It was meant to be an ordinary visit — a quick cup of coffee, familiar faces, a dog Luna-Ann had stroked many times before. But in a matter of seconds, Amy Hobson’s world shattered as she watched an 80lb XL Bully clamp its jaws around her four-year-old daughter’s face.
“I will never forget that sound,” Amy said. “Or the moment I realised my baby’s head was in that dog’s mouth.”
Amy, 32, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, had taken her daughter Luna-Ann with her to visit a neighbour she trusted. The family had always loved dogs. Amy had grown up surrounded by them, and her own children — Ellie-May, 13, Lily-Rose, 11, Luna-Ann, four, and Darren-John, two — had never known life without a family pet.
Earlier that year, Amy had even welcomed a new puppy into the home. Trigger, an American Bulldog, was bought from the same neighbour after Luna-Ann begged for a puppy of her own. The children adored him. The dogs appeared gentle, familiar, safe.
That sense of safety was an illusion.
On the day of the attack, Amy and Luna-Ann stopped by the neighbour’s house after a shopping trip. The atmosphere was calm. The adults chatted. Dogs milled around quietly. The XL Bully — Junior — had always seemed relaxed before.
“I’d stroked him,” Amy said. “He’d been calm. Luna had played with him loads of times.”
Then Luna-Ann reached out to pet him.
“In a split second, he just snapped.”
The dog lunged, sending Luna-Ann crashing to the floor. Her head hit the ground with a sickening thud before Amy could even scream. Junior’s jaws locked around the child’s head as Luna-Ann let out a blood-curdling scream.
“I saw his mouth clamp down on her face,” Amy said. “That’s the image that will haunt me forever.”
Instinct took over. Amy grabbed at the dog’s head, but her hands slipped. The animal kept attacking.
“I don’t know where the strength came from,” she said. “I was punching him, kicking him, doing anything to get him off my little girl.”
Somehow, she managed to fight the XL Bully away.
Luna-Ann’s face was covered in blood.
“I felt a tiny bit of relief when I realised it was her face and not her neck,” Amy said. “But when she went quiet… I thought I was losing her.”
Amy called an ambulance, but was told the wait would be up to two hours. With time slipping away, she grabbed a taxi and rushed Luna-Ann to A&E herself.
Doctors immediately knew the injuries were severe. Luna-Ann was transferred under blue lights to another hospital, where specialist facial surgeons worked to clean and stitch the savage wounds. She was placed on a drip, her tiny body exhausted after the trauma.
“They told me she might need further surgery depending on how she heals,” Amy said. “I just sat there shaking.”
While Luna-Ann lay injured in a hospital bed, the nightmare deepened. Police arrived and informed Amy that the neighbour had bundled Junior into a car and driven off.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Amy said. “My child had nearly been killed — and they ran.”
It took 24 hours before police located and seized the dog. An investigation is ongoing, but Amy has been told Junior will be destroyed.
The emotional cost didn’t end there.
In the aftermath, Amy made the heartbreaking decision to re-home her own puppy, Trigger — Junior’s son.
“I couldn’t trust any dog from that line near my children,” she said. “It broke Luna’s heart. It broke mine. But I had no choice.”
For Luna-Ann, the trauma runs deeper than her scars.
“She doesn’t want to sleep at night,” Amy said quietly. “I can only imagine what she sees when she closes her eyes.”
Despite everything, Luna-Ann has shown remarkable bravery. She sits calmly through dressing changes. She tries to smile. But the attack has changed her — and her mother forever.
“I am utterly traumatised,” Amy admitted. “I relive it constantly. Seeing that beast lock its jaws around my child… fighting for her life with my bare hands.”
The attack comes amid growing concern over XL Bully incidents across the UK, with multiple recent attacks leaving families devastated and communities fearful. For Amy, those headlines now carry a personal weight she never imagined.
“I trusted that environment,” she said. “I trusted that dog. And my daughter almost paid with her life.”
Now, Amy’s focus is singular: helping Luna-Ann heal — physically and emotionally.
“She’s my priority,” she said. “Everything else comes second.”
As scars fade and wounds close, Amy knows one thing will never heal completely — the memory of the moment she had to become her daughter’s last line of defence.
“I’ll never forget it,” she said. “But I’ll never stop being grateful that she’s still here.”
Miłosz’s Fight: A Family’s Journey Through Childhood Cancer and Beyond.3565
For Wioleta and Fryderyk Oleksy, life changed forever in September 2021. Their little boy, Miłosz, had just celebrated his second birthday—candles flickering, gifts unwrapped, laughter filling the room. He was curious, playful, full of life, the picture of childhood innocence. No one could have imagined that just days later, their world would be consumed by fear.
It began subtly. In late August, Miłosz began to limp. At first, the parents thought it was a minor injury, a scraped knee, or tired little legs. But soon, the limp persisted, and a small swelling appeared near his collarbone. Concerned, they visited their family doctor. Within hours, Miłosz was referred to the Oncology and Hematology Clinic in Białystok.
The tests that followed shattered their lives. Miłosz had a malignant adrenal tumor. Worse, it had already metastasized—invading his spine, lymph nodes, and even bone marrow. Stage IV neuroblastoma. Words that no parent should ever hear. In an instant, the future they had envisioned vanished.
The Oleksys’ lives became a whirlwind of hospitals, consultations, and sleepless nights. Aggressive chemotherapy began immediately. The tiny boy endured treatment cycles that would exhaust an adult. His body was weak, his spirit tested, yet he persevered. Surgery followed to remove the tumor, and soon after, an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Every procedure brought hope—and terror. Complications emerged. Miłosz’s intestines became inflamed, his blood vessels damaged, and for a moment, his life hung by a thread.
For Wioleta and Fryderyk, the hours were unbearable. They watched their son connected to monitors and tubes, every beep a reminder of the fragility of his life. Every breath a victory. Every movement a triumph. They prayed, they held his tiny hand, and they refused to give up.
By February 2025, Miłosz faced yet another life-threatening challenge. Years of chemotherapy had taken a toll on his liver. Cirrhosis had set in, leaving no alternative but a transplant. The donor? Miłosz’s sister, Weronika. In an act of profound love, she gave part of herself to save her brother. The surgery was long, exhausting, and risky. The Oleksys spent each minute praying, hoping, waiting for news. After a week in intensive care, their son began to recover. Slowly, he ate again. He drank. He regained strength, a tiny miracle in the face of overwhelming odds.
Yet even recovery brought its own fears. Neuroblastoma is relentless. Even after a successful transplant, the threat of recurrence looms. Living with a child who has endured cancer means living in a constant state of vigilance—every checkup is anxiety, every new symptom a potential setback. Miłosz’s days are filled with rehabilitation, medications, tests, and hospital visits. He is learning to rebuild the childhood that illness attempted to steal from him.
Despite it all, Miłosz is a fighter. He smiles. He laughs. He grows stronger with each passing day. His resilience inspires every doctor, nurse, and family member who witnesses his journey. Every milestone—walking independently, eating a meal, holding a toy—is a victory celebrated like a triumph over impossible odds.
But the financial cost is staggering. Treatments, medications, rehabilitation, travel, and post-transplant care add up. The Oleksys are not able to shoulder this alone. Every donation is vital. Every kind word, every prayer, every contribution is a lifeline for Miłosz—a way to keep him fighting, to keep hope alive.
Even in the darkest moments, the Oleksys refuse to give in to despair. They share their story not for sympathy, but to give their son a chance at life. To remind the world that childhood cancer is real, brutal, and urgent. And that compassion, action, and generosity can save lives.
Miłosz’s journey has been long and grueling. From the first limp that revealed a silent tumor, to months of chemotherapy that ravaged his small body, to a stem cell transplant that left him vulnerable and fragile, and finally to a life-saving liver transplant from his sister—every day has been a battle. Yet, through it all, he has remained a symbol of courage, a reminder of the strength that can reside in the smallest of bodies.
The Oleksys have learned to navigate a new reality. Their days are structured around medications, rehabilitation, and checkups. They measure each breath, each step, each smile. And though fear is never far away, hope endures. Miłosz has taught them, and everyone who hears his story, that the human spirit—especially that of a child—can defy expectation.
This is not just a story about cancer. It is a story about love, resilience, and the power of family. It is about a little boy who has faced unimaginable adversity and continues to fight. It is about a sister whose selflessness made life possible. And it is about parents who refuse to surrender, who stand every day at the bedside of their child and say, silently and fiercely, “We will not give up. We will fight.”
Miłosz’s story is still unfolding. The road ahead is long, uncertain, and fraught with challenges. But with your support—through donations, awareness, and prayers—he can continue to grow, to heal, and to live the life that every child deserves.
Every moment counts. Every day is precious. Every action can save a life.
Help Miłosz. Help a family reclaim hope. Because together, we can give this little boy the future he deserves.
Miłosz’s fight is far from over—but neither is his courage. Neither is his story. And neither is the love of those who will do everything to keep him alive.
