WHEN A PET IS NO LONGER A PET : FIRST PICTURES of Lexi Hudson - the four-year-old girl killed by her family dog in Mountsorrel : Her mother Jodi picked up a knife and stabbed the 'Turner and Hooch' French Mastiff breed to death before she fled screaming from her flat covered in blood ... UKMirror

Her mother Jodi picked up a knife and stabbed the 'Turner and Hooch' French Mastiff breed to death before she fled screaming from her flat covered in blood

  

Horrific: Lexi Hudson and the dog which mauled her to death

A four-year-old girl has been killed after being horrifically attacked by the family’s pet dog.
Lexi Hudson was “shaken like a rag doll” as her mum Jodi desperately tried to free her from the jaws of the animal.
Friends said Jodi picked up a knife and stabbed the dog to death before she fled screaming from her flat and covered in blood.
They said the family had only owned the dog – believed to be a breed called Dogue de Bordeaux made famous in the film Turner and Hooch - for a matter of weeks after getting it from a rescue centre.
And they said Lexi’s death was particularly tragic as she had survived against the odds as a baby, having been born three months premature, weighing just 1lb 10z.

Savaged: Lexi Hudson

Shocked friend Samantha Clarke, 26, said she was horrified as she watched Jodi, 30, flee her flat in Mountsorrel, Leics.
She said: “I saw her run into the street and she was screaming, and I tried to comfort her. It’s so sad - and shocking.”
Arthur Nash, 67, said: “I saw Jodi after it happened. Apparently she stabbed the dog to death.
“She was stood in the car park covered in blood.
“I held her hand for a little while but she was totally gone. She was in complete and utter shock.
“Lexi was in the ambulance while the paramedics worked on her and the air ambulance was circling overhead.”
Ambulance crews rushed the girl to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham at around 12.15pm today but she later died of her injuries.
Another friend Paul Ryan said: “I saw Jodi as they were taking Lexi away to hospital - she was in hysterics, and kept saying that she was told that the dog was safe around children.

Jodi Hudson mother of Lexi Hudson, 

“Jodi is absolutely distraught. She’s only had the dog for two months.
“She picked it up from the pound - it was a dog that had suffered abuse in the past but she said it had a very soft nature.
“Lexi was always playing with it.
“It’s obviously a huge dog and Lexi wouldn’t have stood a chance if it went for her - she’s such a small little girl.
“Jodi used to try and walk the dog on a lead, but it would struggle and pulled her over a few times.
“She would never have dreamt in a million years that something like this could have happened.
“She absolutely adored Lexi, she was her only child and she absolutely doted on her.
“This is absolutely tragic. We’re all in a state of shock.”

Shock: Lexi Hudson and the pet dog

 

The dog - also called a French Mastiff - died in the minutes after the incident. It is not one of the breeds banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
The exact circumstances of the incident still remain unclear, although friends and neighbours said Jodi had killed it as she fought to save Lexi.
Another pal Glenn Shepphard, 36, said: “I saw Jodi outside with blood and mud up her arm crying outside and mud all up her legs.
“She had obviously tried to wrestle with the dog.
“I only knew the mum to say hello to, she asked me to come across to see the new dog a couple of weeks ago.
“It was a very big dog - a type I have never seen before.
“It just sat on the sofa and barked at me - it was loud but didn’t seem aggressive.
“About three ambulances turned up with three police cars - I don’t know if they destroyed the dog there and then or if she died at the scene.
“It’s such a tragedy.”
Another neighbour in the town of Mountsorrel who asked not to be named, said: “She was a lovely lively little girl, always playing nearby.
“I heard neighbours saying how the mum told police how her daughter was shaken like a rag doll as she tried to get her free.
“It was an attack by their new family dog.
“I’m not sure of the breed but it was a large dog.
“It’s stunned everyone here. She was just a child.”
Darren Price, 32, who lived a few doors away, said dogs are banned from their estate.
He said: “I am a father-of-two and for this to happen so close to home is horrible.
“It could have been anyone’s children.
“I’m pretty sure that dogs are not allowed on the estate, I believe it is because there are a lot of elderly people who live here and children too.
“The dog was fairly new, they only had the one pet, I’m not sure where it came from but obviously they shouldn’t have had it here and it is a terrible tragedy.”

Estate: Rowena Court in Mountsorrel  

Lexi was branded a ‘miracle baby’ when she was born three months premature weighing just 1lb 10oz.
She was Jodi’s only child and she commented on a baby picture of Lexi on Facebook saying: “She was about a week old the first time I could hold her. You wouldn’t believe she was that small to look at her now.”
Following Lexi’s death a friend tweeted: “Thoughts are with Jodi!! Sleep tight Lexi. Taken too soon. R.I.P little princess.”
Local councillor John Capleton said: “I just feel it’s probably the worst thing that can happen to anyone, to see a child die is just the most devastating thing that can happen to anyone.”
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said: “Police were called to a flat in Rowena Court in Mountsorrel at about 12.14pm following a report of a young girl being injured after she was attacked by a dog.
“The dog is believed to have been the family pet.
“The child was taken to the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham where she has since died.
“The dog died shortly after the incident.
“Officers are carrying at enquiries at the scene and investigations are at their very early stages.”
Melanie Wright, spokesman for East Midlands Ambulance Service, said they received a “distressing” 999 call.
“The caller reported an injured child who had been attacked by a dog in Mountsorrel. This was a distressing 999 call and we are providing support to our colleagues who responded.”