The family of a Hunter Valley teenager who died after a dog attack are pushing for a slew of changes so no other family ever has to face the same pain.
Annalyse Blyton was 17 years old when she died at John Hunter Hospital following a dog attack at a Singleton home in September last year.
Police shot and killed a dog that was a mixed breed boxer, bull Arab and Irish wolfhound at the scene with permission from the owners.
Annalyse's stepmother, Naomi Benson, said the tragic end of her stepdaughter's life felt like it happened yesterday.
"It is still quite raw and I think it will be for a very long time, I don't know if it'll ever go away," she said.
"The hardest part is watching her siblings and her cousins because some of them are still quite young and they just don't understand why she is not here."
After the family celebrated what would have been Annalyse's 18th birthday in April this year, they decided it was time to launch a campaign in the teenager's name.
"We want to see change, we want to see a prevention framework, not just a reactive framework," Ms Benson said.
The campaign, Pink for Leasy, calls for better enforcement, education and accountability and better support for local councils implementing pet ownership legislation.
Ms Benson has looked into dog attack coronial inquiries since 2019 and found that they had consistently recommended more community awareness and tougher penalties for irresponsible owners.
One such inquiry examined a 2022 fatal dog attack on a two-year-old boy in the state's Central West, and recommended licensing requirements for dog ownership and harsher penalties for breaches of regulations.
The first step for Ms Benson is breed-specific education and a backyard breeding task force.
"We are very aware from our situation that these dogs can be lethal and there should be some education and knowledge before you get your hands on a dog like that," she said.
She believed backyard breeding was the ground level for where irresponsible dog ownership began.
"They're often not breeding for traits, they are not breeding for any particular reason other than financial gain," she said.
"There is also the likelihood that these dogs don't get registered."
She also wanted to see increased funding and resources for local councils for regulation as well as a licensing model for dog ownership.
"If you are owning an animal, you need to be able to maintain it and look after it," she said.
There were 1116 dog attacks reported to NSW councils between October and December 2025, with 77 resulting in hospitalisation.
The Office of Local Government was reviewing the Companion Animals Act to deal with the growing number of lost, abandoned and neglected animals across the state.
The review will act on the recommendation of recent coronial inquiries into fatal dog attacks in NSW.
NSW Minister for Local Government Ron Hoenig said Annalyse's death was a terrible tragedy and his thoughts remained with her family.
"I want to acknowledge the way her family have channelled their grief into advocating for change," Mr Hoenig said.
"They have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of dangerous dog attacks and to ensure the issue remains firmly in the public conversation," he said.
Mr Hoenig said the government was considering a range of issues as part of the Companion Act review including community safety, responsible pet ownership, education, enforcement and the effectiveness of the current regulatory framework.
"Cases such as this reinforce the importance of getting the balance right," he said.
"We want to ensure any reforms are practical, evidence-based and effective."
Ms Benson said she also wanted to see a better use of the NSW Companion Animals Registry data, where clear statistics on dog breed registration trends and ownership were accessible.
"If all of this is brought into line, dog attacks are very preventable," she said.
The campaign had also launched a survey calling for people to submit their experiences of dog attacks and near misses as well as any community safety concerns they have.
The police process following the attack had been really challenging for the family, Ms Benson said.
"We know next to nothing about what happened," she said.
Ms Benson believed the case was still being examined by the coroner.
"I want people to know that she was a person, she wasn't a statistic that you hear about on the news," she said.
