Woman's lips and nose almost ripped from face by pet dog
A woman had her lips and nose almost ripped completely from her face by one of her pet dogs that turned on her during a routine walk outside for it to go to the bathroom.
Rebecca Oelker, 24, from the US state of Connecticut, started the morning of January 14 like any other by waking up early and going downstairs to take her blue heelers, Maverick and Apollo, outside.
Maverick happened to be behaving differently that day and began growling before attacking Ms Oelker’s hands and arms.
She was then knocked to the ground and Maverick attacked her face, almost biting her upper lip and nose completely off, coming back four times to attack her again.
The military police officer said she feared she was going to die if she didn’t get to safety, so she rang her partner, Stuart, who was at work, for help.
Stuart encouraged Ms Oelker to get back upstairs and into the safety of the bathroom, away from her dogs.
Six minutes later, paramedics arrived and rushed her to hospital, where she was admitted to surgery to reattach her lips and nose to her face with over 100 stitches.
Ms Oelker was in hospital for a week before being discharged, suffering severe swelling to
her face and a loss of sensation in her nose and upper lip.
In addition to her facial injuries, she had to learn how to feed herself and hold a cup of tea as nerve damage to her arms and hands meant she couldn’t hold utensils like she used to.
Maverick was put down and since her ordeal, Ms Oelker has spoken to other dog attack
victims and is sharing her story to show that survival is possible.
“It’s changed my perspective of life, of death, and of how quickly everything can change in a
heartbeat. It’s rocked everyone’s world, but I don’t think there was ever a doubt in anyone’s
mind (including my own) that I would pull through. I think it’s brought us [my family] all
closer,” she said.
“It’s been a slow process, but I’ve tried to give myself peace and love and let myself take as
much time as I need to get back to ‘normal’.
“All in all, I feel pretty good. I’ve connected with so many people who have been attacked,
and it’s shown me a side of things I wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise, so it’s not all
bad.”
Ms Oelker still has her other dog, Apollo, and said she initially hesitated over whether to go public with her experience.
“Sharing my story was my way of controlling the narrative, making sure I was the one who
put the information out, and made everyone aware of my condition,” she said.
“This is a part of my story now, and I feel a lot of pride in that, as crazy as it sounds. I won’t hide my face, act embarrassed, or pretend nothing happened. These scars represent the fact that I am a survivor.”
Australscope
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