Teresa Clive, a 36-year-old payroll manager from Greenwich, South-East London, claims she had a “scary” encounter with an angry school worker in Greenwich Park on 29 August, after he allegedly raised concerns about her “super friendly” pocket bully, Storm. The exchange, captured on video, left her “quite angry” and feeling like she was being called a criminal.
Incident Details
Clive said she was walking her dog, Storm, which she describes as well-trained, when the man insisted the dog should be on a lead. While park rules don't usually require dogs to be leashed, owners are expected to keep them under control. In the footage, the man calls Storm an XL Bully, prompting Clive to echo the label in surprise and ask whether he was supervising the youngsters nearby.
The man, wearing a school-branded hi-vis vest, then turned to nearby children, referring to Clive and the person with her as “the local nutters”. He bellowed, "do you think I'm doing this for no reason? We've had students attacked by dogs." Throughout the confrontation, he mocked them by shouting: "It's always the same isn't it?' Oh he's [the dog is] always so nice' and then he's killed five babies." While ushering the children away, he warned them "come on guys, before the murder dogs get you".
Clive's Account
Clive recalled: "It was early in the morning, the park was fairly empty, we do this daily. We noticed the group taking photos so we stood back and had our dogs in a 'heel' position so we weren't interrupting their photos and it was quite quiet."
"While we were waiting, the guy turned around and started saying 'your dog should be on a lead, put your dogs on a lead'. He got quite aggressive and started waving his arms around. We were saying they don't need to be on a lead and that's when he started accusing my dog of being an XL bully and my friend started recording."
"At that point I was actually quite angry, that did infuriate me but it was a bit scary as well because [he was] basically calling me a criminal. If he had turned around and gone 'would you mind popping them on a lead?' I would have happily done it, it's because he was being demanding and he was just being an arrogant male. They're both very well-trained dogs, Storm's been under canine training since she was eight weeks old."
Legal Context and Reaction
The Dangerous Dogs Act states that XL Bullies are banned, but pocket bullies are not classed as an illegal breed under the legislation. Clive said: "She's super docile, she's super friendly when I let her be - I don't just let her run up to people. She's also just really docile and dopey at the same time, at home she's just a couch potato."
"Telling all those kids that she's an illegal breed and a murder dog was quite unsettling. A couple of times [...] I have been accused [of her being an XL Bully] and told that she needs a muzzle. Usually, a simple conversation and educating people resolves that. Sometimes people cross the road and avoid her and not let their kids near her but that doesn't bother me. I was quite understanding of it, it's just uneducated people. Communication with owners is what is required, a dog's behaviour is based on the owner not the dog or the breed."
Kennedy News has approached Greenwich Park and the school for comment.
