A dog owner whose XL Bully is considered ‘dangerous’ says her beloved pet is actually a happy “lapdog” – who spends his days hanging out with 414 donkeys.
Georgie Ashton adopted Stanley, now two, from RSPCA Little Valley Animal Shelter in Devon as a puppy, after losing her English Bull Terrier, Trevor.
The dog had been born in police kennels after his mum was seized, with all of the puppies rehomed on the condition they went through the identification process when old enough.
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Stanley was classed as an XL Bully – meaning the 38-year-old, from Newton Poppleford, had to apply to get him exempted under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
I lost my English Bull Terrier Trevor and had been looking for another dog when I saw Stan on the RSPCA’s website,” she said.
“I’ve always loved bull breeds and know they don’t deserve the reputation they sometimes get.”
She described the exemption process as nerve-wracking, but said police made it easier by measuring Stanley at her workplace and allowing him to stay with her on an interim exemption order until the court hearing.
She said: “The worst part of taking on Stan was the fear of the unknown of the assessment and exemption process.
“It was a huge relief when he got to stay with me and didn’t have to go into kennels, it would have been so stressful for him to go back into that environment, especially as he was recovering from double surgery to his cruciate ligaments at the time.
“I didn’t have to attend the court hearing but receiving the judgement in the post was terrifying, especially as it talked about a destruction order.
“My heart dropped when I read the words, until I saw that it was all only relevant if I didn’t go on to arrange his exemption certificate by a certain date.”
Now exempted, Stanley must wear a muzzle and stay on the lead at all times in public, like all other dogs exempted under Section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act.
But the pooch has settled into his new home and loves going to work with Georgie, who is a groom at The Donkey Sanctuary near Sidmouth – home to 414 of the charity’s donkeys.
She said: “I’m lucky to be in a position where Stan can come to work with me and has a nice kennel set-up there.
“The Donkey Sanctuary has a dogs at work policy and a policy for exempted dogs to come into work, and there are a couple of other XL Bullies within the organisation, too. They were really understanding of Stanley and his background.
“A few of us bring our dogs to work and the kennel block that they stay in while we’re out working looks out over the fields; he loves to watch the donkeys grazing in the paddocks and go to say ‘hello’ to his friends when we’re walking around the grounds.
“All dogs at the site have to be on the lead at all times, but Stanley also has to have his muzzle on when he’s out and about in the sanctuary. This is about ensuring the safety of our dogs as well as the donkeys, as donkeys can be very territorial!”
Perhaps surprisingly, Georgie hasn’t faced much judgement from other dog walkers over Stanley’s muzzle.
She said: “People who live near me knew me and my previous dog and were excited to meet Stan when I first brought him home.
“He initially wasn’t banned so they all got used to seeing him without his muzzle.
“We started muzzle training quite early on and people knew why he needed to wear one so we didn’t really have much of the misunderstanding and judgement that I know many other exempted dogs get.”
The thing Stanley finds most difficult is not being able to run and play with other dogs.
Georgie added: “He gets excited to see other dogs which can be hard because he’s not allowed off his lead to play so he sometimes gets frustrated.
“Luckily, my parents have a private smallholding with secure paddocks so he gets lots of time to run free there.
“He is like a big puppy.
“Because he was born in police kennels and then fell ill, he missed out on an important chunk of the puppy learning curve like socialisation and boundaries.
“He had really bad separation related behaviour to begin with and he was very clingy, it took a long time to gradually teach him that it was okay to be on his own by sleeping next to his crate and slowly moving further and further away each night.
“I think he finally realised that this is his home and we always come back, and his crate is his cosy safe space.
“He’s really settled now and is just a normal family dog.
“He thinks he’s a lapdog but takes up most of the sofa!
“He likes to be touching you when he’s sleeping.
“He loves water and paddling, although he’s not really built for swimming!
“He’s generally just happy in life without any trouble in the world, as far as he’s concerned.
“He’s a big dope, but I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
The UK Government added the XL Bully to the list of banned types, making it illegal to own them in England and Wales since 1 February 2024, with bans in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland following.
Five types of dogs are now banned in England and Wales – the Pit Bull Terrier type, Japanese Tosa type, Fila Brasiliero type, Dogo Argentino type and the XL Bully type – under the Dangerous Dogs Act, commonly known as breed specific legislation (BSL).
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