A mum-of-two was tragically killed by her own pet American bully last month.
Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her pet on July 15 after she was seized around the throat. Her boyfriend, Jamie Stead, tried to fight off the dog, Rocco, which was "as big as a lion", at their home in Rotherham, south Yorkshire.
Tragically, he was unable to save her and Jamie has since undergone skin grafting for potential life-changing injuries, including injuries to his hands, abdomen and face. Now, Joanne's mother, Dot Robinson, 67, is calling for a change in the law to stop "these nightmare deaths".
“We have to stop these nightmare deaths," Dot said. “I’ve never seen a dog as big as Rocco. I warned [Joanne] what would happen but she adored that dog and said ‘I can’t give up on him mum!’.”
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Dot wants stricter regulations to be brought in for dog breeders as well as a return to dog licences for anyone who owns a dog. It comes after the number of dog bite deaths doubled in the last 15 years - eight people have already been killed this year, including four children, the Mirror reports.
“Something needs to happen now, too many people have died from dog attacks," Dot added. "They should also have special licences for these bigger breeds. Our Jo had tried to do everything right but they were just so big and strong.".
Joanne supposedly decided on buying Rocco and their sibling, Lola, because they were seen as 'gentle giants'.
Dot continued: "She paid £4,000 for Rocco from a breeder in Doncaster that she saw advertised online. I think he was about eight weeks old and when she went there they told her he was at another address, then she got there and they sent her to a third address. They were about half an hour from each other all these addresses.
“They told our Jo the parent had cost £45,000 from America, this is what he said. I thought that was a load of rubbish. Jo told me the puppies were all fighting in a cage.
“If it had been me I would have given up then but they put Rocco in her arms and she fell in love. She didn’t see the parents of Rocco.
“With Lola, their other dog, they paid £2,000 and met the litter who were all playing outside. There was a big difference. You could see they were from a loving area.”
Joanne bought the two XL Bully dogs after her previous two pets of 16 years died during the pandemic, leaving her "heartbroken".
“Having those dogs made Jo happy,” Dot said. “They were like her babies. Rocco would lie on her knee and right across her and was always kissing her.”
However, the two dogs had soon begun fighting each other. According to Dot, the first fight was in August last year, with another incident following at Christmas - Jamie was even hurt during one of the fights.
“They had to separate them from each other and they were living in different rooms. Rocco was our Jo’s and she adored him and he followed her everywhere,” Dot said.
“Our Jo had even cancelled a holiday to Mexico to stay with the dogs because of the problems and was going to pay £400 for a dog behaviourist to help them.”
Talking about the day her daughter died, Dot said: “I got a phone call from her partner who said; ‘Can you come up the dogs have attacked me and Jo.’
“I said ‘oh bloody hell not again!’. Lola had always been going for Rocco. They live five minutes from me and my grandson took me but when I got there, police and ambulance were everywhere.
“I asked to speak to Jamie but they said he was in the ambulance with five paramedics working on him. I thought Jo was just in the house talking to police but then a police officer told us to; ‘Shift back. There’s a fatality in there!’
“I was with our Elle, Jo’s daughter. I had my arm around here and then just collapsed to the ground because that’s when I realised Jo was dead. She was the only person left inside.
“Then another officer took me round the back and sat me on a wall and said; ‘I’m sorry love your daughter’s dead’. I was in disbelief.”
Following Joanne's death, both the dogs have been destroyed. "They're gutted but Jamie can't have the dog back in the house now Jo's gone," Dot added.
“We’re not coping, none of us. The funeral is at the end of the month.
“She would not have blamed Rocco for it though. Jo was like that, just lovely. She always picked up waifs and strays. She was a gem and was adored around here.
“She was my best mate. She was beautiful inside and out. And we still are in such shock, we think it may have been something to do with the extreme hot weather but there’s an autopsy on Rocco this week. I can’t believe I am never going to see her again.”
Joanne's sister, Vicky Robinson, 45, is also calling for breeders to be licensed. She said: "I just wished she’d listened to us and got rid of it before it got to this. She thought she could change it but she couldn’t.
“But I never thought the dog would ever turn on them, it was just not a nice way to live having to worry about them fighting each other. I told her to get rid of them or one at least one. But she was adamant about getting a dog trainer in.
“I can’t believe she’s gone.”
The Mirror has called for these changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act:
- Widen the list of banned breeds to make it illegal to own, breed or sell other dangerous types.
- Bring in a new law requiring owners to register certain breeds that could be dangerous. Similar laws exist in France and Austria.
- Anyone wanting to own a potentially dangerous breed should attend a training course and the dog’s behaviour should be assessed.
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