A baby girl was savaged by a dog in a horrific attack that left her traumatized.
18-month-old Kelsie Male was rushed to a hospital after a dog sunk its teeth into her face, missing her eye by only millimeters.
The little girl from Portland, Dorset, was slammed to the ground after the Alsatian cross jumped at her and bit her head.
Kelsie’s mother, 28-year-old Sophie Garth, was only a few steps behind when the dog suddenly attacked her daughter.
Doctors said that the young girl was lucky to have only suffered minor injuries. However, her worried parents said that the attack has left Kelsie deeply shaken.
The toddler has not been sleeping well after the incident and is ‘jumpy’ around both animals and people.
“It was awful seeing her in so much pain as she is such a lovely little girl with a big heart,” the mother said.
“Thankfully her injuries are mainly recovered now, but the situation could have been so much different if the dog bitten just millimetres higher on her face and got her in the eye.
“But she’s still traumatised – she wakes up in the night crying, she gets jumpy around everyone and she doesn’t want to be left alone.”
Sophie and her partner Stuart were walking outside with their three children when the dog attacked Kelsie.
The pooch was believed to be owned by a friend of one of the residents in the area.
Kelsie was left with bleeding face and mouth and she had large bruises all over her back from the impact but doctors said she would be fine.
“She had blood over one side of her face but I was so scared to touch her in case I hurt her or caused it to get infected,” Sophie said. “She cried for hours without stopping – I will never be able to forget the sound of those cries.”
“What happened that day will never leave my memory – my beautiful little girl was bitten for no reason,” she continued.
“You never expect this kind of thing will ever happen to your child, she is such a lovely girl, she has a big heart, and she was a huge animal-lover before this.
“She’s incredibly lucky that the dog missed her eye or this could have been so much worse, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. We’re just praying that she will get over the trauma and go back to how she was before.
“I just want this to be a warning to other parents to be wary letting their children near dogs you don’t know – you can never be sure what might happen and it’s not worth the risk.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!