A dog park owner where banned XL Bullies can run wild has claimed it is completely ‘safe’ because her fields are surrounded by six-foot metal fences used by zoos.
Defiant Dawn Janciauskas, who owns Westhoughton Dog Park in Bolton is hiring out her exercise dog park for £10-an-hour and has said XL Bully owners have deluged with her bookings.
Under new laws, which came into effect on New Year’s Day, XL Bullies are now a banned breed and it is an offence for the dogs to be unmuzzled or off the lead in public, while breeding, selling, rehoming and abandoning them is also against the law.
Dawn admits her stance is ‘controversial’ and she expects to get plenty of criticism.
Ms Janciauskas told : ‘This park is very secure. I have 6ft fences which are the same as used in zoos to keep the animals in.
‘It is safe and the dogs won’t get in’
Dawn Janciauskas admits her stance is ‘controversial’ and she expects to get plenty of criticism
XL Bully’s will be able to make use of the exercise dog park for £10-an-hour
The six-foot high fences bring to mind scenes from the popular dinosaur film Jurassic Park
Under new laws, which came into effect on New Year’s Day, XL Bullies are now a banned breed
She said: ‘On New Year’s Eve when the ban came in, it went mental.
‘I feel so sorry for the owners.
‘I think I was the only dog park owner to be brave enough and say we would take XL bully dogs.
‘I don’t know whether that will go against me, but until I am told otherwise we will welcome them as we need exercise.
‘I know some people won’t agree with what I’m doing because of what has happened with some bully dogs.
‘I expect to get some flak but I believe it is the right thing to do.
‘This park is very secure. I have 6ft fences which are the same as used in zoos to keep the animals in.
‘It is safe and the dogs won’t get in
‘We have some amazing owners who have been coming here since they were pups.
‘Something needs to be done as these dogs have fallen into the wrong hands.
‘But I have worked with animals all my life, and if you feed and feed an animal and you keep it caged up, there will be problems.
‘They need exercise.’
Dawn claims that since New Years Day she has been inundated with bookings from XL Bully owners
Transport worker Karl Jones believes that due to Dawn’s stewardship: ‘Nothing can go wrong’
At the site, only the dog owner and their dogs will be allowed in at any time as long as the correct rules are followed for XL bully dogs
At the site, only the dog owner and their dogs will be allowed in at any time as long as the correct rules are followed for XL bully dogs.
One bully owner, who brought her dog to be exercised at the moment, hit at the ban.
The 24-year-old, who did not wish to be identified, said: ‘The ban is all wrong.
‘It’s been badly thought out. My girl is a real softie.
‘This place is a real saviour. My dog needs exercise and has never had any problems with anyone.
‘It is very safe her and people should feel secure knowing they won’t get out.’
The park is in isolated fields on the outskirts of Bolton.
The area is popular with dog walkers who supported the dog park decision despite their shock at the move.
Transport worker Karl Jones, 62, who was walking his black labrador and two springer spaniels, said: ‘I know Dawn so I’m not that surprised she has done this.
‘It is very safe – the dogs aren’t going to get out.
‘She runs it very well and people should feel confident that nothing’s going to go wrong.’
Builder David Bullough has said he is confident the park is secure enough to hold the Bullies
Under new government laws concerning the breed, XL Bully owners have been left with few options as to where they can walk their dogs
As it is an offence to let them off the leads, dog parks are the only places XL Bullies can roam
Builder David Bullough, 22, said: ‘I know someone who brings their bully here.
‘He is a good owner. The park is very secure and anyone dodgy wouldn’t bring their dog here anyway.’
Mother-of-two Sue Morris, 43, said: Dawn is very defiant but I am surprised she wants to take the risk and get all the criticism.’
Owners have been urged to apply for a certificate of exemption before the January 31 deadline or face putting their animals down; it will be a criminal offence to own an XL Bully in England and Wales without a certificate from February 1.
The ban has been hotly contested by many XL Bully owners who claim the breed is being unfairly blamed and victimised and some have gone to great lengths to prove their point with one owner even muzzling himself.
A video shared on social media shows a man named Aidan taking dog Rolo out in Coventry on New Year’s Eve with the pair wearing matching black muzzles in protest against the new law banning the breed.
A video shared on social media shows Aidan taking dog Rolo out on New Year’s Eve with the pair wearing matching black muzzles
While walking along the pavement Aidan repeatedly practices training techniques with the well-behaved Rolo, including commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘wait’
Aidan and Danielle with their XL Bully Rolo before the ban came into force
While walking along the pavement Aidan repeatedly practises training techniques with the well-behaved Rolo, including commands such as ‘sit’ and ‘wait’.
Posting to TikTok, his partner Danielle said: ‘Our first walk with Rolo with the new restrictions and laws against XL bullies.
‘Aidan supporting Rolo today wearing a muzzle and making conversations with passers by, to show our animals should not be demonised by a muzzle or the law.
‘It is a sad, sad day across the dog communities [sic] today.’
The video has had a mixed reception with many supporters on TikTok, but the couple took to social media again on Monday to plead for kindness after widespread backlash on other platforms.
Danielle said: ‘I totally understand some people don’t understand and I have accepted and come to terms with that. I don’t expect you to.
‘However, this is my dog. A breed which has recently been banned as of [Sunday]. Having individuals screenshot a training video of me trying to express Rolo’s full capabilities as [a] Bully and using it for their own social gain just hasn’t sat right’.
She added she will continue to ‘video and post’ about Rolo and criticised those who used screenshots from the post to illustrate their own points without permission.
Animal charities have been urging owners to begin training their dogs to wear muzzles for months
The couple’s decision to wear a muzzle while walking Rolo comes as other XL Bully owners document their struggles to suddenly persuade their pets to wear them.
Owners have been sharing images of their dogs in Facebook groups, with mixed results on getting their dogs to wear the mandatory mouthpieces.
One simply said: ‘The pup is doing well with the muzzle’, but the owner of a four-month-old puppy said their pet ‘struggled this morning and kept crying’.
Another owner, sharing a photo of her two XL Bully type dogs, wrote: ‘Just sat here this morning bawling my eyes out as the news this morning confirms today is the day muzzles need to be worn outside the house.
‘I have two gorgeous XLs…one will walk on the muzzle great but the big bear…is having none of it.
‘He turns into a statue and won’t walk and keeps ripping it off. I feel broken.
‘My babies can’t go on walks together anymore until he can handle the muzzle. I’m just sitting here defeated by it all.’
Animal charities have been urging owners to begin training their dogs to wear muzzles for months. The legislation was announced in September following a spate of fatal and serious attacks, and detailed in full at the end of October.
It comes as campaigners against the law won a temporary injunction that will stop 240 dogs in rescue homes from being put down.
Under the Government’s guidelines, XL Bully dogs that arrived in rescue homes since October 31, which had not been rehomed, would have to be put down because they don’t qualify for an exemption to stay there.
It was thought an estimated 240 dogs would be destroyed as a result until one rescue centre took an injunction to review the rules.
It is now illegal to allow XL Bully dogs to be out in public off the leash and without a muzzle
Some owners say they are struggling to persuade their dogs to wear the muzzles outside: one wrote that one of her dogs ‘won’t walk and keeps ripping it off’
Owners have been sharing images of their XL Bully type dogs in muzzles on social media after the ban was imposed
A High Court judge has now ordered: ‘No XL Bully dog may be seized from a Rehoming Organisation… and/or destroyed for want of or ineligibility for a certification of exemption on grounds that the dog was taken into the RO’s care after 31 October 2023 until the further Order of the Court.’
XL Bully campaigning group Don’t Ban Me Licence Me said the ruling ‘will strengthen’ their legal challenge to the laws.
In the past two years it is estimated that dog attacks in England have risen by more than a fifth.