Ramirez, who enjoys dogs and works in customer service, was walking home from the cinema around 6 PM when he decided to sit on a bench.
On the bench were a man and a woman with two dogs: a small Pomeranian-type dog and a large XL Bully that wasn’t on a leash or wearing a muzzle, which is against the law.
Ramirez made eye contact with the dog owner, which seemed to provoke the XL Bully. He initially thought the dog was friendly and approached to pet it. Suddenly, the dog attacked, biting his right hand deeply. In a panic, Ramirez grabbed the dog by the neck to stop the attack.
The dog’s owners finally put a leash on it, but not before the dog bit his left hand as well. The woman accused Ramirez of approaching them unexpectedly and offered to call an ambulance, but not on her own phone. They soon left without providing any real help.
Ramirez, in shock and bleeding from both hands, struggled to find his glasses, which had been knocked off during the attack. He made his way to Hammersmith Hospital, where staff gave him initial treatment and then sent him to St. Mary’s Hospital for more care. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any life-altering injuries, but he continued to experience pain and numbness in his fingers weeks after the attack.
Ramirez reported the attack to the police but felt that his case wasn’t initially taken seriously. Only after contacting the local council did the police begin a thorough investigation.
Ramirez expressed his concern about the increasing number of attacks by XL Bully dogs and questioned the effectiveness of the current laws meant to control these dogs. He often sees other XL Bullies without muzzles, which is supposed to be against the law.
These types of attacks are becoming more common in London. In recent months, there have been several serious incidents involving XL Bully dogs. For instance, a woman in Hornchurch was killed by her own XL Bully dogs, and in Battersea, four people were hurt by another dog attack.
These incidents have led to stricter rules for owning and managing XL Bully dogs. Owners now need special certificates and must keep their dogs on leashes and muzzled in public. However, many people are not following these rules, leading to more attacks and growing public concern.
