As the owner of the mastiff cross that killed two-year-old expressed deep remorse over the horrific incident, the people of Deniliquin opened a support fund.

They’ve started organising cake stalls, auctions and fund-raisers for the much-loved family.

“I have never been prouder of people of this great town than I am right now,” Deeon’s cousin Karen Macdonald said.

Deeon was killed on Sunday afternoon when he ventured outside his grandmother Joyce’s back door for an afternoon ice-cream and was attacked by his cousin Darren Higgins’ dog, Kingston.

For 15 horrifying minutes, the grandmother tried to prise Kingston off her grandson’s head until she collapsed from exhaustion.

Deeon’s mother, Vicki, arrived home during the frantic struggle and managed to fight the dog off but Deeon had suffered critical injuries and died in hospital.

Council rangers put Kingston down but no charges will be laid because the dog was registered and was not considered a dangerous breed.

Mr Higgins, 24, said on social media he was deeply sorry for what happened.

“You both are up there, I know you both are! King[ston] everyone makes mistakes, and I’m sorry. I just can’t accept this. Ohh mans, please forgive me,” he posted.

His posts attracted hundreds of comments of local support, with Alex Lumbar posting: “This will be a long road but the whole town is walking beside you”.

Deeon’s older brother Kodi paid tribute to the blond-haired boy on a Facebook tribute page, saying: “He was such a cute baby and had the best smile”.

The state government is examining whether existing regulations on dog ownership are strong enough.

Local Government Minister Don Page said that based on a recent taskforce review the NSW cabinet will consider several ideas, including a national register of dangerous dogs and putting new breeds on the register.