(Beth Clifton collage)
XL Bully & Cane Corsos killed Morgan Dorsett & Patricia Marie Burt within seconds each
BRISTOL, U.K.; BEULAH, Alabama––Morgan Dorsett, 19, the first known British dog attack fatality of 2025, and Patricia Marie Burt, 78, the 13th known U.S. dog attack fatality of the year, may not have trusted the XL Bully and Cane Corso pit bull variants who killed them, but they did trust the people who kept the XL Bully and Cane Corsos.
There are fanciers who will argue that a Cane Corso is not a pit bull variant. The history––the verifiable history, not the preposterous fiction propounded by the breed fancy, is here: Cane Corso: A pit bull by any other name.
Morgan Dorsett. (Facebook photo)
Dorsett had just come from Shropshire to the city
Morgan Dorsett reportedly had just moved a week earlier from rural Shropshire into big city Bristol, population half a million, to share a flat with her cousin Kelcie Jones and Jones’ male partner.
Patricia Burt was reportedly killed in the act of embracing a longtime friend in greeting.
Dorsett on the evening of February 26, 2025 became the eighth death by XL bully since the extra-big pit bull variant was banned within the United Kingdom, effective at the beginning of 2024.
Altogether, pit bulls including 21 “American XL Bullies” and 23 “Staffordshires” have killed 84 of the 126 U.K. residents killed by dogs since the Dangerous Dogs Act took effect in 1991, including bans on the “American pit bull terrier,” Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasiliero, and Japanese tosa pit bull variants.
(See United Kingdom dog attack fatalities, 1991-present.)
(Beth Clifton collage)
Dangerous Dogs Act
“American XL Bullies” were added to the banned list after killing more people than all other dog breeds combined three years in a row, 2021-2023.
“Staffordshires,” a breed not documented in the U.K. before U.S. dogfighter and pit bull breeder began selling some of his “Staffordshire” line to British dogfighters in 1889, remain exempt.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Attacked by cousin’s XL Bully
Morgan Dorsett was attacked “inside a flat in Cobhorn Drive in the Hartcliffe area” of Bristol at 7:19 p.m., reported Nadeem Badshah for The Guardian.
“A man and a woman, both in their 20s, were arrested on suspicion of being in charge of a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death, and possession of a prohibited breed of dog,” Badshah wrote, adding that both “have been released on conditional police bail while the investigation continues.”
Elaborated Tom Bedford for the Daily Mail, “The dog pounced on the young woman killing her within seconds.
“Her cousin, named locally as Kelcie Jones, was seen covered in blood outside the flat.
(Facebook photo)
“They killed my dog. They killed my dog.”
“Neighbors said they saw Ms. Jones dressed in pajamas and a white dressing gown screaming, ‘They killed my dog, they killed my dog.’”
First responders actually only sedated the XL Bully at the scene, police spokespersons told media, but the XL bully was later euthanized by a veterinarian.
Continued Bedford, “Ms Jones and her partner moved into the top floor flat only three weeks ago. She told neighbors she ‘had papers’ for the large grey adult XL bully, who was not seen muzzled,” as would have been required by the Dangerous Dogs Act if Jones had been in compliance with the law.
One neighbor told Bedford, he wrote, “Kelcie came out of her flat trying to scream, cry, and ask for help all at the same time. ‘I went to her and asked if she was all right but she couldn’t get words out. She had blood on her. I don’t know if that was from trying to stop the dog from doing the attack. It was not a small amount of blood.’”
Facebook meme reposted by XL bully owner Kelcie Jones.
Owner allegedly posted meme objecting to killing dogs for hurting children
A second neighbor, hotel worker Nicola Harrison, 58, agreed, “The woman was covered in blood. It was all down her legs. She was going on about her dog. I didn’t realize someone had been killed. There was constant screaming until 10.30. It was terrible.
“It’s a scream I will not forget. She was sat on my steps screaming.
“I just thought a dog had been attacked. I was wondering why there were all these police here. Then I found out a girl had died.”
A Kelcie Jones, critical of the Dangerous Dogs Act amendment banning XL Bullies, on December 13, 2023 posted a meme to social media showing a dog identified as “Glasses the Bully,” captioned “I think it’s wrong that we kill dogs for hurting children.”
Staffordshire pit bull.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Stats on XL Bully ban enforcement
Reported Bristol Post assistant editor Neil Shaw on February 18, 2025, a week before Morgan Dorsett was fatally mauled, “Police forces seized 4,586 suspected Section 1 banned dogs throughout England and Wales between February and September 2024.
“The National Police Chiefs Council said forces in England and Wales seized and euthanized 848 dogs between February and September 2024 at an estimated cost of £340,000. These were dogs which were surrendered to police by owners who had not complied with the ban.
“The National Police Chiefs Council said around £560,000 had been spent by police forces on staff overtime between February and September last year in relation to dogs.”
(Beth Clifton collage)
Lawsuit delays full enforcement of Irish XL Bully ban
The Republic of Ireland introduced similar legislation banning XL Bullies, to have taken effect on February 1, 2025, but implementation has been delayed by litigation brought by six animal welfare charities on behalf of pit bull owners.
(See Ireland bans XL Bully pit bulls; already restricted pits by 3 other names.)
However, reported Irish Times parliamentary correspondent Marie O’Halloran on February 27, 2025, “The case taken by a number of animal welfare charities objecting to the seizure and euthanasia of XL Bully dogs in their possession has been settled and can be struck out after the State agreed to amend the contentious new regulations,” to allow owners to appeal breed designations by dog wardens.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Why is My Lovely Horse Rescue defending dogs who kill horses?
Detailed O’Halloran, “The case was brought against the Minister for Rural & Community Development, Ireland, and the attorney general, on behalf of My Lovely Horse Rescue, Clare Animal Welfare, Working Animal Guardians, Dogs Angels Ireland, Wicklow Animal Welfare and the Haven Rescue.
“The proposed regulations,” to which the six charities objected, “would have allowed agents for the Minister for Rural & Community Development to seize or euthanize XL Bully dogs in the care of animal welfare organizations.
(Beth Clifton collage)
XL Bullies may not be rehomed
Justice John Jordan “refused an application from the charities petitioning the court to order a second injunction on the regulatory ban,” O’Halloran added, which prevents “the dog shelters and relevant bodies from rehoming the dogs” while the appeal procedures are developed.
“A ban on individuals owning the breed without an exemption certificate has come into force,” OHalloran explained, “meaning local authorities can still grant certificates for owners of the breed if the dogs are licensed, microchipped and neutered.
“More than 1,400 individual owners of XL Bully dogs applied for ownerships certifications before the ban deadline,” O’Halloran wrote.
Patricia Marie Burt.
(Facebook photo)
“We spent every waking minute together”
Meanwhile in the rural area between Valley and Beulah, Alabama, just west of the Georgia border, Thomas G. Burt, 73, mourned his wife Patricia Burt to Elizabeth White of WRBL television in Columbus, Georgia.
“She was a good person. She was my friend, my best buddy. We spent every waking minute together. I loved her so much,” Thomas Burt said.
Summarized Elizabeth White, “Thomas and Patricia first met at work. After their first date at a Halloween party, Thomas knew she was the one. Their bond only grew stronger over the years.
“On February 24, 2025, Patricia was visiting her neighbor’s mother, who was housesitting for her son,” Cane Corso breeder David Kelley.
(Beth Clifton collage)
“Two Cane Corsos suddenly escaped”
“As the two women hugged hello,” White recounted, “the son’s two Cane Corsos suddenly escaped their enclosure and attacked Patricia.”
Said Thomas Burt, in 35 years of marriage, “We never missed a minute of trying to be with one another.”
“Desperately trying to save his wife, he shot both dogs,” White resumed. “Patricia was rushed to the hospital, but despite all efforts, she died the next day.”
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told White that, “There were prior complaints about the dogs harming other animals who walked onto the property, but no reports of them attacking people or getting out.”
Amanda Hutchins-Born. (Facebook photo)
Third fatal animal attack in Alabama in 2025
Noted Carol Robinson for the AL.com news service, “Burt is the third person to die from a possible animal attack in Alabama in the first two months of 2025.”
The first, Amanda Hutchins, 46, was killed while feeding a pack of pit bull mixes on February 6, 2025, near Echola.
(See Cincinnati pit bull death indictment; owners guilty in Circleville pit death case.)
(Beth Clifton collage)
Fatal pig attack
The second, Steven Kyle Satterfield, 51, of Piedmont, Alabama, was found dead on February 17, 2025 “under his vehicle at his home. Police believe his multiple injuries were caused by his hogs and that he tried to get away from them by crawling under his vehicle,” Robinson reported.
Authorities took the two hogs believed to have killed Satterfield to a veterinary clinic for safekeeping.
“The family took the hogs from the veterinarian’s office, but did not take them back to the property in Piedmont,” Robinson wrote.
(Beth Clifton collage)
Four days later, “The two remaining hogs at the farm injured a person who was feeding them. That person was taken for treatment by medical personnel. The extent of those injuries was not released,” Robinson said.
“The family euthanized those hogs on the property,” Robinson concluded, “because of the aggressive behavior.”
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