XL Bully attack leaves young boy needing facial reconstruction surgery

A five-year-old boy has been left with life-changing injuries following a horrific mauling by an XL Bully.

Teddy Kerr was visiting family friends with his mother and sisters in Paisley, just outside Glasgow, when the vicious attack occurred on November 3.

Football-mad Teddy required emergency surgery to reconstruct his face after being pinned down, ripped and bitten by the dog.

Teddy's helpless loved ones watched on in horror, fearing that the XL Bully would kill the Primary 1 pupil.

Thankfully, after eventually escaping the jaws of the dog, Teddy was rushed to Royal Alexandra Hospital as blood poured from his wounds.

The five-year-old's injuries were so extreme that he received over 100 facial stitches, with a specialist surgeon called to come and perform emergency reconstruction work on Teddy.

Recalling the terror of the incident, Teddy's grandmother, Marrion Hanratty, spoke of the 'trauma' the family experienced as they witnessed the attack unfold. 

'The dog’s teeth punctured through his back and the bites were inches away from puncturing his lungs. If that had happened then who knows what the outcome would have been', Ms Hanratty told the Daily Record.

Teddy's grandmother went on to share her fears that the five-year-old would be scared for life from the incident and stated that she feels physically sick to see him in his current state of pain. 

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'He can’t even smile right now because he has so many stitches across his face. He was screaming the other day when he got a glimpse of his face in the mirror. He doesn’t want to look at himself', she said.

Ms Hanratty went on to discuss how Teddy's mother Chelsey is still in a state of despair following the mauling.

Describing Chelsey's panic, Ms Hanratty said the mother-of-three 'couldn't breathe' during the 'nightmare'.

The family also feared that the dog bites may have punctured Teddy's lungs but fortunately doctors confirmed that the most serious damage had been confined to wounds to his face and back.

Spending over an hour in surgery, the five-year-old had his skin stretched and stitches inserted both inside and outside his cheek and back.

In the aftermath of the attack, Teddy's family now want to see a complete ban on XL Bully's in Scotland, arguing that the current legislation which only requires them to be muzzled in public is unfit for purpose.

'They are a dangerous breed of dog. What happened to Teddy should be enough to see them outlawed. The legislation isn’t good enough in Scotland', Teddy's grandmother said.

Despite the ghastly attack, Teddy's love for animals, in particular his own dog, has not been dampened. 

'Teddy loves all animals and he is missing his puppy. He just keeps saying the dog that attacked him is a bad dog', his family shared.

A Police Scotland spokesperson has since confirmed that a 41-year-old man has been charged under the Dangerous Dog Act, with the dog itself having been seized and destroyed by authorities.