'My baby girl was covered in blood': Five-year-old's lip bitten in horrific dog attack
WARNING – GRAPHIC IMAGES: A little girl has become the victim of a vicious dog attack in Queensland.
Zoe Nolan, 5, was playing at her neighbour’s house in Nambour on the Sunshine Coast on September 16 when her mum says a dog living at the property “jumped up and knocked her to the ground”.
Her mother, Tegan Bonner, said "at no point in time was she aware" that Zoe would be let out the back of the neighbour's house to play with a dog "they had for only approximately three weeks".
Ms Bonner said the dog bit her daughter’s face after knocking her to the ground.
It was only after hearing from the neighbours that she knew her daughter had suffered a horrific injury.
“My mother came screaming in to me saying my daughter needed to be rushed to hospital,” she said.
“I flew out the door to see my baby girl covered in blood screaming, scared, I took the face washer off her face to see what the damage was and almost fainted.”
The five-year-old was rushed to Sunshine Coast University Hospital, but unfortunately the family’s anguish didn’t come to an end there.
“They told me they couldn't fix her lip there due to the extent of the injury and I needed to see a plastic surgeon at the Lady Cilento hospital in Brisbane so we were transferred there,” Ms Bonner said.
“Zoe didn't have surgery until 24 hours after the attack had happened due to a lot of emergencies of other children we stayed in hospital from the Saturday until the Tuesday.”
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Ms Bonner said doctors were happy with Zoe’s healing.
A Sunshine Coast Council spokesman said the dog was euthanised after being surrendered to council.
"The investigation into the attack is still underway," he said.
Council believes the dog was a Dalmatian and Labrador cross-breed, The Sunshine Coast Daily reports.
"My daughter is now scared of dogs and that upsets me because she used to adore them," Ms Bonner said.
"She's a big animal lover she was having nightmares for the first couple of days after the attack, which was heartbreaking."
Seven News Online has contacted Sunshine Coast Council for comment.
