The Mirror reports that Alan Hickman’s pet, Molly, was lucky to be alive after the disaster on February 25. During a terrifying five minutes, an American Bully XL ran towards Alan and his Shih Tzu, grabbing the dog by the arms and squeezing it in his jaw. It took a barrage of punches from the 62-year-old and a pile of kicks from a passer-by to relax the jaw of the biggest hound. In the month since the attack on Birmingham Manor Farm Park, Molly has made a good physical recovery, but remains a shadow of her former self. Alan was also deeply shocked by the attack, which was carried out by the same dog breed that killed Bella-Rae Birch in Liverpool last week. “He was in such a state that I thought he was going to die,” Alan told the Mirror. “He had a T-rex-like head and a Staffy-like body with steroids. “If he wanted to kill me, he would. It is as if the owners were walking with a loaded gun. “I would like the owners to be found and I hope the dog is arrested and destroyed. “It is not a family pet, it is an extremely strong, dangerous dog when its managers are incapable and indifferent to try to control it. “He is a potential killer. I think he is a ‘trade tool’ and not a family pet.” 17-month-old infant dies in hospital (Image: PA) Since 1980 the American Bully XL has emerged as a separate breed, descended from the banned Pit Bull and recognized by the UK Kennel Club in 2013. In the last four months he has been responsible for three deaths in the United Kingdom alone, including a 10-year-old and a 17-month-old child. When Alan saw the dog, which he estimated weighing eight stones, turn towards him last month, he immediately felt uncomfortable. Read more related articles Read more related articles “I did not like the look of the dog, so I picked up Molly and put her on my shoulder,” he explained. “The other dog did not bark once. It made no sound. It started jumping and was clearly chasing my dog. I was screaming at these people to come and get the dog.” Two young boys, who were with two older women who were considered the owners, came to Alan, but failed to make the American bully calm down. Read more related articles “I was screaming at the completely useless owners to get the dog off us, but they did not move, they were just standing and watching,” Alan continued, explaining that the attacking dog had snatched Molly’s lead and pulled her to the ground. “A couple was passing by on bicycles and they immediately came to help me. If it weren’t for these guys, Molly would have literally been torn to pieces. “He had come straight from work and was riding a bicycle with safety boots with steel covers on his toes and was kicking the dog as hard as he could, while I continued to punch him. He was not even intimidated. Molly before attacking her (Image: Alan Hickman) “Eventually she lost control of Molly and I was able to grab her. She was screaming and screaming, completely upset and bloodied. “The only concern the hateful owners of this animal expressed was that we were beating their dog.” The owners drove their dog, which had not yet been bound, leaving Alan to run to the vets as soon as they were sure they had left the area. Read more related articles Read more related articles The animal doctor told him that Molly was lucky to be alive and that she had escaped certain death for a few millimeters. The month after the attack she has healed well, but she remains “very needy” and not her usual self. Alan has spread the attack everywhere, but so far, no one has been able to identify the owners. He believes that steps must be taken to ensure that no more attacks like the one on Molly and children like Bella-Ray occur. “An officer from the West Midlands Police Dangerous Dog Unit told me that American XL bullies are the flavor of the month right now,” Alan said. “I predict that in the next 12 to 18 months we will see a huge increase in the number of attacks and deaths as a result of the ruthless breeding of these dogs. Molly was covered in blood from her wounds (Image: Alan Hickman) “It is also worth noting that in addition to an XL Bully there is also an XXL Bully. No doubt someone is working somewhere to create a triple XXXL bully. “We may even have tigers with teeth on the streets. “The law needs to be changed to stop breeders from ‘teasing’ the DNA of killer dogs and claiming they are legal breeds.” Read more related articles Read more related articles After the death of ten-year-old Jack Liss, the Mirror asked to be informed of the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991 to ban more breeds. Every year around 200,000 people are attacked by dogs in England. Since 2005 hospital admissions as a result of a dog attack have increased by 81%. West Midlands police say they are investigating CCTV. Do not miss the latest news from all over Scotland and beyond – Subscribe to our daily newsletter here .
