Dexter Neal was left with severe injuries after the attack in Halstead, Essex, on Thursday afternoon. He was rushed to hospital but later died from his wounds.
Jade Dunne, 29, who lives in the house is understood to have been arrested for allowing a dog to be dangerously out of control and remains in police custody.
She is believed to have four children, including one young son around the same age as Dexter, who was heard screaming by neighbors during the horrific attack.
Dexter lived around the corner from the semi-detached home with parents Andrew, 36, and Pamela, 43, who were too distraught to comment yesterday. The couple also have a daughter, aged eight.
Mrs Neal’s friend, Vicky Hall, whose partner Steve Hicks tried to save Dexter, said she had been left ‘devastated’.
She said Mr Hicks raced around to the address after hearing screams and found the dog had its jaw clamped around the boy’s neck. Mr Hicks, 39, said: ‘Anybody would have done the same if they saw a dog mauling a little boy.’
Another neighbor said the dog had ‘blood round its mouth and on the side of its head and on its paws’.
Dexter was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, but could not be saved.
It was the second dog attack this week after David Ellam, 52, was killed by a dog in Huddersfield on Monday as he was out walking his own pet.
It is thought Dexter was one of a number of children playing at the address on Thursday afternoon.
Last night a police evidence bag could be seen on the driveway, pinned over what appeared to be a patch of blood. Children’s shoes were seen littered across the garden.
Following Thursday’s attack, the blood-smeared dog was seen sitting calmly outside the address on a leash until police took it away to kennels.
Neighbors said Dexter's mother made a desperate dash to a local shop, which keeps a defibrillator, as she tried to revive him.
The neighbor, who didn't wish to be named, said: 'My kids were playing out the front of the house.
'The boy's mum came running screaming and shouting "my boy's not breathing. I need the machine". She got it and ran back with two people following her. Later on the air ambulance landed on the field at the back. Sadly it was too late.'
The dog is believed to have been kept in a wooden outhouse at the side of the property, which was yesterday being examined by forensic officers.
Neighbor Scott Nowell, 19, who called the police after realizing what had happened, said: ‘They have only had the dog about a week because we heard it barking.
‘I heard this terrible screaming and thought it was kids playing in the garden, but then I thought this is going on a bit too long. I went to my parents’ bedroom window facing the house and that is when I saw the man dragging the dog out. Its face was covered in blood.
‘As I was describing what was happening to the police I saw a woman come out of the house and she was holding a very bloody child in her arms.’
At the scene today, a female relative, believed to be Dexter Neal's grandmother, fought back tears as she said: 'Everyone is gutted.'
Mrs Neal’s brother, Ashley Coe, 35, posted on Facebook: ‘I can’t even begin to describe what state we are all in. This is an absolutely devastating loss for my sister and her husband and there’s nothing I can say to them.’
An elderly woman who lives in the same road as his family, said: 'I used to hear him chuckling away over the fence. He was full of life. It's such a shame.'
Ms Neale's next-door neighbor Andrew Bowles, 56, said the young boy loved playing on a trampoline with his elder sister. He said: 'He seemed like a lovely young lad. I used to see him playing with his sister in the garden with the trampoline.
'He just seemed to be a normal happy three year old. They just got back from a family holiday last Saturday.'
Others said that the blood-soaked animal was sitting calmly outside the home just moments after the attack.
One neighbor said: 'A chap had the dog on a lead I knew it had attacked someone. It had blood round its mouth and on the side of its head and on its paws. I didn't know what had happened until the police came round.'
Phyllis Younger, who also lives in the street, said she will forever be haunted by what she heard. The 82-year-old said: 'The screaming went on for a good five minutes. it did seem to go on a bit and then suddenly it stopped.'
Another man said: 'I've only seen him a few times playing in the back garden on the trampoline with his sister. He always seemed so happy.'
Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene at 5.40pm yesterday. The boy was rushed to hospital but died from his injuries.
Shirley Diver, mayor of Halstead Town Council, said: 'It is an absolute tragedy, the whole town will be completely shocked and devastated by this. It is such a terrible thing to happen anywhere, you just don't expect it to happen in your town. We are a close-knit community, everybody knows everybody.'
Figures last year showed that dog attacks have soared by 76% in the past decade, with more than 7,000 people taken to hospital between 2014 and 2015.
The Dangerous Dogs Act was brought in 25 years ago to force police and animal rescue organisations to euthanize certain types of dog considered a threat.
But the scope of the Act means that even if there are concerns that a specific dog is dangerous, unless it is a banned breed, the action local authorities can take is limited.
Among those who have donated are Lydia Dove who said: 'Thinking of the family at this sad time. RIP little Dexter xxx'
Nikki Cowan also gave money and added: 'Thinking of you all at such an awful time. R.I.P little man. X'
Conservative MP for Braintree, which covers Halstead, James Cleverly said: 'It is a shocking piece of news.
'The local police commander called me up this morning and told me what had happened. I have got kids, I have got a dog and obviously it is quite shocking.
'I was out in this community during the European referendum knocking door and I think this is a close knit community and I know this will send shockwaves through it.'
(Daily Mail - Aug 20, 2016)
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