‘It was a normal day, I took my two boys to school, got through the day and then picked them up as I did every day’
A heartbroken mum has revealed the final words she spoke to her 10-year-old son who died after being mauled to death by a dog.
Emma Whitfield’s son, Jack, died after being attacked by a huge seven stone XL bully in November 2021.
Emma has made headlines over the past year due to her calls for dangerous dog owners to face tougher penalties as well as rules to stop illegal breeding and selling, now known as the Jack Lis Law.
In an online Medium post shared yesterday (August 30), Emma revealed the last words she spoke to her son on the day that he died.
Emma wrote: “It was a normal day, I took my two boys to school, got through the day and then picked them up as I did every day. We got home and the weather was a bit dull, that fine drizzle rain. Jack went out the patio doors and to the shed, he came back with his skateboard and asked to go out to play.
“Looking back at it, I feel like I should have said no, it was raining, but he was a kid, he wanted to go out to play. His phone was charged, I had no reason to say no.
“We have a rule in our house that if the kids go out to play their phones have to be charged and in ‘loud’ mode so we can get hold of them if we need to. My youngest son, James, was on the sofa next to me waiting for his phone to charge.”
She added: “I said the usual things to Jack before he went out. My last words were ‘I love you, be careful’.”
Just ten minutes later, Emma heard a knock on the door from a neighbour who told her Jack had been attacked by a dog. She ran to the neighbour’s house and described the scene as “chaos”.
She explained: “People everywhere shouting and screaming, I could hear a dog barking so, so loudly from inside. A man was on the phone to emergency services and handed me the phone to answer their questions. I answered what I could in the panic of trying to find out if it was definitely Jack in the house.
“The next few things that happened I don’t remember the order at all, but I know the police cleared the immediate area and told everyone to get indoors as they were going to try and gain entry.
“I had nowhere to go, I jumped into my car. At this point a male officer opened the door, the dog tried to escape. I saw its face, I saw its eyes, and I saw its teeth. The officer held it back and managed to grab Jack’s arm.
“He pulled Jack out whilst fighting off the dog. I saw everything this dog had done. I got out my car and a female officer quickly ushered me away. I was on my knees in front of the woman who had knocked at my door.
“Armed police ran into the house, within seconds I heard loud bangs. A sound I had never heard before. It was gunshots. They had to shoot the dog because they could not get it under control.
“I looked around, one paramedic walked away and seemed to be walking so slowly with his head down and returned with a blanket. A female officer telling me they’re working on Jack, but in my heart I knew he was gone. I knew what they were doing. My Jack, my first born, my beautiful boy, gone.”
You can read Emma’s post in full on her blog here.
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