A man has been left fighting for his life after he was attacked by an ‘XL Bully he was watching as he fed three of them’.
Armed police were called to Ripon Drive, West Bromwich, just before 5pm yesterday evening following reports of a dog attack.
Police confirmed an injured man was taken to hospital by paramedics while the dog, which neighbours said weighed more than 60kg, was Tasered by officers and died at the scene.
The victim’s best friend and neighbour, who did not wish to be named, told Metro: ‘My partner spoke to the victim five to 10 minutes before the attack on a phone call as we had arranged to pick him up and he told us to give him ten minutes because he had to feed the dogs.
‘Based on this I believe he was feeding the dog that attacked him as it happened and that is why the dog was able to cause so much damage.’
They added two other neighbours heard screaming and jumped into the garden in an attempt to stop the attack.
‘They both tried their best to get the dog from the victim but nobody was with him at the exact moment the attack started,’ the friend said.
They added the victim did not own the dogs, but was looking after them due to the owner’s ‘busy work schedule’.
The friend said: ‘The dogs were not owned by the victim. He had agreed to initially take care of one dog from a puppy but was now grown before the ban had came into place for the breed due to the owners busy work life.
‘He was then manipulated into taking 2 more dogs into his care at his property.’
West Midlands Police said: ‘We’re continuing to investigate after a man was seriously injured when he was attacked by a dog in West Bromwich.
‘We were called to Ripon Drive at around 4.40pm yesterday (14 March). A man in his 20s was found with serious injuries and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
‘The dog was Tasered by officers and died at the scene. Following an initial assessment the dog is believed to have been an XL Bully.
‘We continue to have a police presence in the area as we seek to establish exactly what happened.’
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