A Swindon man has told how an XL bully ripped off his right ear – after the banned breed pounced on him while he was asleep.
52-year-old Darren Shuttleworth-Long was attacked by the dog at his home in Exeter Street on 26 April 2025, sparking a major police incident.
He was looking after the pet for a neighbour when he fell asleep. He woke up to it biting his armpit, with its jaw locked on.
Darren managed to move it off him but the dog then continue to attack him – and managed to bite off his right ear in the process.
He was finally able to get away from the dog and was taken to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital by Wiltshire and Bath Air Ambulance, where he spent three days in ICU. Now he is awaiting plastic surgery to have his ear reconstructed.
The incident sparked a significant police response – with armed officers sent to the scene.
Specially-trained dog handlers darted the XL Bully, which had an exemption certificate, before removing it in a cage and taking it to police kennels.
Wiltshire police confirmed a 24-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury. She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
Darren, a volunteer at his local church, from Swindon, Wiltshire, said: “I went to sleep and had the dog asleep next to me.
“I woke up and it had latched on the side of me.
“I managed to move it off. It attacked me again and hit me on the side.
“I crashed against the bedroom door and locked myself in with the dog. He was having a go on my right ear. He bit my ear off.
“He hit me about eight to ten times – I thought ‘I’m in serious trouble’.”
Darren says the attack was unprompted and lasted for around ten minutes before he was able to get away from the dog.
He said: “My whole right side of my face was numb. There was blood everywhere. It was pouring out of me.
“It was like a horror movie. My whole face was covered in blood. Half my nose was hanging off.”
Darren was rushed to hospital and had what was left of his ear stitched up.
He said: “The tissue had to come off – there was nothing to attach it to.”
Darren has been recovering since and struggles to go out.
He said: “I can’t go anywhere near big dogs now. It’s a long lasting stress that will be there for the rest of my life now.”
He is waiting for the soft tissue on his ear to harden before he can then have an appointment with a plastic surgeon to look at reconstruction.
Darren said: “Dogs barking sends cold chills through me.”
Since February 1, 2024, owning the XL Bully breed has become a criminal offence in England and Wales unless owners have an exemption certificate and anyone who owns one of the dogs needs to have the animal neutered and microchipped.
