Woman cleared of owning XL bully which fatally bit man

A woman has been cleared of owning an XL bully dog that bit her partner's father, causing him to bleed to death.

Chanel Fong, 33, was accused of owning the dog, Cookie, which was dangerously out of control and of an alternative charge of being the person in charge of the animal at the time of the attack.

She was found not guilty of both by the jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.

Her partner's father, Keven Jones, 62, from Chester, died from severe blood loss after being bitten on the leg.

The attack took place before XL Bullies were added to the banned dog list.

The court heard Keven Jones had been in poor health and had been taking methadone and blood thinning medication, and had been staying at Fong's Wrexham home in May 2022.

Fong said the dog belonged to her partner Joshua Jones, who was not present when his father was bitten, although the prosecution claimed she was Cookie's joint owner.

The court was told there had been a number of dogs at the home on Holt Road in Wrexham, including two XL Bullies, called Fire and Rogue.

Rogue was Cookie's mother and in season at the time, so had to be kept separate from other dogs.

At about 11:30 BST on 23 May, Jones told Fong he would get Cookie and another dog in from the garden, but he was then heard shouting at Cookie to "get off" him.

The court heard Fong also called into the garden for Cookie to get down, which is when Jones came towards her "wobbly".

He pointed to his leg, which was pumping blood, and he said to Fong, "he's got me there".

Fong called the emergency services and attempted first aid, including applying pressure to the wound, but Jones could not be saved.

A post-mortem examination said he had died from extreme blood loss caused by dog bites.

Cookie was later humanely euthanised.

Giving evidence in her defence Fong said Joshua Jones, her partner, had organised all breeding and registration of the dogs.

She said she got on with Keven Jones "really well", and he had owned several dogs during his life, including a boxer and a "Bully breed" at the time of his death.

Fong admitted she had "underestimated" the risk Cookie posed.

The jury took just three hours to reach their not guilty verdicts on both charges.

Fong wept as the unanimous verdicts were read out and hugged family and friends after being released from the dock.