Elderly woman reunited with neighbour who saved her from XL bully dog during attack in Clackmannanshire

A 77-year-old woman who was mauled by an XL bully dog outside her home just before Christmas has been reunited with the man who rescued her.

Stephen Lawson, 22, met Isobel Boyd at her home in Clackmannanshire, just weeks after saving his neighbour’s life.

He used a skateboard to fight off an XL bully dog that was attacking Isobel.

“He is honestly amazing. He’s my hero and my family’s hero, definitely,” Isobel told STV News.

“For a young laddie to do what he did is unbelievable. There are no words can say how I feel because if he wasn’t, who is to say I would even be here today.

“If it was not for him coming to the rescue I don’t know what would have happened. I owe him my life.”

Owners of XL bully dogs in Scotland are set to be subject to new safeguards after the Scottish Government announced earlier this week it was replicating UK legislation.

Scottish community safety minister Siobhian Brown said the move is “right and proper” amid concern over an influx of dogs being abandoned across the country.

The first phase of the regulations will make it an offence to sell, abandon, give away, or breed an XL bully in Scotland.

A date for when the rules will officially be imposed has yet to be confirmed, however owners wishing to keep their dogs will also need to keep the XL bully on a lead and muzzled in public.

Isobel was viciously attacked by an XL bully on December 20 2023. She fractured her arm and knee and spent 11 days in hospital.

Isobel Boyd spent time in hospital after being attacked by an XL bully dog. STV News

Mr Lawson was coming home from work when he saw the attack happen.

He told STV News: “I saw it from the window of my house and I just saw Isobel lying on the ground with the dog over her.

“I grabbed the first thing I saw – which was my skateboard. By the time I came down, Isobel had been pulled against the wall and by then, I had to pry the dog off as best I could.”

It’s been a traumatic ordeal that they’re both coming to terms with.

Mr Lawson added: “It could have just went in such a worse way. It was just about half past nine and it could have been a child, and a child wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“It was huge on its back legs, it was probably standing over me and it’s one of the larger breeds of the XL bullys I’ve seen.”

As Isobel continues with her recovery, Mr Lawson is looking for work in the local area.

It’s the start of a new friendship for the pair.

Isobel joked: “Well, I can see him from my back garden, so hopefully now he’ll say hello when I say hello and I see him.”

Mr Lawson replied: “Oh definitely, definitely.”