Parents Sharon John and Patrick Mullane today paid tribute to their daughter saying she "will always be in our hearts and thoughts and we will cherish the little time we were able to share with her".

Six-day-old Eliza-Mae had only been home for two days having spent time in intensive care after her birth.

The couple, of New Road, Pontyberem, said: "Even though she was an important part of our family for such a short period of time, Eliza-Mae will always be in our hearts and thoughts, and we will cherish the little time we were able to share with her.

"She was a dearly loved daughter, sister, grand-daughter and niece.

"She brought joy into our family, and losing her like this has cast the most horrible shadow over all of us.

"There are no words we can use to describe what we feel at the moment, and we don’t think there ever will be.

"We are extremely grateful for all the support shown to us by the community.

"We are now trying as a family to come to terms with what’s happened, and ask that we are allowed to do this in privacy.

Thank you."

Horrified mum Sharon ran screaming into the street after finding her newborn daughter savaged to death by the family's pet dog.

Neighbour Patricia Punter, 71, told how the frantic mum was shaking with terror as she sobbed: "I don't know what to do.

"The dog ate my baby's head!" Moments earlier Sharon, 42, had found six-day-old Eliza-Mae lying dead next to her partner’s dog, an Alaskan malamute called Nisha.

Mrs Punter added: “It was terrible. Sharon was in a state of shock and just screaming. She kept saying, ‘The baby’s gone! He’s blaming me for it.’ God knows what’s happened in there.”

She was only allowed home from hospital at the weekend after three days in intensive care.

Shocked medics called to the terraced house in the village of Pontyberem, Camarthenshire, at around 8.30am today described her injuries as “terrible”.

The attack comes just nine days after 11-month-old Ava-Jayne Corless was killed by a pit bull in Blackburn. Sharon’s partner Patric Mullane, 33, is believed to have acquired normally placid Nisha, similar to a husky, fairly recently.

Mrs Punter said: “They’d had it for just a few months. Pat is really soft for dogs and he brought it home from the pub because someone had told him they were going to get rid of it.

“Nisha was probably about five or six years old. I think it may have badly treated in the past.”

Another neighbour Rachel Suter, 44, told how she had been cuddling Eliza-Mae less than 24 hours before the horrific attack.

She said: “I can’t believe what’s happened. I haven’t stopped shaking since this morning. It’s just so tragic. I was holding the little thing in my arms on Monday afternoon. It’s hard to imagine she’s gone now. I’m in bits.

“Sharon is a dear friend – we had been chatting all through her pregnancy.

“I hadn’t seen her or Patric around for a while so I assumed she’s gone in to have the baby. Then I saw her on Monday and she was carrying a little bundle. She was so happy and let me have a cuddle.

“Sharon couldn’t stop looking at her, she was such a proud mummy.”

Sharon had the Husky-like Alaskan Malamute called Nisha after her partner Patrick 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.

"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."