Elham Asaad Buaras
A Muslim mother of two was verbally abused and then viciously attacked by an XL Bully dog whose owner set it on her during a shocking incident on a Welsh high street last summer. The dog has since been destroyed, and its owner has received a suspended prison sentence.
Tomasz Wegner, 45, was sentenced to 15 months in jail, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to possessing a fighting dog and owning a dog dangerously out of control. The attack took place on Wrexham High Street on August 31, 2024.
Mold Crown Court heard on November 25 that the victim, Yasmin Begum, had been standing on the high street with her children when she noticed Wegner approaching with his XL Bully. Feeling frightened, she moved away, but Wegner began shouting abuse at her “without any provocation”.
Prosecutor Laura Knightley said Begum attempted to hide in a nearby doorway to get away from him, but Wegner followed her and continued shouting aggressively. Moments later, his dog lunged at her.
“The dog then grabbed and dragged her,” Knightley told the court. “It removed her hijab and tried to bite her forehead.” Although Begum sustained teeth marks on her head, the bite did not break the skin.
A witness reported that Wegner appeared intoxicated and at one point fell on top of Begum during the struggle.
Another passer-by rushed to help after hearing the victim’s screams. They managed to take control of the dog, reattach its muzzle, and hold onto its metal chain until police arrived.
Begum said the assault left her psychologically traumatised, and she has since developed a phobia of dogs. Her children, who witnessed the attack, were “extremely frightened”, and she now feels “highly concerned” about their safety as well as her own.
She stated that Wegner’s behaviour had “indirectly caused me to be set on by his dog through his actions”.
Wegner initially told police he had not been drunk and denied that his dog was an XL Bully, claiming instead that it merely wanted to “greet” the woman. He also insisted the dog had been “calm and gentle” beforehand.
However, he has since admitted it was an XL Bully. Defence lawyer Joshua Gorst said the dog had never attacked anyone before this “unpleasant incident” and claimed Wegner had now “got a handle” on his alcoholism.
The prosecution sought a destruction order for the XL Bully, which was upheld by Judge Simon Mills. The court heard that kennelling costs for the dog had already reached £9,482. The animal has now been euthanised.
The UK Government introduced strict rules on XL Bullies after the breed was found to be “disproportionately involved” in dog-attack deaths since 2021.
In England and Wales, it is a criminal offence to own an XL Bully without a valid Certificate of Exemption
Feature photo: An XL Bully dog, the same breed whose owner allegedly set it on a Muslim mother of two during a shocking attack on a Welsh high street last summer. (Credit: Wikimedia)
