A mum whose baby daughter was mauled to death by a dog wants to help other parents struggling with the trauma of losing a child.
Bella-Rae Birch was just 17 months old when she was attacked by the family’s American Bully XL.
The pet, which had arrived in the home just a week earlier, snatched the youngster out of the arms of her mother, Treysharn Bates.
Bella-Rae’s father, Ryan, 25, was also there when the dog pounced in March last year.
The animal was put down but there were no legal proceedings as Bella-Rae was not on her own at the time of the attack and the dog was not banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
A year after the tragedy Treysharn said: “I miss Bella-Rae every day and I still haven’t come to terms with what’s happened.
“I just think she’s sleeping over at nanny’s house.
“I haven’t accepted anything yet and I don’t think I ever want to, but I have to stay strong for my little boy who still needs his mummy.”
Recalling the attack, she said: “I don’t remember much as I blacked out, me and Ryan did everything we could for it to end immediately.
“I rang an ambulance and then ran outside with Bella-Rae, I blacked out screaming for help.
“The neighbours rushed over to help but it was too late, I wouldn’t let go of Bella-Rae until paramedics arrived.
“Bella-Rae was taken in the ambulance with Ryan as they said I was too erratic but Bella-Rae had already passed away by then.”
She added: “Bella-Rae was a happy, energetic, clever 17-month-old baby.
“She loved music, dancing, singing and food, she was a brilliant eater for her age.
“She could have a full conversation with you, count to 15 and knew mostly all nursery rhymes and words to songs that I listened to.”
Ms Bates, who has a seven year old son, said she is sharing Bella-Rae’s story in the hope of helping other parents.
She also wants to set up a charity in her daughter’s name to raise awareness of dog attacks.
Ms Bates said: “I want to help other families in our position as we felt very isolated and judged when this attack happened.
“The purpose of the charity will be to talk and advocate and help people through these tragedies.
“Bella-Rae’s name would be out there helping families rather than being known as the toddler who died of a dog attack.
“I don’t want my daughter known as the baby who got mauled, she was more than that.
“I wish people would understand that this can happen to anybody, no matter what type of breed.
“Bella was never left alone and nothing made the dog snap. This was just a freak accident that caused my daughter to lose her life.”
There were nearly 22,000 cases of out-of-control dogs causing injury in England and Wales in 2022 - a rise of over a third in five years.
The Mirror is campaigning for changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act, including tougher penalties for owners.
