Dog walker died after American Bully XL ‘overpowered’ him, inquest hears
Fareham dog walker and trainer Ian ‘Wiggy’ Symes was killed last August by a 8st 3lbs American Bully XL dog while taking it for a walk just one day after a friend bought it, an inquest into his death heard.
Symes had been looking after the dog, named Kong, for a friend who bought it the day before the incident over Snapchat.
The Bully XL – which shares DNA with banned American Pit Bull Terriers – is believed to have attacked Symes when ‘rough play’ turned into ‘predatory behaviour’, according to dog behaviour expert Dr Candy d’Sa, who assessed Kong after the attack, and gave evidence to the inquest.
Dr d’Sa warned that of ten Brits killed by dogs in 2022, five were mauled by the new ‘super-breed’ American Bully XL, which has only existed for around 15 years and is ‘bigger and stronger’ than then banned American Pit Bull Terriers, which have been genetically modified to create the new breed.
