An XL bully found “eating” a pensioner had to be shot 10 times by armed police officers following the fatal attack, a court has heard.
John McColl, 84, died from his injuries in March 2025, a month after being savaged by a dog called Toretto in the Cheshire town of Warrington.
Toretto’s owner Sean Garner has denied a charge of being the owner of a dog which caused injury while dangerously out of control, and is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
He has previously admitted two counts of possessing an XL bully without an exemption certificate relating to Toretto and a female dog, called Malibu, found inside the house.
Giving evidence on Friday, he said that he took every step possible to make sure that the dog was safe.
He claimed that Toretto was locked inside a shed on the patio outside his home, and that the gate to the property was secured by a latch and chain, when Mr McColl wandered up the driveway on the evening of 24 February.
“I could never imagine that a man who has been [down] the pub could go up my path on his way home and do what he has obviously done to let my dog out,” Garner said.
He was “devastated” by the incident, he said.
“It’s horrible what’s happened to him.
“I’ve got no words to describe what happened to him. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.”
Garner disagreed that the dog was hungry, despite an examination finding that there was no dog food in its stomach.
He said: “Someone’s come into his property who he doesn’t know. It’s natural behaviour of a dog.”
David Birrell, prosecuting, said: “Your dog wasn’t guarding the premises, it was eating Mr McColl.”
Garner replied: “He was locked in the shed when I went out.”
The 31-year-old, who the court heard ran a recovery business transporting cars, said he did not return to his home when police rang him about the incident because he was disqualified from driving and did not want officers to see him in a vehicle.
He agreed he was a “coward” to instead allow his pregnant partner to return to the house with their two children, which led to police arresting her.
Garner said: “I was waiting to find out what had happened.”
The prosecution alleges that the dog was not locked inside the shed but was on the patio of the home, with only a latch on the gate preventing it from getting out.
The trial continues.
