Dog owner avoids jail after 'incredibly stupid' attempt to castrate XL Bully dog himself

An dog owner has avoided jail after an "incredibly stupid" attempt to castrate his XL Bully himself - for fear that the dog would be seized and destroyed due to its breed. Elliott Arnold, 31, was driven by "overwhelming fear" after hearing that XL Bullies were due to become a banned breed - and thought that, if he castrated the animal himself, this would stop the dog from being seized and destroyed.

But tragically, the botched procedure, using an elastic rubber band around both the dog's testicles, put the dog, Frank, at risk of dying an agonising death from sepsis, due to the "very serious" nature of the failed neutering attempt. The hapless pet owner, from Hull, appeared before Hull Crown Court, admitting that he was a "fool" but "not a savage" - and claiming that it was just a grave error, according to Hull Live.

A "not guilty" plea was entered on his behalf after Elliott refused to enter a plea or even confirm his surname to the court. However, he was convicted by a jury of causing unnecessary suffering to a dog on September 20, 2023.

Arnold told the court: "I can't bear to relive it. I have shame and regret about it. I have never wanted to hide my actions. Wrongly or stupidly, I acted out of fear.

"I have never been in trouble before. It's my first ever conviction. I just made a terrible mistake. I thought he was going to be put down and marked as a dangerous breed. I feared that he was going to be euthanised."

Prosecutor Oliver Shipley recounted how Arnold had brought the XL Bully Staffie-cross, named Frank, to a veterinary clinic after attempting the home neutering. While Arnold waited, the vet team discovered an elastic rubber band tightly wound around the dog's testicles, causing skin to peel off and emitting a foul stench of infection.

"The defendant was advised by the veterinary staff that Frank was in a very serious and life-threatening condition and would require surgery," said Mr Shipley.

"The defendant responded by acknowledging how serious it was and that he could not believe that he had thrown his life away for a rubber band. He was also puzzled as to why the testicles had not fallen off by now."

Arnold admitted that, rather than wait for three weeks for a vet to do the castration, he decided to do it himself so that the dog would not be taken away from him.

"The police were called," said Mr Shipley. "Frank was treated and, fortunately, he survived the ordeal.

"Both the nurse and the surgeon were of the view that Frank suffered with traumatic pain, which could have caused sepsis if it had been left untreated, leading to death."

"She had never seen anything like it in her 20 years as a veterinary surgeon," the prosecutor added.

Arnold later told police that he tied the elastic bands around the dog's testicles because he was scared that Frank would be taken off him, as the XL Bully breed was due to be banned shortly.

He watched YouTube videos on how to castrate animals and he believed that, if he used the elastic bands on the dog, Frank's testicles would eventually fall off. He later noticed that the testicles had changed colour, and he told the emergency vets what he had done.

"There was no good reason for what the defendant did," Mr Shipley remarked. "This could all have been avoided had the defendant gone through the proper channels and taken Frank to the vets in the first place.

"He left Frank suffering unnecessary pain. It's as clear as day that the defendant ought to have known that using elastic bands in that way was bound to cause him unnecessary suffering.

Arnold refused to acknowledge the court's authority, citing his religious and other beliefs. He proclaimed himself a Freeman of the Land and would not confirm his surname or enter a plea; consequently, a "not guilty" plea was entered on his behalf.

His refusal to confirm his identity necessitated police assistance to establish his identity. This led to him being sent to the cells and subsequently remanded in custody overnight until the following court day.

Arnold told the court: "There were five stories a week of people being maimed or killed by these dogs. I believed that I could safely do it myself at home. It was a mistake.

"Frank was genuinely in no visible distress. I may be a fool but I'm not a savage. I have had dogs all my life. These included a Dalmatian and a Great Dane."

Judge Mark Bury remarked: "The defendant believed that the dog was an XL Bully dog that needed castrating to comply with upcoming law. There's an element of money saving, which I don't find very edifying. While this was incredibly stupid, it was a one-off. This was an aberration.

Speaking about the dog, Judge Bury noted: "He was in significant discomfort. He couldn't sit down. He had his tail between his legs to protect himself.

"What the nurse thought was that he needed immediate painkillers. He needed emergency surgery, which he underwent and survived. I am satisfied that you did not intend to harm Frank.

"You thought, totally wrongly and ill-advisedly, that this castration that you were hoping to carry out would be painless, which, of course, it was not. He would have been obviously in pain from the Saturday to the Wednesday, when he eventually went to the vet.

"As it turned out, he was in a life-threatening condition because of the risk of sepsis. Had you not taken him on the Wednesday, he could have been dead by Thursday.

"I accept that you are essentially a pet lover and you didn't want to hurt this animal or any other. You are remorseful for what you did."

Arnold was given a 24-week suspended prison sentence and he was ordered to pay £500 costs. He avoided a ban on animal ownership as the incident was deemed a one-off.

Following his court appearance, Arnold was released from custody. Speaking outside the courtroom, he expressed: "I acted purely out of fear and tried to protect the animal. It was purely with all the stories of XL Bullies in the news.

"It just gave me overwhelming fear. I acted just foolishly. I thought he would get seized and euthanised."