Mum, 43, mauled to death by her pet dog as her partner desperately tried to fight it off

A mum-of-two was tragically killed by her own pet American bully last month.

Joanne Robinson, 43, was killed by her pet on July 15 after she was seized around the throat. Her boyfriend, Jamie Stead, tried to fight off the dog, Rocco, which was "as big as a lion", at their home in Rotherham, south Yorkshire.

Tragically, he was unable to save her and Jamie has since undergone skin grafting for potential life-changing injuries, including injuries to his hands, abdomen and face. Now, Joanne's mother, Dot Robinson, 67, is calling for a change in the law to stop "these nightmare deaths".

“We have to stop these nightmare deaths," Dot said. “I’ve never seen a dog as big as Rocco. I warned [Joanne] what would happen but she adored that dog and said ‘I can’t give up on him mum!’.”

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Dot wants stricter regulations to be brought in for dog breeders as well as a return to dog licences for anyone who owns a dog. It comes after the number of dog bite deaths doubled in the last 15 years - eight people have already been killed this year, including four children, the Mirror reports.

“Something needs to happen now, too many people have died from dog attacks," Dot added. "They should also have special licences for these bigger breeds. Our Jo had tried to do everything right but they were just so big and strong.".

Joanne supposedly decided on buying Rocco and their sibling, Lola, because they were seen as 'gentle giants'.

Dot continued: "She paid £4,000 for Rocco from a breeder in Doncaster that she saw advertised online. I think he was about eight weeks old and when she went there they told her he was at another address, then she got there and they