XL Bully owner clings to hope despite police saying dog was destroyed after officers raided Sheffield house

A worried dog owner is clinging to hope his XL Bully is still alive, despite police saying they believe his pet was destroyed after an armed raid in Sheffield.

The two year old dog, called Sniper, was being looked after by a third party last September while his owners were away, when police carried out an armed raid on a house in Handsworth.

It is believed that Sniper was in the house, and seized by police, who took him and two other dogs away after the operation was carried out.

Officers say the dogs were all destroyed - but Sniper’s joint owner, Burham Ali, said he is clinging to hopes that his dog is still alive because police say the dogs were not microchipped.

But he claims Sniper was microchipped, and that he is now hoping that the dog is still alive somewhere.

Burham is joint owner of Sniper along with his cousin. He has been trying to find out for several months what happened to the dog, and an investigator has also been looking into the matter on his behalf.

He was aware that the house where Sniper had been staying had been raided by police, but did not know what had happened to the dog afterwards.

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South Yorkshire Police issued a statement to The Star after we made enquiries.

The force said in the statement: “On September 13, 2023, officers executed a firearms warrant at a property on Handsworth Crescent in Sheffield, in connection to firearms offences.

“During the warrant officers found three dogs, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, an XL Bully and a believed to be Pit Bull breed. There was no owner present at the address and the dogs were living in unsanitary conditions, so were seized by officers.

“The dogs were checked at police kennels and were not microchipped.

“A letter was sent to the property, asking for the owner of the dogs to make contact following being seized.

“No one came forward, no one contacted police regarding the dogs. The dogs were assessed for their rehoming suitability and the decision was made to put them to sleep.”

But Burham, aged 21, who works in marketing and management in Scotland, insists that Sniper had been microchipped as a puppy. He said he would like to see pictures of the dogs that were seized, and has been left confused over what happened.

He is appealing for anyone who recognises Sniper from his pictures or has footage of the police raid, to come forward. He asks anyone with information to contact this Facebook page that has been set up to try to find Sniper.

He said: “Sniper was the friendliest family dog around. He was so cute, and was brought up around children and family. He was well trained and listened to commands.

“It just doesn’t seem to make sense. He was around three years old and we’d had him since he was a puppy.

“If there is anyone out there who can help, we want to hear from them.”