I’m homeless due to my XL BULLY
A chef has lost his home and fears having to live on the streets – after he was thrown out of his digs for taking pity on an abandoned XL Bully.
Matt Vaughan has been told he has to put the dog he loves to death to stand any chance of finding any accommodation.
But the 34-year-old, from Birmingham, says he’ll never kill his pal Simba – no matter what the personal cost.
After a week where another man has fallen victim to the killer breed, Mr Vaughan has had to chose between himself and his pup as he struggles against the public terror the strength and brutality of XL Bullys has inspired.
He is already going without food so his pooch can eat – as he pays £40 a week to keep him fed.
‘I bottle fed him from six weeks old,’ Mr Vaughan told MailOnline. ‘You form a bond and he’s a lovely dog.
Matt Vaughan has been told he has to put the dog he loves to death to stand any chance of finding any accommodation
But the 24-year-old, from Birmingham , says he’ll never kill his pal Simba – no matter what the personal cost
Matt first came across the tiny pup as he walked back to his shared, rented accommodation in the early hours of New Year’s Day
‘Telling me I can only get help if I put him down is atrocious. My heart won’t let me do it.’
Matt first came across the tiny pup as he walked back to his shared, rented accommodation in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
New laws banning the ‘re-homing’ of XL Bullies came into effect the day after, which made it an offence for the dogs to be unmuzzled and off the lead in public, while breeding, selling, rehoming and abandoning them would also be against the law.
The plans, announced in September following a wave of fatal attacks linked to XL Bully-type animals, led to reports of animals being left on the streets all over England and Wales.
‘He had been abandoned,’ said Matt. ‘He was just a little thing tied to a lamppost and I couldn’t walk by so I took him back to my room.
‘He wouldn’t eat and I had to feed him milk through a bottle.’
Matt took the pup to a vet who confirmed his own suspicions that the animal was an XL Bully.
‘I rang up the RSPCA who told me the only option was to have him put down. I was disgusted to be honest.’
Mr Vaughan is already going without food so his pooch can eat – as he pays £40 a month to keep him fed
Matt first came across the tiny pup as he walked back to his shared, rented accommodation in the early hours of New Year’s Day
Matt confessed the situation to the landlord of the Home of Multiple Occupation (HMO) where he lived.
‘He understood my dilemma and was very reasonable,’ said Matt. ‘He said he had to give me my notice but extended it to three months so I could find another place.’
Matt contacted Birmingham City Council but they couldn’t help.
‘They kept telling me to re-home the dog,’ said Matt, ‘but that is illegal under the new law so it’s not an option.
‘The only hostel they have which allows dogs has 15 rooms and up to 1,000 people waiting for a vacancy.’
Desperate to keep a roof over their heads, he then concealed Simba and moved into another HMO.
‘I felt I had no other choice,’ he said.
But now Simba has been spotted and they’ve been ordered out.
The Government’s crackdown on XL Bullies means they have to be housed and can’t live on the streets, tightening the Catch 22 Matt finds himself in.
Just this week a widower, David Daintree, 53, was mauled to death by an XL bully his family said he was looking after for a friend
The killer breed have been responsible for a horrifying spree of fatal attacks across the country, before they were banned in England and Wales on January 31 without exemption.
While dog-lovers plead that the vicious behaviour is down to cruel owners – the powerful breed has distinctive features, including an average 20-inch height, broad shoulders, a bulky head and nine-stone weight.
Just this week a widower was mauled to death by an XL bully his family said he was looking after for a friend.
Specialist officers shot the animal dead after the horror attack on David Daintree, 53, at his home on Tuesday evening.
In a heartbreaking tribute on Facebook his daughter, Joanne Trezise, said: ‘Sleep tight daddy Dave. Love you.’ She added: ‘He was the sort of person that couldn’t say no to anything.’
Mr Vaughan was offered temporary shelter 200 miles away from his Birmingham home by a woman in Sunderland he had met on a Facebook page for lovers of the breed.
But now he and Simba have to move again, after they were threatened by another XL Bully she was fostering.
He continued: ‘She has a friend who is going to prison and she has agreed to look after his XL Bully. We introduced them and the other dog wanted to kill Simba so we have to go.
The Government’s crackdown on XL Bullies means they have to be housed and can’t live on the streets, tightening the Catch 22 Matt finds himself in
Now Matt and Simba have to move again, after they were threatened by another XL Bully she was fostering
‘I am from Birmingham but I would go anywhere. It’s a desperate situation. I don’t have kids, I don’t have family. Simba is my pride and joy and I won’t let him down.
‘I know what people say but he really is a good dog.’
Matt had worked as a chef for 16 years after leaving school finding jobs in restaurants and hotels.
But he suffered a sudden seizure at work last October and was told he could no longer work in a kitchen.
He was forced onto benefits and Pip payments while doctors worked out how to deal with an abnormality to his left, frontal lobe.
Now he faces having to live on the streets and is even going without food so his pet pooch can eat.
He said: ‘It is really difficult. Without a base I can’t buy his food in bulk so it ends up costing a fortune but I will put him first and go without myself.’
