My friend’s sausage dog ripped off my cheek and ate it in front of me – I can still feel teeth & struggle to leave house
A WOMAN was left scarred for life after her pal's sausage dog tore off her cheek and ate it.
Kelly Allen, from Swansea in Wales, was left traumatised after a friendly dog turned into a brutal attacker.
The horrifying incident unfolded when the single mum was enjoying a social evening with her friend.
But the innocent evening turned into a nightmare when the dog had a sudden change of behaviour while Kelly was sitting on the kitchen floor.
I’m left with a hideous scar on my face. It’s just ruined my life, because it will never be the same now
Kelly Allen
But her friend's sausage dog suddenly lashed out sinking its teeth into her face without warning.
The 45-year-old said: "He didn’t bark or growl, or make any noise, he just lunged and attached to my face.
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"He then started ragging, shaking his head back and forward.
"I could feel his teeth deep inside my cheek – I still get flashbacks now."
The furious animal clamped down on her face with such strength that it tore away a piece of skin, leaving her in excruciating pain.
She repeatedly screamed "get him off" as blood started to poor down.
The shocked mum said: "The only reason he got off was because he ripped that piece of flesh off and ate it.
"He didn’t release, he pulled it off and I felt the skin tear."
But the dog went back for more and bit her again on her arm.
She added: "I’ve never had so much blood.
"I looked in her mirror which was straight in front of me and thought ‘shit, I’m in trouble’."
'LIFE RUINED'
Kelly was then rushed to Morriston Hospital where they numbed the area and scrubbed the wound.
She said: "They were leaning me over a sink and scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub… it was agony."
The vicious attack resulted in a gaping wound on her cheek requiring extensive plastic surgery to fix.
She explained: "I met with the plastics team who explained what they were going to do.
"They were going to take a piece of skin from my neck and graft it on my face."
Kelly was under the scalpel for five hours in a surgery that left her with 40 stitches.
The attack has now left her self-esteemed shattered.
She added: "I can’t get out of bed and I’ve been crying in my sleep because I feel his teeth in me.
"I’m left with a hideous scar on my face. It’s just ruined my life, because it will never be the same now."
The once "very friendly" dog was removed by authorities and then euthanised.
Kelly was left in shock after learning that the same dog had reportedly attacked two other people in the past.
FINANCIAL STRAIN
Beyond her physical wound, she is now struggling to live with the emotional scar left by the vicious assault.
Kelly said: "If it wasn’t for my close friends and family, I don’t know where I would be now.
"I just don’t live my life."
Even basic outings have become daunting without the support of her sons Fletcher and Cooper by her side.
Kelly, who works at a Tui contact centre, said the traumatic experience has caused her a financial fallout.
She added: "I can’t go back to work, because I can’t face people, I just can’t do it.
"I’m now making a legal claim, but that could take up to two years and in the meantime I’ve got no income."
The £350 statutory sick pay she receives monthly is not enough to cover her bills and living expenses, she said.
She added: "I’m not entitled to anything else because I’m still employed and I can’t give up my job to get income support, because then I lose my job.
"So I’m just in a really hard place at the moment."
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She is currently depending on the generosity of family and well-wishers.
Her sister Stacey has launched a fundraiser to assist help Kelly during her recovery - and it has already received more than £1,000 in donations.
Fatal XL Bully attacks
- Ian "Scouse" Langley, 54, was protecting his puppy when the animal pounced on him outside a home in Sunderland in October 2023.
- Ian Price, 52, was viciously savaged in September 2023 by the beasts as he tried to protect his elderly mum from them after they escaped.
- Jonathan Hogg, 37, was killed in May 2023 entered the dog's pen when it went for him, leaving bite wounds on his arm, leg and head.
- Natasha Johnston, 28, was mauled to death while walking a pack of dogs in January 2023 was believed to have been killed by her own pet - an American Bully XL.
- Shirley Patrick, 83, died 17 days after being mauled in a “hellish”, violent dog attack in December 2022.
- Ian Symes, 34, who was known to friends as "Wiggy", died at a recreation ground in Fareham, Hampshire, after the savage attack in August 2022.
- Joanne Robinson, 43, was fatally mauled by pet Rocco at her home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire in July 2022.
- Keven Jones, 62, went into cardiac arrest after being bitten by Cookie-Doe at Chanel Fong's home in Wrexham, North Wales in May 2022.
- Bella-Rae Birch, one, was mauled to death in March 2022 at her home by the American Bully XL.
- Jack Lis, 10, was killed by a hulking XL Bully dog named Beast in November 2021 as he played at friend's home in Caerphilly.
