Woman hits out at 'irresponsible' XL American bully owners and says hers is so sweet and harmless
A woman who owns an XL American bully has hit out at 'irresponsible' owners who give the breed a bad name.
The UK government has announced the dog will be banned by the end of the year.
In the wake of the two recent incidents, British PM Rishi Sunak issued a statement confirming his plans to outlaw the dog.
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"The American XL Bully Dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children," he said in a statement.
"I share the nation's horror at the recent videos we've all seen.
"Yesterday we saw another suspected XL Bully Dog attack, which has tragically led to a fatality.
"It's clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs.
"It's a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.
"While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control, I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public."
However, Kaylee Hankins says not all XL bully dogs are bad.
She has a 16-month-old called Isla and says the dog is so sweet and innocent.
"I've heard of people using growth hormones to get them bigger, cross-breeding them with bigger breeds and training them to be aggressive because they want the image of a big scary dog," she said.
"But they are not scary.
"They get into the wrong hands; I feel like some owners have let an amazing breed down.
"It's awful for the victims that suffered in the attacks of XL bullys, but again, these dogs have been improperly trained by careless owners."
Kaylee says Isla has never shown any signs of aggression and believes it's the owner's fault if the breed displays bouts of anger.
"I don't believe banning the breed will work, people will work around the law," she said.
"I’d be happy to get her assessed and get a licence.
"I think it’s cruel to class my dog as a dangerous dog when she’s not a dangerous dog.
"You would be putting my dog into the same category as killer dogs — when she’s far from it. She is an amazingly loyal family companion.
"I know quite a few XL bullys; her sister lives about ten minutes from us. My partner's brother has one too.
"I’ve never heard of any incidents around here with them, they are all like Isla, friendly - as she should be.
"If they ban her, she’ll have to wear a muzzle out in public and it will give the impression she’s a dangerous dog when she’s not."
Stewart Perrie