EXCLUSIVE! The devil in disguise – one woman’s story adopting a dangerous dog

THE American bully XL is now being banned in England and Wales, after many attacks involving the breed. 

These dogs now require a special licence, and must be kept on a lead, in addition to being muzzled in public at all times, even in a car. However, as many are aware, this is not the only dog breed that is capable of being dangerous. Euro Weekly News spoke to British woman, Sharon Hall, who is currently living in Sheffield, UK, about her story of adopting what she thought would be her perfect furry companion. 

The date was February 1 2021, and the first wave of total lockdown in England was in full swing. Sharon, who is a mother of two adult children that have now left home, explained to EWN that “we had just lost our beloved miniature schnauzer ‘Stanley’ a few months prior, and being ‘dog people through and through’, I was definitely missing the companionship.” What happened next made Sharon feel like it was ‘meant to be’. “I was scrolling through Facebook and suddenly I saw a picture of the most beautiful dog I had ever seen, he was being advertised by a local kennel as being up for adoption, and I immediately messaged them to say we were interested”. 

The kennels informed her that a large number of people had also replied with the desire to adopt the cute canine, and requested that she send a ‘reason why’ she wanted him, along with a video of her house and garden. Sharon explained she lives in a “large country manor with many acres of land”, and that after sending a video of this, alongside a heartfelt message, the kennels invited her to come down and meet the dog, who they had named ‘Carlo’. 

“Everything was great, me and my partner went to meet him and took him for a lovely walk. He was well behaved and seemed quite placid but friendly”. Feeling that this was the dog for them, Sharon and partner Paul signed the papers and went back two days later to bring their new forever friend home. They named him ‘Xerxes’, after the Persian ruler, as they decided he looked ‘regal’. Spoiling him instantly, Xerxes went from an abandoned dog on the street to having personalised beds and an array of toys and treats. Everything was perfect, until it wasn’t. 

Just three days after bringing Xerxes home, he began to show signs of aggression towards any visitors to the house, thinking this was normal and that maybe the animal was just nervous, Sharon and Paul tried to calm him with cuddles and love. However, things were about to get a lot worse. A supermarket delivery man arrived at the front door on Xerxes’ fourth day of being in his new home. As Sharon went to open the door, Xerxes dived past her and immediately bit the worker. Everyone was horrified, and although the family were able to quickly get the animal back inside, and the driver luckily was not seriously injured and did not want to press charges, Sharon now knew that something was seriously wrong. 

After a series of similar incidents with Xerxes attacking viciously and randomly, and Sharon and Paul taking numerous trips to dog trainers, behaviour specialists, veterinarians and the kennels where he was originally from, they were left with an awful decision to make. The dog kennel explained to them that they would ‘take him back’, due to this behaviour, and animal specialists told the couple that Xerxes would have to be kept away from people and muzzled at all times, if they could get him to wear one. The future looked bleak for this rescued dog. 

However, nearly three years later Sharon tells EWN that they have “defied the odds”, and Xerxes is not only completely muzzle trained, but also shows a different nature, after many training and therapy sessions. 

“We do not trust him with anybody but the family, and whenever we leave the house he wears his muzzle, which the vet told us he couldn’t believe we have trained him to wear!”. She added that “we are his whole world, and we are glad we didn’t give up on him, because now he has the happy life he deserves, after he clearly suffered some mistreatment in the past”. 

The story of Xerxes and his family ended in triumph, however, it proves that no matter how cute and fluffy a dog may look, they could potentially still be dangerous. Likewise, although an animal can appear to be intimidating and dangerous, they may pose no risk to the safety of humans at all. 

The moral of the story? With love, attention and care, any dog can find their happy home, no matter their past. No animal deserves to be given up on, and Xerxes, Sharon and their family are a testament to that.