Dog owners left distressed after police seize pets wrongly thinking they are XL bully dogs

Two dog owners were left distressed after police seized their pets wrongly believing they were XL bullies.

Natasha Goodall and Jordan Williams, from Swansea, said it felt like having a “child ripped away” from them when police took their American bulldog Ralph.

The pair along with another dog owner from Newport have urged for more time to be given to pet owners to prepare for the seizure of their pet and for the checks to be conducted at home.

South Wales Police claimed the measures were put in place to reduce the XL bully population and “enhance public safety”.

After a number of XL bully attacks, a ban on the dogs was introduced in England and Wales on February 1 of this year.

It is now a criminal offence to own an XL bully in the two countries without an exemption certificate.

Goodall’s home was searched after a warrant was issued concerning a white “pitbull type dog”.

“They brought eight or nine officers along just to take him away. It was terrifying,” she recounted, adding that she was in “shock” when police arrived.

MORE LIKE THIS:

• XL bully owner left with serious injuries after being savagely attacked by own dog as armed police rush to scene
• XL Bully dog tears barber’s hand during vicious attack on high street
• ‘XL Bully’ dog attack leaves man fighting for his life after vicious assault in back garden

Williams said he was left devastated by the ordeal.

Dogs are taken away to be measured by police to determine whether they fit the size specifications for XL bullies.

Goodall said authorities needed to be “more educated about the breeds”.

The couple received confirmation Ralph was an American bulldog four days after he was taken, and said the pup was “so excited” to come home.

However, although they said the kennel treated their pet “extremely well”, they still plan on filing a complaint as they are unhappy about the way things happened.

Another pet owner in Newport also had his two dogs taken last October.

Anthony Webb said it was “distressing” waiting for updates on his two pets, Lexi and Major.

“They took them and then we were asking for updates on regular occasions, and we weren’t being given any updates. Which was quite distressing really because they are our family pets,” he said.

The two dogs were returned after 12 days, when police determines they were not XL bullies.

“I can’t undo the past but all I can say is that I’m happy that our ordeal didn’t drag on,” said Webb.

Martin Winfield, an animal trainer from Caerphilly told the BBC “public safety must come first” when determining the breed of a potentially dangerous dog.

“If you own a dog that has the potential to do serious harm to a family, then it is the right thing to take that dog to a behaviourist to be assessed,” he said.