A mum who had part of her cheek ripped off by a friend’s pet dog regularly wakes up crying in the middle of the night after her horrific ordeal.
Kelly Allen was enjoying a few drinks at her friend’s house last month when their ‘very friendly’ dachshund attacked her without warning.
The dog latched onto her face and wouldn’t let go until it had torn off a large chunk of Kelly’s cheek – before starting to eat it in front of her.
Kelly, 45 and from Swansea, was left with an open wound which needed five-and-a-half hours of surgery and more than 40 stitches to treat.
The sausage dog was taken by police and later put down.
Kelly is seeking compensation after learning the dog had allegedly attacked two other people before, but this process could take several years.
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.
Kelly hasn’t felt able to return to work at a contact centre for travel company Tui due to the trauma and her physical appearance.
She explained: ‘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.
‘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.’
To help her stay afloat, Kelly is depending on her family and her sister Stacey, 43, has launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe which has received more than £1,000 in donations.
There has been an increase in attention on dog attacks in the UK in recent months since the government added XL Bullys to the list of banned breeds in England.
Several people have been killed or seriously injured by the large dogs, which now can’t be walked in public unless they’ve been muzzled.
But attacks by breeds which aren’t banned are still a problem and can cause devastating injuries to their victims.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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