Helen Price has paid a moving tribute to her husband, Ian Price, describing him as a kind and loving man whose tragic death left her profoundly changed.
On September 14, 2023, Ian Price, a devoted father of two, was fatally attacked by two XL Bully dogs that had escaped their home in Stonnall, Staffordshire. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he succumbed to severe blood loss and cardiac arrest that same evening.
The dogs' owner, 33-year-old James Harrison Trimble-Pettitt, was sentenced to five years in prison on February 12 for the incident. Investigations revealed that the dogs were kept in poor conditions without toys, blankets, or beds, and had repeatedly escaped through open windows and unlocked doors prior to the fatal attack.
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Mr. Price had been walking his own dogs when he encountered one of the XL Bullies roaming loose. He attempted to guide her back to the owner’s property on Main Street, but was savagely attacked. Several neighbors and bystanders intervened, using their cars and bins to try to stop the attack, but their efforts were in vain. Mrs. Price told police that the dogs were “absolutely ravaging” her husband.
One of the dogs died during the attack after being restrained, and the other was humanely euthanized by a veterinarian at Trimble-Pettitt’s flat.
In a heartfelt statement, Helen Price revealed how deeply the tragedy affected her. “That Helen died with Ian. Ian’s death shook me to my core. It made me question everything I believed. It ripped away every dream and plan I had for the future,” she said.
“Ian was more than my husband and my best friend—he was the other half of me, the better half of me. I am lost without him. I always thought he was indestructible. He was kind, dependable, and loved his family fiercely. He was our protector, our biggest cheerleader, and our rock.”
Haunted by vivid nightmares of the attack and the suffering her husband endured, Mrs. Price added, “There is no peace, no comfort, and no acceptance in a death that was so public and so preventable.”
Mr. Price’s tragic death was among several attacks that prompted the Government to ban ownership of XL Bully dogs in England and Wales unless a valid exemption certificate is held, making it a criminal offense to keep them otherwise.