I had to identify my little boy’s body by his shoe after he was mauled to death by an American Bully XL

A MUM has described the heartbreaking moment she had to identify her boy's body by his shoe after he was mauled to death by a XL Bully dog.

Jack Lis, 10, was killed by the eight-stone dog called Beast in November 2021 in Caerphilly, south Wales.

A further 16 people have lost their lives in dog attacks in the 18 months since Jack's death, including an unnamed woman in her 70s at the weekend.

There were nearly 22,000 cases of injuries from out of control dogs in 2022.

Emma Whitfield, 32, who is calling for a Jack Lis Law, told the : "Identifying Jack by being shown his shoe was heartbreaking.

"Being told he didn’t make it was unimaginable."

The devastated mum previously revealed how she is haunted by her memories of the savage attack.

She 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.

"I still find it unbelievable. Sat on the sofa or on the way home, it hits you all over again."

The dog's owner Brandon Hayden, then 19, was sentenced in June 2022 to just over four years at a young offenders' institution and Amy Salter, then 29, was jailed for three years after they pleaded guilty to being in charge of the out of control dog.

Beast's previous owner was trying to get rid of the dog just days before the horror amid fears it would attack.

He wrote a plea on a bulldog Facebook page claiming the American pitbull-style animal was great with people but unfortunately did not like other dogs.

The owner said: "I've tried my best with him, I have other dogs and cannot put them at risk.

"He needs someone with time."

He accompanied the post with a picture of the hulking dog baring its muscles.

The dog had only just been taken in by the family of one of Jack's schoolfriends when it viciously mauled the boy.

The campaign for a Jack Lis Law is backed by the Dog Control Coalition - which includes the RSPCA, Dogs Trust and Battersea Dogs & Cats Home - and Caerphilly's Labour MP Wayne David.

They are calling for a different approach to dog legislation which includes all dogs and focuses on breeding, training and the sale of dogs.