It was only a matter of time before someone was caught in breach of the new XL Bully laws that came into effect on February 1st, despite being given plenty of advance warning that XL Bully owners need to file for an exemption/have their animals neutered/obtain third-party insurance in line with the legislation.
Patrick McKeown, 40, or Worthing, West Sussex, neglected to do all 3, and now he’s become the first XL Bully owner to be prosecuted under the new law, which has resulted in his three-year-old pooch, Sully, being destroyed. Doesn’t seem fair on the dog really, does it?
Police found the dog in the garden when they attended Patrick’s home on a different matter last month. He admitted one count of possessing or having a fighting dog, contrary to the Dangerous Dog Act at Worthing Magistrates Court.
Speaking after this, Patrick told the MailOnline: “Sully was an amazing dog, he never did anything wrong, never bit another dog. He was great with kids, he just looked a bit scary. The law is the law but it’s a strange crime. The authorities put Sully to sleep two weeks ago. He was three years old and I’d had him for two of those years.”
This does somewhat contradict what he initially told police at his home, though; that Sully would attack anyone who went near him. Maybe he was just trying to put them off seizing the dog? Which obviously was never going to work.
Aside from the order for Sully to be destroyed, the court hit Patrick with a one-year community order, requiring him to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 surcharge.
Really sucks for the dog, but it’s Patrick’s own fault for not taking the necessary steps to ensure that Sully was a legal, registered pet who would be exempt from the new law. It does seem like he would have got away with it though, had police not visited him on an unrelated matter and discovered the dog.
Which makes you think of how many other undeclared XL Bully dogs are in the UK right now, and how poorly-thought out the ban is. Is there anyone actually responsible for checking and making sure exemptions and 3rd party insurance are acquired? How would you even manage that without going up to random XL Bullies and their owners in public?
Well anyway, RIP Sully and SMH at Patrick McKeown for being an irresponsible dog owner. Gotta be doing better than that, mate.
For the wannabe rapper who was arrested after his XL Bullies mauled his mum-in-law to death, click HERE.
