Oxford dog owner puts down St Bernard puppies after attack

Rachel Adams, 59, bought two St. Bernard dogs - named Dave and Alan - for £3,600 in February 2022.

She and her husband Paul Adams, 53, were delighted with the pups but soon noticed they were anti-social with people and other animals.

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The Oxford couple spent eight months trying to change the dogs' behaviour but, after two attacks on Mrs Adams, decided to put the dogs down.

Mrs Adams said: "We will never get over having to make that decision [to put them down]. We were both utterly devastated, but we had no choice in the end.

"Both attacks came from nowhere. It makes my blood run cold to think of them. But otherwise the boys were very loving with Paul and I.

"The situation had got worse and worse and worse - their world got smaller and smaller and as a consequence so did ours.

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"They were frightened and aggressive. We couldn't take them out, or leave them, or have people round.

"I couldn't use the hoover, or the hose. They were frightened and would have attacked.

"In the end we had to do what we did to protect people in our locality and, of course, myself and family.

"If they had ever got out it would have been a tragedy for anyone that they came across."

Mrs Adams has warned that prospective buyers should investigate the bloodline before committing.

The couple used to run a rescue centre and are used to handling large breeds.

But it was clear within a few weeks they had their work cut out, they say, as it wasn't long before the dogs, each weighing around 50kg, couldn't be left unsupervised, as they were attacking the couple's other four dogs.

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Mr Adams even had to miss a wedding to keep the dogs safe, and the couple could not have their grandkids visit because it was deemed too dangerous.

The home and seven acres of land had to be 'dog proofed' because the St. Bernards weren't safe around other people or animals.

And by May the aggressive dogs were too afraid to leave a 10 by 10 foot square patch.

It was in October last year that the two dogs attacked Mrs Adams when she was getting their breakfast.

They pushed her to the floor, bit her and dragged her outside the house, ripping her clothes off in the process.

Mrs Adams managed to fight them off with a metal bin and run back into her home.

She said: "The attack came out of nowhere, and after they were so loving, like nothing had happened.

"You can't predict fear aggression, they can be terrified of a new thing each day, that day it was me they feared."

Despite the attack, the couple decided to keep trying for a month, but a second attack hit after two days.

Fortunately, Mrs Adams managed to manoeuvre herself to the other side of a door and close it, and the pups were put down that afternoon.

She said: "I honestly thought that second attack was going to be my end. It was so ferocious.

"It absolutely broke our hearts for Paul to drive them to the vet that afternoon, but we had no choice.

"It wasn't fair on them either. They could have had a beautiful life with us, but they were too scared to go anywhere or enjoy any of it, and we couldn't change that."

Mrs Adams believes bad breeding is behind the problem.

She said: "People have been knowingly breeding from aggressive dogs and that's unforgivable.

"St. Bernards are usually loving gentle dogs."