XL Bully dog hailed a 'lifeline' for autistic teenager as family fear impact of ban
Rishi Sunak has announced a ban on the dog to come in effect by the end of the year
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An owner of an XL Bully dog has praised the pet as a “lifeline” for her autistic son, and is fearful of the impact the ban will have on her family.
Lindsey Beaumont, 43, is the owner of Rosie, who she describes as a mild-mannered dog who is her son’s “biggest comfort and help”.
Rosie is the Beaumont family’s dog and shares a particularly close relationship with Joe, 16, who has autism.
The 43-year-old was unimpressed with the government’s decision to ban the dogs by the end of the year.
WATCH NOW: XL owner defends the breed
The mum explained: “As soon as Joe comes in from college he runs to hug Rosie. If he closes down and is not able to speak what he is feeling or thinking, he will go to the dog. It's unconditional love. She is the biggest comfort and help - she's his lifeline.
“She is his constant emotional support and sometimes the only way I can get him to communicate. We all rely on her in different ways – she is a member of our family and brings us together.”
Lindsey believes that the dog is now being ostracised from society due to a few cases of out-out-control dogs.
She said people are now fearful of Rosie, with passers-by’s crossing the street and going through the bushes just to avoid coming into contact with the pooch.
The mum-of-two said: “There might be some dogs in this breed that are [out of control], but you cannot make that generalisation about all dogs in the whole breed. It is not fair to just pick on a whole breed of dog because there may be only a handful of bad ones.
“It's absolutely all down to the owners. There are lots of other bullies as loving out there. Rosie's no more dangerous than any other dog."
The dog breed will be banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act by 2024, Rishi Sunak announced last week.
The ban will bring in requirements for neutering and muzzling existing XL Bully dogs.
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During a minute-long clip shared to social media, he said: “The American XL Bully dog is a danger to our communities, particularly our children.
“It's clear this is not about a handful of badly trained dogs. It's a pattern of behaviour and it cannot go on.
“While owners already have a responsibility to keep their dogs under control. I want to reassure people that we are urgently working on ways to stop these attacks and protect the public.”
Lindsey fears that by placing a muzzle on Rosie would be a detriment to her “quality of life”.
She thinks that the blanket policy applying to all XL dogs is unfair and instead a license should be introduced.
“If she is labelled as a dangerous dog, I won’t be able to have the freedom to take her places. When she gets hot, she pants and her tongue lolls out. Dogs use that to cool down so I would worry health-wise that it would be detrimental.”
The move by Sunak comes after a series of attacks involving suspected American Bully XL dogs in recent weeks and months.
Last week, a 52-year-old man was mauled to death by two suspected American Bully XL dogs.
Ian Price, 52, was attacked in Main Street, Stonnall, at around 3.15pm on Thursday (September 14), and died in hospital that evening.
An XL Dog owner spoke to GB News defending the breed, echoing Lindsey's sentiment.
Jordan Shelley, who owns an American bully XL, said the solution to the issue lies in licensed ownership as opposed to an outright banning of the breed.
“There’s lots of irresponsible owners, they are no more powerful or dangerous than any other type of large dog”, he said.
“The problem is, these irresponsible owners and breeders will move onto the next thing, so I think the way to solve this problem is by licensing ownership.
“I don’t think banning will have as immediate and effect as you’d think.
“The only way to get to the nub of this issue is by controlling these breeders and owners.”