Dog ate my baby's head

A six-day-old girl was killed this morning
after being bitten by an Alaskan malamute
dog at her home. Police today named the baby as Eliza-Mae
Mullane as a horrific account of her death
emerged from neighbours. One neighbour said that the girl's mother,
Sharon John, 42, screamed "The dog ate
my baby's head" after discovering her body
next to the dog called Nisha. Sharon was shaking in terror when she
spoke to neighbour Patricia Punter just
minutes after police were called to her home
in a quiet Welsh country village at breakfast
time. Patricia, 71, said: "It was terrible - I've never
heard anything like it. Sharon was in a state
of shock and just screaming. "She just kept on saying: "The dog ate my
baby's head. He's blaming me for it - the
baby's gone." Sharon had the Husky-like Alaskan
Malamute called Nisha after her partner
Patric Mullane, 33, brought it home from a
night out at the pub. Mrs Punter said: "They'd had the dog for a
few months because Pat is really soft for
dogs. "He brought it home from the pub because
someone had told him they were going to
get rid of it. "Nisha was about five or six years old but
looked older. I think it may have badly
treated in the past. Click here to follow our live blog "God only knows what has gone on in there.
But Sharon was in bits - she was with a
policeman and they wouldn't let her back
into the house. "She came into my house to use the toilet
and that's when she told me what happened
to the baby. "She'd only brought the baby home in the
last week. It is just awful - they loved their
dogs as much as their children." Sharon has two other children Harley, five,
and Lily-Rose, three, in their terraced house
in the village of Pontyberem, near
Carmarthen, South Wales. The family also have another pet dog, a
terrier called Roxy, who was later being
looked after by Mrs Punter. Scrap metal dealer Patric and Sharon were
taken away from their home to be
interviewed by police. Nisha was seized by police investigating the
tragic death. Police are refusing to confirm whether the
girl died as a result of a dog bite, but
ambulance service sources have said that
the child suffered "terrible injuries". Neighbour Jennifer Brown, 66, told how she
caught the dog after the attack as it
wandered the street - and handed it over to
police. Mrs Brown said: "I looked outside my front
window and saw the dog by the ambulance. "The dog was just walking about and I went
out and caught it and handed it to the police. "It's a big dog and white around the mouth -
but I didn't see anything that caught my eye
to say anything had gone on. "It walked along the pavement and I thought
it was strange because people don't
normally let their dogs wander the street. "I hadn't seen the dog on the street before
but I called it over from the ambulance. "It came to me and I said: "Go home" but
instead it went to our neighbours porch and
ate their cat's food. "I got it to come back out and led it down to
house where all the police were and handed
it over to them. "They put it in the back of the police car." The dog, an Alaskan Malamute - which is
not a banned breed - has been seized by
police as part of the inquiry. Officers were called to a property in New
Road, Pontyberem, in Carmarthenshire,
around 8.30am this morning. The baby was airlifted to hospital. Chief Inspector Ieuan Mathews said this
afternoon: "As you know we are investigating
the sudden death of a baby at a property in
New Road, Pontyberem. "The baby girl was just 6 days old. "We were called by the Welsh Ambulance
NHS Trust just before 8.30am this morning,
and the baby was taken by heli-med to the
Heath Hospital. Sadly she was later
pronounced dead at University of Wales
Hospital in Cardiff. "The family dog – an Alaskan Malamute has
been seized by Police in connection with the
ongoing enquiry. I can confirm that this dog
is not listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act. "Clearly, our sympathies are with the family
at this tragic time and we have specialist
officers who are supporting them. All I would
ask is that you give them time and space to
grieve. "As far as our enquiries are concerned, the
investigation is still at an early stage." A neighbour who lives near the scene said
they heard sirens before seeing lots of
emergency vehicles arrive. Ann Williams said the dog vehicle went there
at about 9.30am. She told the BBC: "We didn't know what to think - there was so many police, so many
vehicles. We obviously thought something
was radically wrong. "We are shocked and saddened; what else
can you be? We have grandchildren of our
own. You don't expect to have this in your
own street." Alaskan Malamutes were originally bred as
sled dogs for work in the Arctic, but are now
popular as family pets. The Alaskan Malamute Club of the United
Kingdom describes the breed as a
"affectionate, friendly, loyal, devoted
companion" on its website. An ideal Alaskan Malamute is "heavily
boned, powerfully built", it says. A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesman
said: "We were called at 8.26am today,
Tuesday February 18, to a medical
emergency at a property in Pontyberem. "We sent a paramedic in a rapid response
vehicle, an emergency ambulance and the
Helimed helicopter to the scene, and a baby
was airlifted to the University Hospital of
Wales." Alan Lewis, chairman of Pontyberem
Community Council, said: "We are only a
village of 2,500 to 3,000. "It is a huge shock for the particular
community. Our thoughts go to the family
involved, obviously. "From what I understand, the police are still
continuing their investigations and the area
is cordoned off." Mr Lewis described Pontyberem as a "an ex-
mining community village". The death comes barely a week after 11- month-old Ava-Jayne Corless was killed
by a dog as she slept. The girl was in bed at a house in Blackburn
last Monday when she was savaged by the
pit-bull terrier. The girl's mother, Chloe King, 20, and her
partner, Lee Wright, 26, were held on
suspicion of manslaughter and subsequently bailed. Get the very latest on the developing
situation in Pontyberem on our live blog
here