A dog lover who rescued an XL Bully from poor conditions is at her "wits' end" after it gave birth to a surprise litter of pups.<br /><br />The 43-year-old woman, who does not want to be named, rescued Brandy, an XL bully in November 2023.<br /><br />Seven weeks ago, Brandy gave birth to a litter of 10 pups, of which eight survived but the woman said she had "no idea" she was pregnant.<br /><br />The litter is presenting a huge financial challenge for the family because of the growing cost of keeping them, including feeding and vet bills.<br /><br />Now, the woman said she is at her "wits' end" and says she cannot keep them for much longer as she struggles to find a way to save them from being put down.<br /><br />New laws which came into effect recently means she cannot legally give them away or sell them.<br /><br />The woman said: "We are really at our wits’ end because we cannot keep them for much longer like this together, as they will develop a pack mentality and just become too much of a handful for us.<br /><br />“We weren’t expecting to be dealing with this when we took in the mum.<br /><br />“We’re dog lovers and we just couldn’t bear to get them put down.<br /><br />“We have just met a brick wall in trying to get any support or advice.<br /><br />“The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has set up the Dogs Index which they say I must contact but the line is constantly engaged and they have not responded to my emails.”<br /><br />At the time, the woman said they had "no idea" that the female dog was due to give birth.<br /><br />But seven weeks ago, Brandy gave birth to a litter of 10 pups, of which eight survived.<br /><br />The woman said: "When she kept getting fatter despite watching her diet, we took her to a vet, who told us she was pregnant.<br /><br />“It was a huge shock and we probably wouldn’t have taken her in had we known.<br /><br />"We helped deliver them all ourselves and they are adorable,” the owner said.<br /><br />“But now we are at a complete loss about what to do because we could never have them put down.”<br /><br />The puppies are growing fast and becoming more boisterous and demanding by the day.<br /><br />“They are little balls of energy and fun and, like their, mum, just very friendly and loveable,” said their owner.<br /><br />“We believe the problem around XL Bullies is not the dogs, but their owners – they are the ones who should be vetted to see if they are suitably responsible.”<br /><br />The new legislation around owning XL bullies mean that owners are required to obtain exemption certificates to keep an XL bully, which must be muzzled in public and neutered.<br /><br />The new rules also prevent anyone from selling the dogs or even giving them away, with severe penalties for offenders.<br /><br />That is proving a huge headache for the puppies’ owner, who is finding them an increasing handful and cost to accommodate.<br /><br />An appeal for help resulted in almost £5,000 being raised through a GoFundMe page, which has paid for puppies to be exempted and will help with the ongoing costs of keeping them, including a £100-a-week food bill.<br /><br />But the owner now also faces hefty bills to have them neutered and micro-chipped, which she is legally required to do, plus further costs for vaccinations.<br /><br />The woman says she has tried to seek help from authorities in the hope of finding a solution but with little luck.<br /><br />The owner says she has received dozens of offers to take the pups, including a number from abroad, but even sending them overseas is not a viable option.<br /><br />She said: “They don’t have any laws against XL bullies in Europe so I thought there wouldn’t be a problem.<br /><br />“But Defra has just told me that we can only take them out of the country for a maximum of 30 days and then they have to be brought back, which is crazy.”
