Heartbroken Emma Whitfield says she is still haunted by seeing her fatally injured son dragged away by the arm from an XL Bully.
The distraught mother is determined no other parent should face the trauma of losing a child to a dog mauling and is campaigning for an urgent change of the law.
Emma, 32, said: “I still have terrible flashbacks. I still see the animal and its teeth. I hear the barking. You relive it multiple times a day – it’s torture.”
Just two months after her son Jack’s death, Brandon Hayden, the owner of the 7st XL Bully named Beast, advertised dogs for sale, including one also called Beast.
Emma said: “I felt sick. It showed no remorse.”
Hayden, 19, who fled the scene of the attack, was sentenced to just over four years at a young offender institution and Amy Salter, 29, was jailed for three years. They pleaded guilty to being in charge of the dangerously out of control dog, which caused catastrophic injuries to Jack’s head and neck.
Since Jack’s death 18 months ago, 15 others have lost their lives, including a 34-year-old man in Greater Manchester this month.
Emma, who is calling for the “Jack Lis law”, said: “Enough is enough. This has to stop.
“It’s mind-blowing how it keeps happening. It should never have happened to Jack but why has nobody learned from this?
“Innocent people are dying. The Government needs to act now. It’s out of control and there are people losing their kids because of this. I want to stop this happening.”
Emma has joined forces with the Mirror, the Dog Control Coalition and Labour MP Wayne David to fight for an urgent review of the law.
She said the dog that killed her son was a ticking time bomb but warned there are many more ready to strike. Last year, there were nearly 22,000 cases of out of control dogs causing injury in England and Wales compared to 2018 when there were just over 16,000.
The Dog Control Coalition includes Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, Blue Cross, the British Veterinary Association, Dogs Trust, Hope Rescue, the RSPCA and the Scottish SPCA.
Speaking on their behalf, the RSPCA head of companion animals, Dr Samantha Gaines, said: “We look forward to working with the Mirror to improve public safety and dog welfare.
“All the evidence tells us aggressive behaviour develops because of complex interactions between genetics and the experiences dogs have throughout their lifetime; it is not simply a case of breed.”
They praised the Mirror calling for the “promotion of responsible dog ownership, training and a crackdown on illegal and irresponsible breeding”.
“We also strongly support the call for an urgent review of the law,” they added.
“The Dangerous Dogs Act has failed to protect the public from the risk of bites, we want a new approach. It is also essential measures are available to deter and punish owners of dogs whose behaviour is dangerous. “
Caerphilly MP Wayne David told the Mirror it was an “epidemic”. He said: “We have to ask who is next?
“There can be no doubt that radical reform is needed to dog law.
“This will only happen when everyone who is concerned pulls together. That’s why I’ve linked up with Emma, the Mirror and the Dog Coalition. Now the Government has to listen to us, and act.
“I’m quoting the police when I say there is more money in selling dogs for some criminals than selling drugs. I’m determined to see this issue addressed by the Government as soon as humanly possible.”
Emma told how Jack came home from school, grabbed his skateboard, and said: “I’m going out to play, Mum.”
Just 10 minutes later, there was a knock on the door and his mother’s torture began.
She is haunted by the image of a policeman opening the door of a nearby house and dragging her fatally injured son out by his arm.
“People were banging the window to try to distract the dog,” she recalled. “The officer had Jack by the arm and pulled him out and that’s how I saw Jack.
“The dog was trying to fight to get out of the door, his head was through the gap and the officer managed to push the dog back.
“I still find it unbelievable. Sat on the sofa, or on the way home, and it hits you all over again.”
Jack suffered unsurvivable injuries in a house in Caerphilly, near Cardiff, just minutes from his home on November 8, 2021. Only a year later, in December 2022, just a street away, an 83-year-old woman was killed by a dog and earlier this year a baby was also hurt in a dog attack nearby.
Emma said these types of dogs have become “status symbols”, adding: “But to me it is no different than having a lethal weapon.”
The dog that attacked Jack had been with Hayden for four days.
“The owner tried to get rid of the dog for £100 because it was aggressive and didn’t get on with other dogs,” Emma explained.
“He got rid of it for free in the end. He gave it to Hayden who clearly didn’t have a clue about dogs and abused it. CCTV showed him kicking the dog, the dog attacking numerous people and trying to get to kids. It was a recipe for disaster.”
That disaster happened after Jack met one of his friends who asked: “Do you want to come and see my dog?”
Emma said her son loved their Shar Pei dog and cats. “Jack was so cuddly. He would be on the sofa with the dog tucked into him and the cat lying across him,” she said.
“They would gravitate towards him and he absolutely loved them.
“Everywhere he went he was covered in cat fur.”
Emma added she is not out to get all breeders or owners.
She explained: “My problem is with backyard breeders who don’t care where the dogs go. There is no reason why a dog needs to sell for £10,000 to go into a family home.”
After Jack’s death Emma looked into the muscular XL Bully, which was developed from the American Pit Bull Terrier, and is not recognised as an official breed by the UK’s Kennel Club. She said: “I came across cropping ears, the way they exercise them so their muscles are more prominent in certain areas.”
Emma wants tougher sentences, as the woman jailed over Jack’s death could be out this Christmas.
“She only missed one Christmas when we have lost a lifetime of them,” Emma said.
Talking about family life now, she said: “We are missing a piece. We are not whole. His little brother James turned 10 in August – there are 18 months between them.
“In your head you’re thinking, ‘Jack should be next to him’.
“I used to do everything in twos. Now instead of seeing two boys off to school, it’s just one.”
Just as we finished our interview, news emerged that a man had been killed by a dog and Emma shook her head in bewilderment.
“How is this still happening?” she asked.
Voice of the Mirror
THESE are the names of the children we have failed: Jack, Lawson, Bella-Rae, Daniel, Kyra and Alice.
In November 2021, 10-year-old Jack Lis was mauled to death by a dangerous dog while visiting a friend’s home in Caerphilly.
A few months later, two-year-old Lawson Bond suffered fatal injuries following a dog attack in Egdon in Worcestershire.
A fortnight after Lawson died, 17-month-old Bella-Rae Birch was killed by her family’s dog at her home in St Helens, Merseyside.
Then came Daniel John Twigg, who was attacked outside his home in Greater Manchester, three-month-old Kyra Leanne King and four-year-old Alice Stones.
In the last 18 months, 15 people have been killed by out-of-control animals. Thousands more have suffered terrible injuries.
After each horrific event there is an outpouring of anger. Distraught families plead for action. Politicians offer words of sympathy.
And what happens? Nothing.
Despite repeated calls for help the Government has refused to act.
It is obvious the Dangerous Dogs Act is no longer fit for purpose. The roll-call of lost lives is proof that we need to tighten the laws on the breeding, sale and ownership of dogs.
Ministers could intervene. They could take urgent steps to prevent another life being lost.
Do they not care about Jack or Lawson or Bella-Rae or Daniel or Kyra or Alice or any of the other victims? Or is it that they regard some lives as less valuable than others?
The Mirror today steps up our demand for action to tackle the scourge of dangerous dogs.
We are not going to stand by as more children die. We are not going to wait for another youngster to be brutally killed before people are finally galvanised into action.
