Owner of XL bully that started eating pensioner alive ‘didn’t think dog was dangerous’

The owner of an XL bully which mauled a pensioner to death has told a jury the dog’s behaviour was ‘brilliant’.

John McColl, 84, suffered catastrophic injuries and died a month after being attacked by the dog, which had to be shot 10 times by armed police called to the scene in Warrington, Cheshire, last February.

One neighbour previously told the court the dog was ‘tearing’ at Mr McColl’s face and jurors have heard human remains were later found in the animal’s stomach.

Giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, owner Sean Garner said he took steps to stop his dog, Toretto, and a female XL bully called Malibu from being dangerously out of control.

He said before leaving the house on February 24, he had locked Toretto in a shed in the backyard, which was secured by a gate with a latch and a chain which acted as a bolt.

The jury has heard Mr McColl was attacked just after 6pm when he wandered into the driveway on Bardsley Avenue.

Garner, 31, told the court he had owned Toretto for about four-and-a-half years, since the dog was between four and six months old.

He said: ‘His behaviour was brilliant.

‘If my dog showed aggression, I wouldn’t have had the dog around my kids.

‘I’ve got a family. I’ve got people who would have stepped in if they thought the dog was aggressive.’

He said the dog was ‘perfect’ around other dogs, and fine with people.

Lloyd Morgan, defending, asked Garner about a message he sent to his mother in March 2024, in which he described the dog as ‘missing a few nuts and bolts’.

He said: ‘He’s 100mph. He was always excited when he saw my mum. He knew he was either getting treats or he was going out.

‘It was a figure of speech. I weren’t meaning that my dog’s aggressive, I was meaning he is 100mph.’

He said at the time he had not believed either of his dogs were XL bullies, a banned breed which can only be owned with an exemption certificate, although he now accepts they were.

The court heard he had an Instagram page, called Little and Large Bullies, which he used to promote dogs for breeding.

He agreed he had advertised Malibu for breeding as an XL bully but said that was because it was easier to sell puppies from that breed.

He said he had not bred Toretto with his own dogs but had used him as a stud for other people.

Garner, who the court heard had previous convictions for driving offences and drugs possession with intent to supply, said he was self-employed and ran a recovery business transporting cars.

He said he had previously worked in a dog fertility clinic, helping with collection of semen and ‘analysis to make sure they had enough swimmers’.

Garner moved into the home in the Dallam area of Warrington with his then-pregnant partner and their two children about three weeks before Mr McColl was attacked, the jury was told,

He accepted he did not tell the truth when he moved in and told the landlord he had one French bulldog, rather than the two XL bullys and one micro bully dog which he owned.

He said: ‘I was trying to better my life. Some landlords discriminate against dogs and don’t let you get the property.’

Garner, now of Belle Vale, Liverpool, denies being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control.

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