'I was attacked by a sausage dog... it ripped off my cheek off and ate it in front of me'
| Published date | 23 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Manchester Evening News: Web Edition Articles (England) |
The dog refused to loosen its grip until it had torn a large chunk of her cheek off to eat it, leaving Kelly with an open wound that required five and a half hours of plastic surgery and more than 40 stiches. The sausage dog was removed from the property by police and later put down.
Kelly is seeking compensation after learning that the dog had allegedly already attacked two people, but this could take several years.
The ordeal still haunts Kelly, who regularly wakes during the night crying and cannot face returning to work at a contact centre for the travel company Tui due to the trauma and her physical appearance.
She now struggles to leave the house without being accompanied by one of her two sons – Fletcher, 19, and Cooper, 18 – and the £350 statutory sick pay she is receiving each month is not enough to cover her bills and living costs. To help her stay afloat, Kelly is depending on her family, and her sister Stacey, 43, has launched a fundraiser which has received more than £1,000 in donations.
“I can’t get out of bed and I’ve been crying in my sleep because I feel his teeth in me,” Kelly told PA Real Life. “I’m left with a hideous scar on my face. It’s just ruined my life, because it will never be the same now.
“I now have to buy camouflage make-up for people who have facial disfigurements – that’s something I never thought I would have to do. I’m a single mum and I can’t afford my electric and gas most weeks – it just seems so unfair.”
Kelly had gone to a friend’s house for drinks on Friday March 15. Her friend, who she does not wish to name, had a pet dachshund which was showing no signs of aggression when Kelly arrived at around 9.30pm.
“He was very friendly and didn’t show any signs of being an aggressive dog,” she said. “He was laying on his back for belly rubs, and put his head in my lap a couple of times.”
But later that evening, Kelly was sitting on the kitchen floor, leaning against one of the kitchen counters, when the dog’s demeanour suddenly changed. When she looked away for a split second, the dog pounced, sinking its teeth into her cheek.
“I turned my head towards the back door, where my friend was standing,” said Kelly. “He didn’t bark or growl, or make any noise, he just lunged and attached to my face.
“He then started ragging, shaking his head back and...
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