A former Dundee boxer has revealed how he thought he was going to die when he was attacked by an XL Bully that had eaten his wife’s thumb just weeks earlier.
George Kerr was attacked by pet dog, Piglet, at his wife Gaynor’s home in Mid Craigie last Friday.
The 63-year-old was left with 19 bite injuries on his arms and spent several days in hospital.
The Courier previously reported how the dog involved in the attack had been put down.
Now, speaking to the Scottish Sun, George has told how he landed a series of punches on the dog as it started mauling him at the property on Longtown Place.
XL Bully ‘snapped’ and attacked former Dundee boxer
Gaynor also claimed the dog had severed her hand just a few weeks previously, leaving her without a thumb.
George – who famously once survived a shooting outside a Dundee pub – said: “I was just sitting on the couch as normal and Piglet was sitting with me.
“She then started to headbutt me and nibble my arm, which she had never done before.
“Then within seconds she just snapped and grabbed a hold of me and pulled me to the floor.
“I am a big lad and I must have punched her more than 30 times but it didn’t have an impact on her.
“I used my arms to protect my face and neck but she just kept biting me and ripping chunks out of my arm.
“Thankfully my son came into the room and started hitting her over the head to get her to stop.
“Once we got her subdued she calmed down really quickly but I knew I was in a bad way. There was blood on the floor and on the couch.
“I really thought I was going to die.”
Police confirmed they had been called to the incident and that the dog had been seized.
‘I looked down and my thumb had gone’
George and Gaynor say they are both waiting to have surgery on their attack injuries.
Speaking about the attack on her, Gaynor said: “We were at home a few weeks ago and had some friends round.
“Two of them got into an argument and I stood up and I think Piglet must have got a fright and she just snapped at my hand.
“I looked down and realised my thumb had gone. I was in agony and watched her eating it and then I realised she had swallowed it.
“I couldn’t believe it as she was a lovely dog but had got a little bit aggressive in recent weeks.
“We rescued her about a year ago and she was just skin and bone. Over the last year we built her up and never expected this to happen at all.”
Despite the incident, the couple told the Scottish Sun they do not back a proposed ban on XL Bullys by the UK Government – a view shared by several owners of the breed in Dundee.
George Kerr ‘used one of nine lives’ on day he survived pub shooting
In a 2019 interview with the Evening Telegraph, former gangland figure George recalled the day in 1989 he was shot at the Cutty Sark pub in Mid Craigie.
He said he believed he was targeted either over a dispute with a gang of bikers, or because his attacker believed he had stolen his “giro”.
George said at the time: “It’s mental I survived it. Some people have said I have nine lives – I certainly used one of them that day.”
The former amateur boxer turned professional in the 1970s but said the death of his brother impacted on his career.
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