An animal behaviour expert has issued a warning about the dangers of owning a 'super-breed' after an experienced dog walker was brutally mauled to death by an American Bully XL. An inquest has been opened into the death of Ian Symes, 34, who was killed by the "powerful" dog made of "pure muscle" while he walked him round a public park in Fareham, Hampshire, in August last year.
The dog walker has been looking after the 52kg pet named 'Kong' for a pal, who had bought the animal from travellers over Snapchat the previous day and did not receive any paperwork with the dog, the hearing was told. The Bully XL, which shares DNA with banned American Pit Bull Terriers, aggressively attacked Mr Syme by repeatedly biting down on his neck after he started playing with it, the Mirror reports.
Portsmouth Coroners' Court heard that the animal, that had not been "socialised", punctured the man's jugular vein, "crushed his voice box" and caused "widespread mangling" while it "ragged" him to the ground. During the inquest, animal expert Dr Candy d'Sa, who assessed Kong after the attack, issued a serious warning about the potential dangers of owning a Bully XL breed which she said has been "genetically modified" from banned Pit Bulls.
She revealed that out of the 10 Brits mauled to death by dogs in 2022, five of them were killed by the new 'super-breed' which has only existed for around 15 years and is "bigger and stronger" than their prohibited relatives. The professional, who was hired by the police, said she believes Mr Symes who was one of the five victims killed by the breed in 2022, when "rough play" with Kong quickly turned into "predatory behaviour" and its natural "prey drive" kicked in.
Mr Symes who was lighter than the dog, weighed just 7st 12lbs (50kg) and was 5ft 10ins, but had previously owned Rottweilers so was well experienced in handling larger dogs. He screamed for help as he was mauled to death at the popular park which is usually busy with children and other dog walkers. He also suffered fatal neck injuries as well as severe wounds to his face and head.
The animal was later destroyed as a result of the tragic incident. Mr Symes lived with Paul Keltie beside the park in Fareham and the pair were looking after Kong for their neighbour and friend, Callum Jones. He had purchased the powerful dog for £650 the day before from travellers after seeing it advertised on Snapchat and warned Mr Symes not to walk it alone as it was so "strong".
Dr d'Sa said American XL Bullies have an "extreme bite force" and that after examining Kong, she noticed he quickly became aggressive after play and was so huge in size he was a borderline 'Extreme Bully'.
She warned: "They need highly specialised owners, they do not belong in kennels and they are certainly not dogs for one-bedroom flats. They will continue to do damage until the public is educated."
Kong's owner, Mr Jones, 20, at the time told the inquest that the animal was bigger than he expected it to be when he bought it. He said: "He looked smaller in the pictures, I was quite surprised by how big he was. He did pull quite a lot, I did struggle to walk him, I was a bit worried about that."
Mr Jones said he discovered his killer dog and Mr Syme's body at the recreation ground on the evening of August 10 last year while walking home from his partner's house. He recalled: "Kong was licking blood and that's when I started freaking out and shouted for help... the dog was so calm and licking him, he didn't seem in an aggressive manner."
Dr Basil Purdue, a Home Office pathologist who carried out the post-mortem, said: "The cause of death was clearly the result of overwhelming neck injuries in keeping with infliction by a large, powerful dog. It is notable that the dog he was walking weighed slightly more than he did and was powerful in stature."
Coroner Sarah Whitby said she was horrified by Dr d'Sa's evidence as she gave a narrative conclusion on the case. She said: "Mr Symes engaged in some play with Kong who responded with default behaviour aggression and bit his neck and torso repeatedly, severing the voice box and puncturing all four major blood vessels of the neck and severely damaging his spinal column. He died from catastrophic injuries aggressively inflicted by a dog."
Mr Syme's devastated brother who visited the park after his brother's tragic death paid tribute to him in a heart breaking statement: "The past 30 hours have been pretty shocking and very hard to really understand what happened and why.
"Thanks for all the messages and tributes for my brother. It’s very touching to see the flowers and messages left on the field. Crazy to think of all the memories I had playing football on that field and the laughs I had in the school just got wiped from the situation that happened."
He added: "The facts are he was out walking a dog something he loved to do and as sad as it is least he passed away doing something he loved."
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