XL Bully attacked mother-of-two and pulled hijab off her head – the canine can be destroyed, however the proprietor will not be jailed

An XL Bully will be euthanised after it attacked a mother-of-two in front of her children and pulled her hijab off – leaving her ‘psychologically traumatised’.

Tomasz Wegner’s dog ‘grabbed and dragged’ Yasmin Begum on Wrexham High Street, Wales, on August 31, 2024.

Ms Begum and her children were standing on the high street at about 2.35pm when she noticed Wegner walking towards her with the dog.

Prosecutor Laura Knightly said the mother asked Wegner to move away because she was ‘scared’ before running into a doorway in an attempt to get away from the dog.

However, Wegner followed her and shouted at her ‘aggressively’ in the doorway she was hiding in.

‘The dog then grabbed and dragged her. It removed her hijab and tried to bite her forehead,’ Ms Knightly told Mold Crown Court.

Luckily, the bite did not pierce her skin but it did leave her with bite marks on her head.

At one point during the chaos, Wegner – who one witness said was ‘clearly intoxicated’ – appeared to fall on top of Ms Begum.

Tomasz Wegner’s dog ‘grabbed and dragged’ Yasmin Begum on Wrexham Highstreet (pictured) in Wales on August 31, 2024

Another witness heard her screaming and rushed over to help, heroically taking control of the violent XL Bully, reattaching its muzzle and holding it by its metal chain lead until police arrived.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Begum said she has been left ‘psychologically traumatised’ by the incident and has developed a fear of dogs. 

She said her children, who witnessed the incident, were ‘extremely frightened’.

Ms Begum said Wegner had shouted abuse at her ‘without any provocation’ and ‘indirectly caused me to be set on by his dog through his actions’. 

They were extremely frightened and she was ‘highly concerned about my personal safety as well as for the safety of the children’. 

Wegner, who has six previous convictions for nine offences, was arrested and questioned the next day.

Initially, he denied being drunk at the time of the attack and that his dog was an XL Bully – a breed that was banned last year after a spate of violent, and often fatal, attacks, making it illegal to own one without an exemption certificate.

He said he believed it was a Cane Corso and told officers it was ‘friendly’ and just ‘wanted to greet the woman’.

Matthew Gorst, defending, said the dog had never attacked anyone before this ‘unpleasant incident’ and was said to be a ‘calm, gentle and loyal’ companion to Wegner – who has struggled with loneliness and isolation since the Covid pandemic.

But the judge said Wegner eventually admitted it is an XL Bully which meant it could not be returned to him under law.

Wegner pleaded guilty to possessing a fighting dog and to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and expressed his regret over the incident in a letter to the court (Pictured: Mold Crown Court in Wales)

Judge Simon Mills said the dog ‘fed on’ the defendant’s drunken and aggressive behaviour, adding: ‘You’re so lucky it didn’t target this woman’s neck or other vital parts of the body.’ 

The judge made a destruction order for the dog adding that its kennelling costs had so far amounted to £9,482.

Wegner pleaded guilty to possessing a fighting dog and to being the owner of a dog dangerously out of control and expressed his regret over the incident in a letter to the court.

Mr Gorst said the defendant has struggled with alcoholism but has taken positive steps to address it.

Wegner, of Glaslyn, Plas Madoc, Acrefair, was handed a 15 month prison sentence suspended for two years.

He must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activity requirement and has been banned from keeping dogs for two years.