Dog owner in fear after new Gladstone Park XL bully attack

Simon Stephenson needed stitches to his fingers after he tried to save one of his pets being brutally attacked by an XL bully dog - close to where another dog was attacked by the same type of dog.

His pet bichon frisé Snowy now panics when he tries to take it for a walk and Mr Stephenson wants to move away from his home of 20 years.

After reading news of a Cricklewood man who desperately fought off two XL Bully dogs that left his four-month-old puppy in intensive care, Mr Stephenson relived his own trauma.

The Neasden man was walking his two bichon frisé dogs in Gladstone Park early on January 6 when an XL Bully dog without a muzzle or leash dashed and latched onto one of his dogs, Snowy.

Snowy the dog at a Belsize Park vet (Image: Handout)

He said: “Kids were walking past me and my dog going to school - this actually happened almost outside the playground - and I saw this guy cycling and he had a Bully running alongside his bike, like he was sort of training him.

“I got my dogs well off the path and into the grass, so we gave them plenty of distance to pass us.”

At that moment he said the dog pounced on Snowy, “silently” and “with no warning”.

He said: “It was just like it was a creature designed to kill, I know it sounds a bit dramatic but it honestly was.

“It shook him trying to do whatever it could to break his neck. And this guy could not get the dog off my dog, I think they call it lockjaw.

“These things are unmovable, it doesn’t matter what you do. The guy was repeatedly punching his dog in the face, it was so violent.”

Snowy the dog is now recovering, but his owner is concerned about other attacks in the area (Image: Handout)

What was meant to be a leisurely stroll at his favourite time of day became a “blood bath”.

Things worsened after they managed to separate the dogs. Mr Stephenson says he was looking at Snowy’s lifeless body when the Bully began to drag the dog by the leg.

Snowy was covered with blood and his ear was hanging off, while the owner himself also required stitching for his fingers.

While Snowy has since recovered after being rushed to a Belsize Park vet, the traumatised dog still panics whenever Mr Stephenson tries to take him for a walk.

“He’s a changed dog,” he explained.

Snowy required treatment that ended up costing £5,000 (Image: Handout)

Mr Stephenson is now in the process of looking for a new home, as he also feels unsafe since the attack.

He believes there is an “epidemic” of XL bully attacks after hearing of a spate of similar cases elsewhere in the UK.

Mr Stephenson worries that it “is only a matter of time” before a child is severely injured.

He questioned: “What's going to stop that dog from plunging and going for one of those kids? I mean, none of these people seem to take any responsibility as their dogs are not on muzzles. I mean, in my case, as I said, not even on a lead.”

The owner of the border collie that was severely injured in April, also said many people had contacted him about similar issues with XL Bully dogs in Gladstone Park.

The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they have been investigating both reported incidents in Gladstone Park.