Mom recalls horror of 10-yr-old son's death who was mauled by 'out-of-control' XL Bully at friend's home
CAERPHILLY, WALES: The heartbroken mother of a 10-year-old boy barbarically mauled to death by a vicious dog celebrated his birthday Sunday, February 19, with a sad ritual at the local cemetery. Jack Lis, who would have turned 12 this year, died in November 2021 after an XL bully named Beast attacked him at a home in Penyrheol, Caerphilly, Wales.
Jack's mother, Emma Whitfield, paid a moving tribute to her late son for the second year in a row by visiting him at the local cemetery to sing him a happy birthday and blow bubbles. She plans to continue that tradition with friends and family by her side. "He would be 12. It's harder when events come by that remind us of him. There is always an event or something happening and it's still very difficult," she told Wales Online. "[Jack's younger brother], James is finding it very hard - he's struggling massively. But we just try and take every hour as it comes. We can't change what's happened, can we?
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What are the charges against Beast's owner?
The horrific incident occurred on November 8 when Jack, a student at Cwm Ifor Primary School, visited his school friend's house, unaware that the dog might be aggressive. The dog attacked Jack only in the face and neck, causing life-threatening injuries. The animal was shot by armed police officers, who later confirmed that it was not a breed of dog banned in the UK. Later, the Crown Court even learned that Beast could be seen on surveillance footage jumping up at people in the street and trying to attack them, according to the Mirror.
Eventually, Beast's owner, Brandon Hayden was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting to owning or being in charge of a dangerously out-of-control dog while Amy Salter, who was asked by Hayden to take care of the dog at her home, was sentenced to three years for the same offense. The duo was also banned from owning a dog indefinitely.
"I’ll keep going"
Whitfield is now running a campaign to draw attention to the cruel practice of breeding deadly canines for profit, such as crossing breeds to give them a "muscle appearance." "If I can deter one illegal breeder or bad owner or stop one family from going through what we've gone through then I’ll keep going." She told Wales Online. The mother found it difficult to comprehend what had happened when she learned that an 83-year-old woman had died just a few streets from where Jack was mauled in a very identical manner.
"I think laws around breeding need looking at and I think people need to use an element of common sense when they see something because there were clear signs that the dog that killed Jack was dangerous and out of control but it wasn't reported." she continued. "The dog that killed Jack was beaten, passed around, and the original owner knew it was dangerous and yet passed it on to a man who didn’t have a clue and let it attack people and didn’t do anything about it. That dog failed from the start and was bred purely to be a status symbol."