The owner of an XL Bully dog who was shot by police after it attacked him and another man will not face criminal proceedings.
William Hunter, 49, and his neighbour Michael McCafferty, 27, were attacked by Zeus, a nine-stone XL Bully dog in Lanarkshire.
CCTV footage shows the dog entering a shop in Tinto View with his owner, where he was “happy and begging for treats”, before quickly turning and attacking the pair.
Police arrived at the scene but failed to bring the incident under control, even using a taser against the dog to no avail.
The owner of an XL Bully dog that went on a rampage in Scotland attacking two men has avoided prosecution
Zeus was then shot four times by armed police, who quickly arrived when attempts to pacify the canine were unsuccessful.
Hunter, who brought Zeus to Scotland a week before the incident, was reported to prosecutors under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
However, after a review of the evidence, Hunter will see no criminal proceedings taken against him.
The 49-year-old was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Glasgow after the attack left him with wounds to his hip, hands, wrists, and leg.
His neighbour McCafferty suffered minor injuries and was taken to University Hospital Hairmyres in East Kilbride for treatment.
A Crown Office spokeswoman said: “The procurator fiscal received a report relating to a 49-year-old male and an incident said to have occurred on January 23, 2024.
“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the procurator fiscal decided that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.
“The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future.”
The attack occured in the area of Tinto View
Google mapsLocal Day Today shopkeeper Numan Saifi said he was left shocked by Zeus' rampage in the store.
“Zeus was in here with his owner just before the attack. I can't believe this has happened,” he told the Daily Record.
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.
Nearly 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 as many as 24 deaths linked to the breed since 2021.
