An amateur mixed martial arts fighter said he was “lucky to survive” after he was mauled by an XL bully for 20 minutes.
Joseph Bennett, from Peacehaven, was horrifically bitten and had his bicep torn out by the supersized “double” XL dog while he was looking after it for someone he knew.
Police later destroyed the 65kg dog called Hunter after it also mauled a police officer.
Despite his injuries Mr Bennett says he does not blame the animal for attacking him as he says it was just doing what it was bred for.
The 21-year-old believes his fight training helped him survive.
“I just went into survival mode and my MMA training kicked in,” he said.
“You don’t have to be big just know what to do. I treated it like a fight.
“I knew if it got my throat, I was a goner. So, every time he lunged for my throat, I sacrificed every other body part to stay alive. I don’t know anyone else who managed to survive a 20-minute fight with a bully.
“The dog changed in the blink of an eye to a killing machine. These dogs are so powerful but it’s how they are bred. It’s not their fault.
“If you’re in a life and death situation like me with a bully or similar dog you need to be prepared to sacrifice other body parts just to stay alive like I did. I can still live with a damaged arm and am still here.
“It’s a miracle that I am here today though. I should be dead.”
At the time of the incident Mr Bennett was studying computer game art at college and was enjoying playing rugby and doing MMA sessions socially with friends.
He said: “I was really fit and enjoyed grappling for fun with my friends at gyms with MMA equipment and those skills probably saved my life.”
Mr Bennett says he agreed to dog sit Hunter - a heavily muscled double XL - in his then Peacehaven home in February 2024 as a favour.
“I had known Hunter for a year and had never seen him be violent before,” he said.
“Every time I had been with him before I would stroke him and play and we got on well and he had a great character so I assumed this would be the same but it wasn’t.”
Mr Bennett had been in his garden playing with Hunter with an old football when the dog’s muzzle fell off.
He added: “It was so fast he changed in the blink of an eye and wanted to kill me. I was on the phone to my parents at the time and they heard my screams that probably saved my life.”
Mr Bennett dropped his phone which was still on and instinctively put up his arm to protect his neck and face as the dog clamped its jaws on his arm and threw him to the ground.
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“It was just a case of trying to stay alive,” he said.
“There were no heroics. I had to defend myself because all the dog wanted to do was to rip out my throat. I knew if that happened it was game over.”
The dog would bite his arm or shoulder then let go and lunge for his face repeatedly.
Mr Bennett says he used a different part of his body every time to block the attack.
He said: “Hunter kept coming for me. I was running on pure adrenaline and instinct and my martial arts training kicked in.
“The dog was chewing on my arms, shoulder and raking my chest and bit through my bicep and was throwing me around like a rag doll but I kept wrestling him away from my face.
“I tried kicking him in his face and body whenever he let go but it made no difference. I even managed to trap its head between my legs for ten seconds a few times but it was too strong and got away every time.”
Just as he was losing consciousness through extensive blood loss and exhaustion his sister and brother-in-law arrived after being alerted by his parents.
“I was about to pass out when my brother-in-law bashed the dog with a metal shelving unit until it let me go and my sister dragged me in the house and managed to shut the door,” he said.
Hunter escaped the garden and after biting a police officer he was later destroyed.
Mr Bennett was rushed to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where he had the first of three operations to re-attach his bicep and blood vessels and stitch up his shredded arms, shoulders and chest.
“The pain was awful as my body had been shredded by his teeth and claws and it had chewed out my bicep but it was still better than being dead,” said Mr Bennett.
“You can live with dodgy arms.”
He spent the next few months having skin grafts and had to go through rehabilitation.
He continues to suffer nightmares and panic attacks.
Mr Bennett, who has since moved to Seaford, said: “The nightmares are horrific and I have to do things more slowly. I also have flashbacks as whenever I have shooting pains it takes me back there. I can no longer draw the same now due to my damaged arm so my dream career as a video game artist is over which makes me sad.”
He has had to give up sport and playing his guitar and now works part-time in hospitality.
He added: “Sometimes I just don’t want to leave the house. Whereas before I was always keeping fit or out doing something now, I am limited to what I can do. I used to enjoy playing the guitar but now I can’t even pick it up without it hurting.”
Mr Bennett is now taking legal action over his ordeal with injurylawyers4u.
Associate Solicitor Victoria Collins said: “These injuries are totally horrific and life changing.
"Joseph had his whole life ahead of him and a future career in video games and now that has gone. People need to think twice before bringing dangerous dogs into their homes as pets.”
Mr Bennett is now hoping for a future career change in cyber security and is studying online.
Insurer Aviva – which is handling the legal claim on behalf of the dog's owner – said it is unable to comment as the claim is ongoing.
Sussex Police confirmed the attacks on Mr Bennett and a police officer and said the dog was later destroyed.
A spokesman said: "Police were called to an address in Peacehaven, to reports of a man having been bitten by a dog.
"The victim was taken to hospital with serious injuries and a police officer also sustained injuries and received treatment at hospital.
“The dog, an XL bully, was seized by police and destroyed by a vet."
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