A mum has shared her trauma after her daughter was attacked by a neighbour’s dog – leaving her unrecognisable with deep gashes and severe bruising.
Paula Gaughan, 32, a teacher from Glasgow, lives with her three-year-old daughter Stella and regularly visits her parents, Tommy, 65 and Bridie, 60 who often babysit.
As Stella is a lover of all animals and dreams of becoming a vet, she took a strong liking to her grandparents’ neighbour’s dog, Peter, a terrier – who she would often feed treats.
After the pup passed away, Stella was left heartbroken and longed to have another furry friend who she could run around and play with.
Soon, a new dog appeared next door called Jack, a 10-year-old lurcher who was rescued from a local rehoming centre.
When her grandparents were babysitting one evening on 8 May, she was in the garden with a packet of crisps, where she proceeded to drop a few for the dog.
But then, Paula received a call which no parent wants to hear – that her daughter had been attacked.
“It was the worst call I had ever received and initially, I thought she had hit her head or fallen over – I didn’t think for one minute she could have been attacked,” she told NeedToKnow.online.
“I was in total disbelief, as my brain couldn’t process the information and it was torture knowing I wasn’t there to help.
“I thought she may have a cut or some bruises on her arm, but after finding out she had suffered severe gashes to her face, I was devastated.
“My parents were looking after her one evening as I had an important meeting the next day, so this gave me a chance to prepare and relax.
“As this was a nice evening, they were outside in the garden and noticed their neighbour had cut his hedges, so helped out by clearing up.
“Upon his return, he thanked my parents and started chatting with them.
“Stella was eating a packet of crisps and was giving the crumbs to the dog, where she tipped them out onto the floor so he could easily get to them.
“There was no indication the dog was unhappy, as he was wagging his tail – but then she proceeded to place her head on his back.
“Suddenly, he growled and before my mum could get a word in, he bit Stella.”
The three-year-old was rushed to Hairmyres hospital and upon arriving, it was clear how severe her injuries were – with dog teeth marks situated right below her eye.
Paula, who shared a clip of her daughter’s injuries with her 30,000 followers on Instagram (@montessoriplaying), said: “She was worse than I had expected, especially given how close the bite marks were to her eye.
“The medical team kept saying she was so lucky, as if the dog’s teeth sunk in slightly higher, her eye would’ve popped out.
“Her face was black and blue with bruising and she also had a concussion as she fell over onto the concrete due to the dog’s force.
“She had another long gash down her cheek, which pulls on the skin and causes a dimple-like indentation – where she later suffered an infection.
“She started weeping puss and gunge out of her wound and they put her on strong antibiotics.
“Due to the severity, she was given an adult dose as well as a tetanus injection and, as she’s so tiny, she started suffering a bad reaction where she was left bed bound.”
Two weeks later, she was referred to the trauma centre at their local children’s hospital where they were told she should have received surgery immediately.
As a result, she will likely suffer scarring – but plans for plastic surgery to be performed in a bid to “save” her face will take place in a few months.
Paula said: “As part of the aftercare, she will need plastic surgery to have her skin “fixed” and while she is healing, there are precautions we need to take.
“We’ve been told to keep her out of the sun and apply factor 50 sun cream every day for the next two years, which is especially difficult with the summer months coming up.
“Recently, we participated in a challenge called ‘1,000 hours outdoors’ which we were really enjoying – now, she’s afraid to go outside.
“She was really confident before and such a happy little girl, as well as the biggest animal lover.
“It’s hard to see her face after the accident due to the injuries she’s sustained, as she will be scarred for life and her perfect little face is damaged.”
Now, medics are waiting for her wounds to heal before they can provide further treatment – but the plucky tot is showing signs of recovery.
However, Paula has fears for her daughter’s future and has started to experience trauma-induced anxiety.
She added: “I’m usually quite laid back, but now I worry all the time about her safety, especially while I’m not with her.
“I’m worried this will affect her dreams of becoming a vet and most importantly, if she will be self-conscious of her face.
“I don’t want this to be the first thing kids ask about at school, as it is quite visible and I know kids are curious.
“But this will make her aware she’s ‘different’ and I really don’t want this to impact her as she grows up.
“This can happen to anyone, even if you don’t have a dog in the house and I think people need to be more vigilant.
“Even if your dog is placid and couldn’t hurt a fly, they have instincts and as they can’t tell you if you’re annoying them, they’ll do what’s natural to them.
“I don’t blame the next-door neighbour for the attack – but once we never have to see this dog again, I hope we can begin to recover from this trauma.”
