A single mother who had part of her cheek ripped off when she was attacked by her friend’s pet dachshund said her “life was ruined” and her self-confidence was “absolutely destroyed” by the scar the dog left behind. Kelly Allen, 45, from Swansea, was having a few drinks at a friend’s house last month when her “very friendly” dogs suddenly changed demeanor and latched onto her face.
The dog refused to loosen its grip until it ripped off most of her cheek to eat it, leaving Kelly with an open wound that required five-and-a-half hours of plastic surgery and more than 40 stitches. The sausage dog was removed from the property by police and later put down.
Kelly is seeking compensation after learning the dog had previously attacked two people, but this could take several years. Kelly’s ordeal continues, as she regularly wakes up at night crying and is unable to return to work at the Tui travel company’s contact center due to the trauma and her physical appearance.
Now she struggles to leave the house without one of her two sons – Fletcher, 19, and Cooper, 18 – and the £350 statutory sick pay she receives each month is not enough to cover her bills and living expenses. Kelly is relying on her family to help her stay afloat and her sister Stacey, 43, started a fundraiser that has received more than £1,000 in donations.
“I can’t get out of bed and I’m crying in my sleep because I can feel his teeth inside me,” Kelly said. “I was left with a terrible scar on my face. It ruined my life because nothing will ever be the same again.
“I now have to buy camouflage makeup for people with facial deformities; This is something I never thought I would have to do. “I’m a single mother and most weeks I don’t have my electricity or gas – it seems so unfair.”
Kelly had gone to a friend’s house for drinks on Friday, March 15. The friend, who did not want to be named, had a dachshund dog that showed no signs of aggression when Kelly arrived around 9.30pm.
“He was very friendly and didn’t show any signs of being an aggressive dog,” he said. “She lay on her back to rub her belly and put her head in my lap a few times.”
But later that evening, Kelly was sitting in the kitchen, leaning against one of the kitchen counters, when the dog’s demeanor suddenly changed. When he looked away for a moment, the dog attacked and sunk its teeth into his cheek.
“I turned my head toward the back door where my friend was standing,” Kelly said. “He didn’t bark or growl or make any noise, he just lunged and clung to my face.
“Then he started to rough it up, shaking his head back and forth. I could feel his teeth deep inside my cheek; “I’m still having flashbacks now.”
Kelly remembers screaming “save him” over and over as blood began to flow down his face. Another friend ran into the kitchen and grabbed the dog’s leash, but the dog’s jaws were locked and wouldn’t let go.
“The only reason he disappeared was because he ripped off that piece of meat and ate it,” he said. “He didn’t release it, he pulled it out and I felt the skin tear.”
When Kelly stumbled to her feet, the dog bit her again, this time on her arm. Fortunately, she managed to free herself and get out of the room.
“I’ve never had so much blood,” he added. “I looked in the mirror right in front of me and thought, ‘damn, I’m in trouble’.”
They called 999 immediately but were told there would be quite a long wait. Fearing he would “bleed to death”, Kelly called a non-drinking friend with them and requested a ride to the accident and emergency at Morriston Hospital.
“They numbed the area and rubbed the wound with something that looked like a Brillo pad because of the bacteria in the dogs’ mouth,” he said. “They bent me over a sink and scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed, scrubbed… it was agony.
“Then they poured water on me for five minutes, it felt like I was being waterboarded. “It was terrible.”
Once his wound was bandaged, Kelly was told he could return home and wait for the plastic surgery team to contact him. At 7.50am she received a call from the hospital telling her to “get back immediately” because she needed surgery.
“I met with the plastics team who explained what they were going to do,” he said. “They were going to take a piece of skin from my neck and transplant it to my face.”
Kelly remained on the operating table for five and a half hours before waking up with a bandage stitched to his face and a seven-inch scar across his collarbone. In total, more than 40 stitches were required; 36 to his chest and 6 to his arm. The ordeal took a heavy toll on his mental health and shook his confidence.
“My self-esteem is completely gone and I don’t go out anymore,” Kelly said. “I don’t know where I would be right now if it wasn’t for my close friends and family.
“I can’t go to the shops anymore unless my son comes with me. I’m not just living my life.
He had not been able to afford to return to work since the attack.
“I can’t go back to work because I can’t face people, I can’t do that,” he said. “I can’t concentrate and I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
The incident has also put a huge strain on Kelly’s finances, as he only receives £350 a month in statutory sick pay. “My employers have been wonderful and really supportive,” she said.
“I am currently making a legal claim but this could take up to two years and in the meantime I have no income. I have no other rights because I am still working and I cannot give up my job to get income support because then I would lose my job. So I’m in a really difficult situation right now.”
To help cover her bills, Kelly’s sister started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, which has already received more than £1,000 in donations. Turns out this wasn’t the first time the dog had attacked someone.
Kelly said he did not want to involve the police, but when hospital staff saw the seriousness of his injuries, they called the police. The dog was later picked up and put down after being taken to a training facility in Cardiff, according to Kelly.
“I later learned that the dog was attacking others,” he said. “The people around me were amazing.
“Thanks to them, I can still wake up every day now. “I don’t think anyone should go through something like this alone.”