Officers are searching for the victim of a reported XL Bully attack after a ‘woman was bitten as she tried to protect her dog’.
Armed police were called to Dunella Road in Sheffield at around 1.10pm on Saturday afternoon following reports that an XL Bully had bitten a woman.
It is believed that the victim was holding a small dog above her head for its own safety before a passer-by stopped to help, putting the woman and her dog into their car and driving them to safety.
South Yorkshire Police have confirmed that the dog which launched the attack was destroyed at the scene.
In a statement, the force said: ‘We’re urging the victim of a reported dog attack to come forward and assist us with our investigation.
‘On Saturday 7 December at 1.10pm, armed officers attended Dunella Road in Sheffield following reports an XL Bully had bitten a woman.
‘Upon officers’ arrival, the dog ran towards officers and it was deemed necessary to destroy the dog at the scene.
‘As our investigation into how the dog became loose and its actions continue, we are keen to speak to a woman who we believe was fearful for her own dog’s safety and subjected to fear from the dog.
Police are searching for the victim of a reported XL Bully attack in Sheffield (Stock Image)
Armed police were called to Dunella Road in Sheffield at around 1.10pm on Saturday afternoon following reports that an XL Bully had bitten a woman
‘It is reported that the woman was holding her small dog above her head for its own safety, before a passer-by stopped to help, putting the woman and her dog into his car and driving them to safety.
‘We are keen to speak to the woman’.
It comes following a surge of dog attacks in South Yorkshire, with thirteen reported incidents over the course of 48 hours, prompting police to warn that ‘someone will die’.
Videos circulating online have shown some of the attacks including one harrowing encounter where a young mother found herself and her baby in a frightening situation after a loose XL Bully went on the attack.
The American Bulldog’s owner was taken to hospital after suffering lacerations to his face, neck and head when he stepped in to break up a dog fight in his home in Sheffield.
The bulldog was seized by officers and is currently being held in police kennels.
An elderly woman and her grandchild were also among those attacked by another loose hound in the city
In October, horrifying footage was made public by South Yorkshire Police of a man being mauled by a pair of dogs after they reportedly escaped onto the street.
This is the horrifying moment a man is mauled by pair of dogs after they reportedly escaped onto the street on Dagenam Crescent in Sheffield
In September, a young girl was attacked in a park Sheffield at around 5.30pm while playing with her mother (Stock photo of a park in the city)
A South Yorkshire Police handout of the four-year-old’s injuries after she was attacked in Sheffield by two XL bullys in September
A man and a girl, 14, were attacked on Dagenam Crescent in Sheffield on September 29. The two dogs, believed to be a Mastiff and a Cane Corso, are thought to have escaped from a property on the street.
The victim, aged 47, suffered deep cuts and puncture wounds across his body and was taken to hospital via ambulance, requiring surgery.
The second victim suffered minor injuries from attempting to intervene.
In September, a four-year-old girl was attacked by two XL Bullys while she played in the park with her mother in Sheffield.
She was rushed to hospital for her injuries to her body, which were not life-threatening.
Moreover in September last year, shocking footage emerged of a mother trying to protect her young daughter – after an out of control dog attacked her own pet.
Video grab of an out-of-control dog attacking another dog on Richmond Road in Sheffield on September 2 last yea
Dog attacks have risen by a fifth in one year, with police recording more than 80 incidents a day (Stock Image of American XL Bully)
The woman was pushing her one-year-old child in a trike while walking her dog when a Staffordshire bull terrier came running up to them on Richmond Road in Sheffield.
The bull terrier then attacked the woman’s dog while she tried to move her daughter, who can be heard crying, out of the way.
And just days earlier, a man was dragged into the middle of the road as he tried to fight off an attacking dog.
The wave of violence is compounded by the heart-wrenching case of 10-year-old Savannah Bentham, who was mauled to death by her own pet XL Bully, which North Yorkshire Police described as having a ‘close, loving relationship’ with its owner.
The numbers spell out a grim story for the region, as from February 2023 to July 2024, there have been 796 dog attacks in South Yorkshire – 370 in 2023 and 426 in 2024. That has doubled from 2020.
Dog attacks have risen by a fifth in one year, with police recording more than 80 incidents a day.
Police forces recorded 30,539 offences of a dog injuring a person or a guide dog last year – up from 25,291 in 2022.
In 2023, there were over 6,000 recorded incidents of dog bites requiring hospital treatment.
It comes after a ban on XL Bully dogs came into force following a spate of devastating attacks by the dogs, leaving people dead or seriously injured.
A number of attacks are being driven by unscrupulous breeds, including XL Bullies (pictured)
The ban, which came into affect in February this year, making it a criminal offence to own or possess an XL Bully Dog in England and Wales with a valid Certificate of Exemption.
It is also an offence to sell or abandon an XL Bully Dog, or to let it stray. It’s also illegal to have an XL Bully in public without a lead and muzzle.
Owners whose dogs are dangerously out of control are considered to be breaking the law, and penalties including prison time, disqualification from ownership or euthanasia of the dog can be enforced.
Anyone with information about the attack on Saturday on Dunella Road in Sheffield should get in touch with South Yorkshire Police online, via live chat or by calling 101 quoting incident number 446 of 7 December 2024.
Information can also be provided anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.