Man bled to death after being bitten by American XL Bully, court hears

A man bled to death after suffering catastrophic injuries when he was bitten by an American XL bully in his daughter-in-law's garden, a court has heard.

Keven Jones, 62, from Chester, was bitten on the leg by the dog, called Cookie, at a house in Wrexham on 23 May 2022.

He was heard shouting, "Cookie, get off me, mate" by daughter-in-law Chanel Fong, who then saw blood pumping from his leg.

She had attempted first aid on Jones, who had been in poor health and had been taking methadone and blood thinning medication, Caernarfon Crown Court was told.

Fong, 33, denies being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control.

Jones was bitten before XL Bullies were added to the banned dog list.

Mark Connor, prosecuting, said it was a "sad and tragic case for everyone concerned", and told the jury it would be shown "graphic images" of Jones's injuries.

The court was told Cookie was owned by Fong and her partner, Joshua Jones. Jones was the son of the victim, and was not home at the time of the attack.

Fong told police her partner had owned the dog.

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 Fire in from the garden, but he was then heard shouting at Cookie.

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.

The court was told Fong had known Jones had been in poor health, and he had been "left on his own to deal with two powerful XL Bullies" while she had remained in the living room.

"She was also aware that Cookie's mother, another XL Bully, was in season in the house, which she knew could have led to issues with Cookie, a male dog."

He said her "omission" of not going to assist Jones to bring the dogs inside, with that knowledge, had created what had become a "catastrophic state of affairs".

The court also heard from Det Con Kate Pollard, who led the investigation.

She read Fong's account of the attack, which had been posted on Facebook in the days after the attack.

She said Jones handled the dogs "just as good as me and Josh".

The post said she had heard Jones telling Cookie to get off, and telling her he had been bitten.

Fong said she had tried to stop the bleeding and had performed chest compressions while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. She said she could "not shake off the feeling" of Jones's blood on her hands.

Fong said Cookie did not "deliberately" attack Jones, but played "too rough" and thought he was "still a puppy".

Pollard expressed her grief for the loss of both Jones and Cookie.

The trial continues.