The dog that savaged this little girl's face the day after her fourth birthday is free to bite again because its owner - one of her uncles - is refusing to have it put down.

Shannon Hills suffered horrific injuries when she was savaged by the Irish Staffordshire bull terrier at her grandmother's home.

Now her parents want to add their support to the Telegraph & Argus Curb the Danger Dogs campaign.

Shannon's mum, Belinda Hills, said: "The most upsetting thing about the attack on Shannon is that the dog can do it again.

"The number of attacks by dogs on children being reported at the moment demonstrates the urgent need for a campaign like the T&A's. We are desperate to see the laws changed to deal with these attacks adequately."

Shannon needed surgery after her face, head and neck were ripped open by the dog at the house in Bournemouth.

She spent two days in hospital and had scores of stitches.

Mrs Hills said: "She has just had the stitches removed but she is still in a lot of pain. Since the attack she has been having nightmares."

Her parents have called for the dog to be destroyed.

"I want that dog dead," said Mrs Hills , 26, at her home in Ashley, New Milton, Hampshire. "I will do whatever I need to do to make sure it is put down because I would not be able to live with myself if it did this to another child."

But Shannon's grandmother, Christine Hills, who saw the attack, defended the animal. She said: "He is not aggressive and does not need to be put down. She startled him and he went for her - they are not serious injuries."

Terry Singh, Bradford Council's dog warden manager, said: "If an incident occurs on the dog owner's property the Dogs Act 1871 can be used where a complaint is made that a dog is dangerous or not kept under proper control. In these circumstances the Court may make an order for the dog to be kept under proper control with specific conditions or can order the dog's destruction."

The animal turned on Shannon after its muzzle was removed so it could be fed, said her mum.

Her grandmother managed to separate the child and the dog and Shannon was rushed to hospital by ambulance.

Shannon's 31-year-old dad, Duane, said: "We were going out for the evening and got a call to say Shannon had been bitten.

"We were not prepared for what we saw when we got to the hospital. She was covered in blood and there were huge gashes all over her face and head.

"One of her ear-lobes had been partly ripped off and we thought the surgeons would not be able to do anything."

The dog's owner, Duane's younger brother, was unavailable for comment.

Another brother, Stuart Hills, said he had been warned by his younger brother that the dog did not like children.

But he said: "My mum is absolutely devastated. The dog does not need to be destroyed - it needs help. It would be wrong for my younger brother to lose his dog. I allow my own daughter to be near the dog because I feel it is safe."

The T&A's campaign is calling on the Government to implement the following changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991:

  • a compulsory registration scheme for all dogs to help establish a register for dangerous dogs and enable them to be monitored
  • permanent compulsory micro-chipping of all dogs
  • anyone convicted of owning a dangerous dog should have a lifetime ban on owning a dog
  • the setting up of an accurate register of owners and their dogs
  • the introduction of a fixed penalty notice for those who allow their dogs to stray.
e-mail: jennifer.sugden @bradford.newsquest.co.uk
HOW YOU CAN SIGN OUR PETITION

You can back our Curb the Danger Dogs Campaign by signing our petition, which will be submitted to the Home Secretary, John Reid.

We want to collect as many signatures as possible in the next month to show Mr Reid the strength of feeling in the district about the inadequacies of the Dangerous Dogs Act and to put pressure on him to better protect the public against dog attacks by acting on the changes to the law we have outlined on the petition.

You can support our campaign simply by adding your own name on the petition online at our publi-cation's website www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk. Or you can print out the petition and ask family, friends and colleagues to sign as well. The more signatures we receive, the stronger our message.

But whatever you can do will add weight to our campaign and help to make it clear to Mr Reid the strength of public feeling regarding the desperate need to change the current law.

Remember, you need to return copies of the petition to the T&A (the address is at the foot of the form) by Thursday, October 12.

We will then submit all the forms we receive to the Home Office.

Click here to sign the petition on-line

Or click here to download a copy of the petition to print out