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Susanna Reid has opened up about an encounter she had with an XL Bully dog. <\/p>\n
The breed \u2013 which was said to have originated in the US back in the 1980s \u2013 has been hitting headlines in recent days after a dog, which appeared to be an XL Bully, went on an attacking spree in Birmingham. <\/p>\n
Unlike Pit Bull terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentino and Fila Brasileiros \u2013 the only banned breeds in the UK \u2013 XL Bullies are not a recognised breed yet on British soil, and are therefore legal. <\/p>\n
While discussing the dogs on Good Morning Britain this morning, host Susanna revealed she has had an incident with the breed before. <\/p>\n
\u2018I had an encounter with one of these types of dogs in South London a few months ago,\u2019 she began. <\/p>\n
The 52-year-old presenter explained how the dog had been chained up to a metal pole, but due to its \u2018strength\u2019 somehow dislodged the pole\u00a0\u2013 and was running around with it attached through traffic near her house. <\/p>\n
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\u2018I don\u2019t particularly like dogs,\u2019 she said. \u2018I just knew this was school picking up time, I felt I had to intervene.\u2019 <\/p>\n
The dog looked \u2018distressed\u2019 and was also \u2018bleeding\u2019 Susanna explained, as she said someone was on the phone to the police, who said it would take them an hour to arrive. <\/p>\n
\u2018There were children around, this dog might bite one of the children,\u2019 Susanna remembered saying to the police. She then explained how a woman then pointed out the dog \u2018wasn\u2019t going to bite anyone\u2019 as it didn\u2019t seem aggressive, but was actually \u2018perfectly calm\u2019 once out of the traffic. <\/p>\n
But although this XL Bully didn\u2019t look like a threat to humans at this moment, Susanna added that if it was, none of the people there \u2018had the strength\u2019 to stop it \u2018if that dog got out of control.\u2019 <\/p>\n
Once Susanna had picked her child up from school, she told her son about the incident and suggested they go back and, if the dog was still running around, they could take it to the vet. <\/p>\n
She then explained how her son refused to have that breed in the car. \u2018\u201dWe are not doing that, mum,\u201d\u2018 she remembered him saying. Thankfully, when Susanna returned to the scene the dog was gone, and the chaos over.<\/p>\n
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\u2018If you just ban the dogs, you take away the problem,\u2019 she concluded. <\/p>\n
Bully Watch, which shared a shocking video of an 11-year-old girl being mauled in Birmingham\u00a0on Saturday, has collected reports of hundreds of incidents this year alone.<\/p>\n
The attack in the Bordesley Green area\u00a0led Home Secretary Suella Braverman to announce that she has commissioned \u2018urgent advice\u2019\u00a0on banning the dogs.<\/p>\n
Once the dog had bit the young girl, who is said to be \u2018too frightened to leave the house\u2019 after the incident, the muscular mutt then went on to attack two further people. <\/p>\n
XL Bullies are thought to be a cross between American Pit Bull terriers and American Staffordshire terriers. <\/p>\n
The US Kennel Club \u2013 which recognises the breed \u2013 says XL Bullies make an \u2018excellent family dog\u2019 but also add that \u2018aggression is characteristic of this breed.\u2019 <\/p>\n
It is thought the breed \u2013 of which there are four sizes; standard, pocket, classic, and XL \u2013 first appeared in the UK around 2014 or 2015 and numbers have since grown rapidly. <\/p>\n