A man who urged people to ‘stop blaming the wrong end of the leash’ over a recent spate of dog attacks has been mauled by one of the very dogs he defended online.
Ben Cźyżyk, 38, from Wolverhampton, was left with puncture wounds and bruising to his face after the incident on Friday night.
The father-of-three was walking in the Tettenhall area of the city when he spotted an XL Bully wandering along without a leash at about 10pm.
He approached the animal’s owner and suggested they put it on a lead.
The owner is then reported to have set the XL Bully on Mr Cźyżyk, before proceeding to also attack Mr Cźyżyk himself, eventually fleeing the scene with the dog in tow after police officers arrived.
The incident left Mr Cźyżyk with 12 fractures to his eye socket and multiple puncture wounds around his ankles.
Last Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced American XL Bully dogs, a crossbreed of various other bulldogs, would be banned by the end of the year following a series of deadly attacks – a move that prompted protests on the streets of London yesterday.
One of these incidents saw a man mauled to death near a primary school in Staffordshire, while another left an 11-year-old schoolgirl badly injured in Birmingham.
Just nine days before he was attacked, Mr Cźyżyk had uploaded a post to social media featuring a picture of one of the dogs, saying: ‘Any breed can be taught to be aggressive. It’s time we quit blaming the wrong end of the leash.’
He said today: ‘I was out and about enjoying my evening when I came across a very vicious dog owner.
‘When asked to put his dog on a lead he proceeded to tell his dog to attack which he also did.
‘I think I got a couple of defensive shots in but I was no match for a XL Bully and his vicious owner.
‘Thank you to all the hospital staff who helped me.’
A relative said: ‘We were so shaken by what happened. The dog attacked his ankles and then the owner battered him on the ground.
‘The police did turn up and took details but the owner and the dog had fled the scene. Ben is still recovering, so isn’t up to talking about it in full at the moment.’
They added: ‘We still don’t think they should be banned, they need to be registered and looked after properly.
‘These dogs shouldn’t be used as weapons and that’s what this user was using his as – a weapon.’
West Midlands Police confirmed they are investigating the attack. A spokesperson said: ‘Officers attended and found a man in his 30s with injuries to his face and leg.
‘Thankfully they are not believed to be life-changing.
‘We are continuing with house-to-house inquiries and reviewing CCTV and doorbell footage from the area as part of our on-going investigation.’
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