A 43-year-old man has been hailed as a hero after saving a springer spaniel from a horrific XL Bully dog attack.
Danny Eaves, from Walton in Merseyside, was sitting at home at around 5.30pm on Monday when he saw a person on the floor and the soon-to-be banned breed attacking a black spaniel.
He intervened by heading outside and grabbing the dangerous dog by the jaw.
Eaves told The Echo: “I just grabbed a pair of gloves and went straight out. I held onto the XL Bully’s jaw and managed to release the dog to the owner so they could get it away.
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"I took control of the dog [the XL Bully] and walked it away, and to be fair they calmed down fairly well.
“It did shake me up a bit, there was a point where I had my hands in the dog's mouth and thought 'hang on, I'm the next target here'."
The former security worker described it as “some miracle” that he did not have a scratch on him following the incident.
He said: "Everyone was quite animated, there was lots of shouting and screaming, but it's understandable.
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“I walked away with the owner of the XL Bully and waited with him when he got a taxi from Queens Drive.
"I'm hoping it just had the dog by the skin on its neck, I didn't see if the spaniel was okay as I had the XL Bully.
“I've had dogs all my life so I've lost enough brain cells to run into something like that."
Merseyside Police were called to attend Monday’s incident and revealed the spaniel sustained minor injuries.
A spokesperson said: "We can confirm we received a report that an XL Bully dog attacked a springer spaniel in Anfield yesterday, Monday October 16.
An image of Walton in Liverpool
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“We received a report that at around 5.30pm a woman was walking her black springer spaniel along Walton Lane when the XL Bully attacked the spaniel which sustained a minor injury.
"The XL Bully dog remained with the owner and he left the scene."
The force said they will not investigate the incident any further.
The attack comes after Rishi Sunak announced the American XL Bully dog will be banned by the end of the year.
A spate of attacks led the Prime Minister to announce the ban which will come into force once experts define the breed ahead of its inclusion under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
