THE parents of a four-year-old boy mauled to death by a dog have spoken of their torment.
John-Paul Massey was at his gran's home in Liverpool when he was attacked by a pitbull.
The youngster suffered 74 injuries to his head and neck during the horror in 2009.
His parents Angela McGlynn, 51, and John Massey, 50, have now told of their heartache after the death of three-year-old Daniel Twigg, who was killed by a dog on Sunday.
John told The Mirror: "I thought my son… was taken for a reason – that it would be the end of these dog attacks.
“But they keep happening. Seeing there is another one, it’s shocking and never-ending. I feel for the family so much. I’m scared it will destroy them, like it’s ruined me. I don’t want them to go through what I have.
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“Every day I go to the cemetery, I just want to stay there lying next to [John-Paul]. I just want to die to be with him. The sooner the better.
"If it wasn’t for my girls I wouldn’t be here today. They keep me alive.”
Angela's brother Christian Foulkes had left the dog with his mum after he left to join the Army.
On the night John-Paul was attacked, Angela and John had dropped him off at his gran's so they could enjoy a meal together.
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The dog attacked the boy after he was handed a crisp.
Foulkes served eight weeks in jail after admitting owning an illegal breed of dog.
Angela said they only discovered the animal was part-pitbull at its post-mortem and originally believed it was a pedigree American bulldog.
She believes anyone selling a dog should be Kennel Club-registered or have a pet shop licence as often people "are lying" about what they are flogging.
Angela said: "When I see other children have been attacked, it breaks my heart.
"I don’t want anyone else to have to live my life. It’s horrific. He was a special boy, I’ve been robbed of an angel.”
What is the Dangerous Dogs Act?
After eleven horrific attacks in 1991, Home Secretary Kenneth Baker promised "to rid the country of the menace of these fighting dogs" by introducing the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The law is often considered controversial as it focuses on a dog's breed or looks instead of an individual dog's behaviour, and fails to stem the rise of dog attacks.
Under the Dangerous Dogs Act, if a person owns a banned dog, the police or council are allowed to take it away and keep it regardless of whether or not it is acting dangerously or a complaint has been made.
If the animal is in a public place, they can simply be confiscated there and then – but in private, police must have a warrant to take the dog.
After it has been examined by an expert, the dog will either be kept in kennels while the police apply to the court or released.
Once in court, the owner has to prove the dog is not a banned breed and if successful, the dog will be returned.
But if the dog is deemed to be a dangerous type or the owner pleads guilty, they could face an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison as well as the dog being destroyed.
The four banned breeds are Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino, Fila Brasileiro and Pit Bull Terrier.
The couple have since split up but say they are united in getting the Government to introduce tighter controls.
They believe all dogs should be muzzled around children under 12 and no child should be left alone in a house with a dog in.
It comes following a spate of recent dog attacks – including most recently little Daniel's death in Milnrow, Greater Manchester.
He was attacked by a huge cane corso – an Italian mastiff breed that can weigh up to seven-and-a-half stone.
A man continues to be quizzed on suspicion of an offence under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
In March, a two-year-old boy died after being mauled by a dog in Worcester and an eight-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after he was bitten on the face in Cannock.
And one-year-old Bella-Rae Birch was mauled to death at her home in St Helens, Merseyside, in February, by the family's American Bully XL.
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John said: “I live with what happened to John-Paul every day.
“I’m a hamster on a wheel. I close my eyes and I see him laid down in the condition we had to view him in, with bandages head to toe. I’m not the man I used to be.”
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