XL Bully found 'tied to road sign' by couple who feared abandoned dog was a 'trap'

Authorities proceeded to take in the dangerous dog, and Nottinghamshire Police has since "confirmed the dog as an XL bully".

An investigation has been launched in order to find the dog's owner - with XL Bullies and XL Bully-type dogs having carried out a string of attacks across the UK in 2024 despite their ban earlier this year.

Arcelina Baptista, who discovered the dog alongside her husband Jose, said: "The dog was just in the corner, alone.

"I told my husband not to get out of the car because I was scared... What if it was a trap or something?"

The 52-year-old - who owns a dachshund and two cats herself - added: "It was very sad, my husband was sad too."

A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said officers had been called out at 1am on Monday to reports of the dog having been found abandoned on the roadside.

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He said: "We found it tied to a road sign at the junction of the A614 and Oaks Lane, near Blidworth.

"The dog was seized and inquiries are being carried out to find the owner."

Since February 1, it has been an offence to sell, abandon, give away, breed, or walk an unleashed and unmuzzled XL Bully dog in England and Wales, with Scotland imposing the same legislation on February 23.

And almost 40,000 XL Bully dogs are thought to still be on Britain’s streets despite a ban on the breed being introduced - according to the banned breeds register, some 38,424 dogs were granted the £92 exemption to avoid being put down.

Estimates suggest there have been over 25 deaths linked to the breed since 2021.

Police taking in the dog near Blidworth could have saved lives; mere days before the discovery, GB News had reported on the tragic killing of an XL Bully dog owner by the dangerous breed while celebrating her birthday.

While elsewhere, a five-year-old boy was left with "half his scalp ripped off" after a horrific attack by an XL Bully-type dog.

And in Norfolk, one woman was left with hundreds of injuries after her XL Bully dog "played tug of war" with her breast implants in a vicious attack.