John McColl died from his injuries a month after being attacked by the dog.
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An XL bully savaged an 84-year-old man “as if he were its prey”, a court has heard.
John McColl died from his injuries a month after the attack by the dog, called Toretto, which had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers who were called to the scene in Warrington, Cheshire, in February last year.
Sean Garner, 31, admits possessing the banned male dog and a female of the same breed without an exemption certificate, but denies being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control.
On Monday, a trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard Mr McColl wandered onto the driveway of Garner’s property in Bardsley Avenue at about 6pm on February 24 2025.
David Birrell, prosecuting, said: “After he entered the defendant’s driveway, that dog, that XL bully, attacked him and it just would not let him go.
“People tried to help him. Grown men, with weapons, hitting the dog. But it was no use.
“The dog savaged him as if he were its prey.”
Police officers who were called to the scene could not get to Mr McColl so firearms officers attended and shot the dog nine times with a pistol and once with a shotgun, the court heard.
Mr Birrell said: “That is how much ammunition was required to neutralise this large, powerful, savage dog.”An examination of the dog after his death found hardly any food in its stomach but showed that he had begun to eat Mr McColl alive, the court heard.
A second dog, called Malibu, was also shot by police who “didn’t take any chances”, Mr Birrell said.
The jury was told Garner avoided police for two days before handing himself in on February 26.
Text messages showed he contacted family members and “made light of the situation”, Mr Birrell said.
He said Garner was expected to tell the court the dog was kept securely in a tool shed, but the prosecution said that was “a lie” and the dog was kept on a patio, with only a metal gate on a latch securing it.
Mr Birrell said Garner knew the dog, which he used for breeding, posed a threat to others and in one text message said it was “missing a few nuts and bolts”.He said the jury would hear expert evidence that the dog had not been fed for some time.
He added: “The expert will also tell us that the dog appeared to be guarding Mr McColl as if he were its food, its prey.”
The jury heard Garner kept the female dog inside the house, apart from the male, and, according to an expert, separating dogs like that could make them “frustrated and aggressive”.
Mr Birrell said Garner accepted the dog was dangerously out of control and caused the injuries which led to Mr McColl’s death, but said it was not his fault.
He added: “We say that he was an irresponsible and reckless dog owner.”
The trial is expected to last between five and seven days.
