The teenage mother of a 13-month-old boy mauled to death by a rottweiler told of her devastation at losing her “little angel” yesterday and praised her “heroic” sister for attempting to wrestle the child free.

Rebecca Hirst was meant to be celebrating her 18th birthday but was trying instead to piece together the events that led to Archie-Lee, her son, being savaged by her family’s dog.

The child was ripped from the arms of a seven-year-old girl who had gone to stroke the animal in a backyard at the boy’s grandmother’s home in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Archie-Lee’s 16-year-old aunt, Kara, who was babysitting at the time, tried to free the child repeatedly from the jaws of the female rottweiler, which weighed about 63kg (10 stone). Despite kicking and punching the dog, she failed to release him. The animal was shot dead by a police marksman soon after the attack on Friday.

Ms Hirst paid tribute to her son yesterday, describing him as her “sleeping angel”. She said in a statement: “It’s so hard for me at this time. My boy was my world. We shared so many precious memories in the short while that we had together. He is loved by many. He will always be in our hearts, never to be forgotten. He’s my sleeping angel.”

She said that she would never forget the efforts of Kara to wrestle the child away from the dog, adding: “I’d like to say to Kara we are all so proud of her as she tried. She’s a hero in my eyes and will be respected for what she did for the rest of her life.”

On her page on the social networking website Bebo, Ms Hirst has posted numerous pictures of the baby and told of her earlier fears of losing the child. Under the headline “Mummy to Archie-Lee”, she had written of her excitement when he “does his little giggle”. “I don’t no what I’d do if I didn’t have him,” she wrote. His father, Damian Williamson, 20, who also lives in the Wakefield area, talked of his love for Archie-Lee on his Bebo page. He said that he was happiest when “Archie keeps saying Dad, Dad, Dad all time”.

Ms Hirst had left her son in the care of her parents at their detached house for Christmas. Police said that she last saw her son on Boxing Day.

Mr Williamson’s father, Andrew, 48, a taxi driver, said: “My son said it was a nasty dog. It was kept in the backyard — it wasn’t a house dog. If it was that nasty it shouldn’t have access to children. Rebecca and Damian were blaming each other because neither were there when Archie-Lee was attacked. They are calmer now. But Rebecca was in pieces. I told him it’s not her fault. If Becki had been in the house she would have fought to the death to save her Archie.”

It is understood that the child often stayed at both sets of parents’ homes. Andrew Williamson also kept a rottweiler.

The child died in hospital a few hours after the attack. A postmortem examination revealed that he died from multiple injuries.

Police were yesterday conducting house-to-house inquiries near the home of Ms Hirst’s parents. Detective Superintendent Steve Payne, who is leading the investigation, said that the family were united in grief. He said: “The mother and father of Archie-Lee are together today and everyone involved is back as a family unit at this distressing time. Obviously, the mother’s 18th birthday being today doesn’t help.”

Mr Payne said that the seven-year-old girl, the babysitter and the grandparents had been interviewed by officers. Detectives had yet to speak to another child, a girl aged 6, who was upstairs at the time of the incident, because she was still in shock.

The rotweiller breed is not a banned breed under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and owners do not need a licence. However, it is illegal to have any dog that is dangerously out of control in a public place or in private “in which it is not permitted to be”.

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