Owner of XL bully dog slams ban and admits she lets other people's children pet her pooch
An XL bully owner has slammed people's calls to ban the breed due to them being 'dangerous'.
An 11-year-old schoolgirl in Birmingham was attacked last week, leaving her needing stitches in her lower arm.
In light of the incident, people have been calling for the large breed of dog to be banned - Home Secretary Suella Braverman included.
Replying to the now-viral clip on X, formerly known as Twitter, Braverman wrote: "This is appalling. The American XL Bully is a clear and lethal danger to our communities, particularly to children.
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"We can’t go on like this. I have commissioned urgent advice on banning them."
But Ellee Keegan, from Bromsgrove in Birmingham, has her own XL bully and doesn't think banning the breed will help.
She's now trying to break the stigma surrounding XL bullies as she insists that her pooch, Costa, is a 'big softie'.
Ellee said: "[Banning the breed] is not going to change a thing.
"If they put the XL bully on the banned list, they will just move on to focus on another dog like the Cane Corso.
"There are already four dogs on the banned list and it clearly hasn't changed anything.
"My heart goes out the 11-year-old girl and man and their families and it is devastating what has happened but it is clearly not the dog's fault."
She continued: "I have been around a lot of XL bullies and they are the most loving dogs. It is the way the owners raise these dogs and it is on the owner.
"If you put something in place for anyone caught with a dangerous dog, a dog out of control, or a dog that has attacked someone, they should be the one prosecuted.
"They should either be fined, sent to jail or not allowed to own dogs."
Ellee added that she thinks that if people face being prosecuted for the dog's behaviour it will 'make them think about how they are with their dog whilst out and how they trained and look after their dog'.
Despite the stereotype that XL bullies aren't good around children, Ellee insists this isn't the case as her beloved boy Costa is 'very calm' around them.
"I don't have any children myself but a couple of my friends have babies which he has been around on a leash with supervision and he's been fine," she said.
"He's had kids coming up to him asking to stroke him and I think he just knows when there is a child around because he is very very gentle and when kids are around, he'll just let them pet him and he's very calm.
"If I had kids I'd feel comfortable with Costa being around them."
While Costa has a good temperament, Ellee said she still gets abuse from people in the street when she's walking him.
She explained: "When I walk Costa people make little remarks like 'dangerous dog' or 'he should be wearing a muzzle'.
"I get people crossing the road when they see Costa coming too.
"I get it [abuse] every day. It breaks my heart. If you went out for a walk every day and someone shouted abuse at you, that is what it's like for my dog. He's a big softie.
"Lots of people love seeing Costa on their walks but you get that one person who ruins it and thinks Costa is the worst dog in the world."
Unlike the dog in the viral video form last week, Ellee says she always keeps Costa on his lead as - as a dog owner - that's her personal preference.
She said: "I went to a dog trainer who helped me on leash control and command recall and we did this for six or seven months.
"I think every person should go through this with their dog."
Niamh Shackleton