Heard horrible news today from a friend....

[dismom2]

Her nose was completely bitten off and they bandaged her nose and sent her home the same day? I find that hard to believe.

 

[SandrA9810]

Her nose was completely bitten off and they bandaged her nose and sent her home the same day? I find that hard to believe.

Well if she isn't bleeding to death, what is she going to do laying in a hospital bed?

The parents denied the hospital surgeon, and want to go their own route. So it's their choice to take their daughter home to take care of things. There isn't much more the hospital can do for the child.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

Her nose was completely bitten off and they bandaged her nose and sent her home the same day? I find that hard to believe.

I don't recall the specific details, but when the same thing happened to my DH's friend's wife, I remember that her first surgery wasn't scheduled until a few days afterwards. It happened when she was camping on the weekend in a remote area, so the small regional medical center had her sent by ambulance to a large hospital in Seattle. I remember DH reading the email from his friend on Monday morning (the friend was a coworker so he had to send a "I won't be in the office this week" email) and his wife had gone home after being patched up at the hospital, and her first surgery was scheduled for later on in the week.

If you think about it, once the wound is bandaged and pain killers (and probably antibiotics) have been given, it's no longer an "emergency". It's horrific, but it's not something that can't wait for surgery to be planned and scheduled.

I have no reason to doubt the OP's post, based on what happened to DH's friend last year. Seriously, you don't just re-attach a nose. This is complex plastic surgery that takes multiple operations to fix. They are going to have to take skin grafts from other parts of her body (DH's friend had skin taken from her cheek - for months, she would scratch her nose and her cheek would itch) in order to re-build the tissue.

 

[sparklynails23]

Plastic surgeons are absolutely called in for emergencies all the time, but a nose isn't something you can reattach, like a finger, so I can see where the first (or maybe it's considered the second) surgery would not take place right away. If I were her parents, I would make up some story about the vet diagnosing the dog with a painful brain tumor and recommending the dog be put down, and then I would have the dog put to sleep. You can't take the chance of the dog biting again.

 

[Imzadi]

Plastic surgeons are absolutely called in for emergencies all the time, but a nose isn't something you can reattach, like a finger, so I can see where the first (or maybe it's considered the second) surgery would not take place right away. If I were her parents, I would make up some story about the vet diagnosing the dog with a painful brain tumor and recommending the dog be put down, and then I would have the dog put to sleep. You can't take the chance of the dog biting again.

I guess not being able to reattach the nose is where everyone is having a problem with this story. I kept asking, "Where is the rest of the nose?" I was thinking, that like a dislodged tooth can only be put back in within 24 hours, if the tooth is soaking in milk, then where is the rest of the nose, so it can be reattached?

But, if the whole nose is going to be completely reconstructive surgery, they I can see why they would wait for a GOOD surgeon, so there would be less overall scarring. I would think what the first surgeon does will make a world of difference in how the end result will be, even if there are many subsequent surgeries by others afterward.


As for the dog, it would be best for the dad to say the dog has been moved to live somewhere else, since he can't stay in the house anymore. Then take him to be put down. The little girl doesn't need the guilt of feeling what happened to her got the dog killed.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

But, if the whole nose is going to be completely reconstructive surgery, they I can see why they would wait for a GOOD surgeon, so there would be less overall scarring. I would think what the first surgeon does will make a world of difference in how the end result will be, even if there are many subsequent surgeries by others afterward.

You got it. Because the nose is all soft tissue and cartilage, a dog attack pretty much destroys it. All you can do is rebuild it, in stages, allowing time between surgeries for the swelling to go down and for grafted skin to attach.

I remember seeing DH's friend who was involved in a similar dog attack, before her last surgery (but after several surgeries). The last surgery was just to "shape" the new nose, but at that point it already looked pretty good. Minimal scarring - you wouldn't have known anything had happened unless you really looked at it up close. I'm sure finding a good plastic surgeon is key to as ideal a recovery as possible.

The whole thing is totally horrific, though - a terrible thing to happen to a child. I hope she makes a full recovery, both physically and emotionally.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Never gonna give you up.. oh.. uhm. I think I've been reading DISboards too much when I think every post is a troll post.

If its not.. I do wish her a non disfigured recovery... However the waiting multiple days for surgery sets off alarms in my head.

~Bill

I wouldn't worry about Desnik, Bill. She is far from being a troll around here, far, far from it.

Nikki, good wishes and prayers for your friend's daughter and her complete recovery. Reconstructive surgery today is pretty stunning, I am sure the long term result will be a good one. My best.

 

[ilovemk76]

And I can't get it out of my mind. My friend/neighbor has an 8 yr old DD who was attacked by their dog last night. The dog bit her nose off. My friend was hysterical crying as she tried to relay the story. I just held her and cried with her. It's so terrible. When it happened her DD was telling her dad not to be mad at the dog. She was so worried about the dog getting in trouble! Poor kid! She will have surgery on Wed so please say a prayer for this little girl and for her parents & siblings. They are all a wreck over this. Thank you.

That poor kid and her family. Prayers sent.

 

[4nana]

Never gonna give you up.. oh.. uhm. I think I've been reading DISboards too much when I think every post is a troll post.

If its not.. I do wish her a non disfigured recovery... However the waiting multiple days for surgery sets off alarms in my head.

~Bill

EvoldicA ~ however, why a #33 poster would call a #7,278 poster a possible troll has me ....are you serious??!?!



Desnik, I'm so very sorry about your friend's DD - what a horrific thing to have happen.....I can't imagine.

Sending big hugs and prayers this sweet child. I pray she has a successful surgery and complete recovery physically and emotionally.

 

[Desnik]

Thank you all for understanding and explaining better than I was able to about the specifics of such an incident. Also thank you to those who stuck up for me! Seriously, me a troll that's just so crazy!

Anyway, I have a much better understanding of what happened today. This morning I saw the family. The parents are heading into the city with their DD to see the plastic surgeon.(he was one of the consulting Dr's for the face transplant in Spain, so they are confident he will help their DD) This little girl has a twin sister and the twin sister was here with me this morning and she goes on the bus to school with my DS. My DS was still sleeping when they arrived thankfully because the parents are still a wreck. The little girl, although bandaged up, looked normal, spoke as best she could and told me she was taking her camera so she could take pictures of the buildings as they drove into the city! This kid is one tough cookie & is just remarkable! We were all teary eyed and she just wanted to say hi to my dog! (I have a Yorkie & I locked her up before they came)

What realy broke my heart and has me shaking as I type this is the twin sister. Let's just call her "M". She is a mess. I didn't want her to think about anything so I put the tv on and started talking about anything I could think of. She asked to see my dog and I let her and she played with her a bit and then the tears came. She tells me she is so frightened of her dog. Who apparently is still locked up in their garage! I'm guessing they just can't deal with it yet, I don't know. Anyway with her in my arms she starts crying some more and I guess she just needed to talk about it because she told me everything. They share a room and M was sleeping in her bunk bed and her sister was suppose to be sleeping but she was on the floor playing with the dog who BTW, isn't allowed in their room. But this kid loved her dog and always wanted to be with it. The girl bit the dog's ear! The dog attacked, biting her face 3 times. After the first bit M woke up and saw the rest happen! She said the nose was off and on the floor! The father did get it and brought it to the hospital but nothing could be done with it. The horrors that these children had to witness is so heart breaking. Having suffered from PTSD I know it when I see it and I'm going to recommend to the parents to have their kids talk to someone. M doesn't want to go back in her room, both girls have been sleeping in the living room. She hates the dog and is so fearful. My DS dropped a book at she jumped in her seat. It is so very sad. She had tears in her eyes and she was so worried for her sister as she had to get on the bus to go to school. I was hugging and kissing her but its no match for her own moms comfort that she needed then.

This whole thing does make me angry too. Why take an abused dog home with kids? Why does a shelter let a dog go home with a family with small children? Why the hell is the dog still around? Why, why, why??

 

[Tuffcookie]

Desnik,

You are a good friend/neighbor.

I'm sorry if I came across as harsh. It's a terrible thing that happened, regardless of the circumstances.

Prayers that the doctors will be able to do something for this young girl.

TC

 

[Tuffcookie]

duplicate post.

 

[Imzadi]

Desnik

As you said, the parents are still a wreck. They are probably barely holding together themselves and can't deal with much now. Since the dog is no imminent danger, they just put the dog in the garage until they can deal with it.

But, as the two gals are sleeping in the living room, it IS because they fear the dog will get in there again and go after them.

Because the parents are a wreck and thinking about the nose, they probably haven't realized how much M has been affected. It probably didn't occur to them that she saw the majority of it. I'm glad you got to be there for her.

Yes, BOTH children need some counseling. Even though the one girl got bit by a dog she knows, which might make it less traumatic than if it was a random dog, she has been affected more than she seems to be letting on. She might also be holding back, of she fears her dad might do something to the dog.

The dog needs to go. Right away. It would better for both the girls. Maybe then, the girl can let out her real feelings.

Observing it from where you are, it might be helpful to the parents to mention what you are noticing and what M had said to you. They are probably overwhelmed right now. Someone outside of this saying to them, in essence, "You need to look at this over here," might be what they need.

 

[MrsDuck]

How terrible!!

I hope that they can find a great plastic surgeon who can help her. I feel awful for this family and the girls. I couldn't imagine witnessing that!

The family is in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Those poor little girls!

I'm wondering - could you and/or DH offer to help with the dog to take it to their vet to be put down? I seriously don't know if I'd want to even be around the dog that bit my child so severely let alone to take care of it in any way. I don't know if you'd be interested or if that would be overstepping bounds but, IMHO, I'd be more than appreciative if a friend would help in this way.

I do agree with PP - the girl who got bit needs to "know" that her dog is ok but the girl who watched the attack needs to "know" that NO other child will get hurt by this dog. Maybe the girls could be told that the dog went to live in a home with only adults who will take care of it but know how to train it to never bite? Will they be young enough to buy the story?

My heart goes out to that whole family for what they have suffered and for what they will be suffering for a very long time - long after the final stitches have been removed.

 

[minkydog]

My heart goes out to your friend and her child. There are no winners in this. Hopefully the dog will go to a shelter where they try to rehabilitate such behavior.

Prayers for her recovery.

I'm pretty sure this dog is destined to die. I can't imagine ANY rescue group being willing to "rehabilitate" a dog who BIT A KID'S NOSE OFF!! It's really a shame that the parents 1) brought this particular dog into their home knowing it had an abusive history and 2) allowed the dog to be alone with their children without supervision. I am sympathetic with the parents because I know how hard it is to supervise kids 24/7. But this was a tragedy just waiting to happen. Not a matter of if, but when. And I'm sure the parents will be beating themselves up for the rest of their life. My heart goes out to all of them.

 

[Jeniferdwn]

i guess having been through a very similar situation, my family sees it slightly different. We had a GSD that was very protective of my brothers and myself. He wouldn't let anything or anyone get anywhere close to us. We knew he had arthritis in his hip and he limped slightly. My brothers were always playfighting and my youngest brother pushed my middle brother and he fell on the dog. It hurt the dog and he turned around and bit my brother in the head. It ripped his scalp all the way down to his skull and scraped his skull. He had to have a surgeon come in and sew it up from the inside out. One of the nurses told him if he cried she'd make my mom leave the room. that's a whole story in itself. Imagine a nurse saying that to a kid in pain. Anyway.....my family really loved the dog, and my brother was more upset over the fact that the dog may have to be put to sleep than anything else. We had the dog quarantined and tested for whatever they tested for back then and after 6 weekd, Bear came home. We knew not to touch his hip and he never even growled at anyone again. He was just hurt and he reacted like any animal would when hurt. As much as I love a dog, they are still animals. And they must be respected as such. Rehome the dog to an older person/family that can be more capable of handling the dog in a way that can better suit the dogs nature. He doesn't have to be put down.

 

[DisTeach1]

Well, I live in California, so maybe the laws are different here...BUT

I'm surprised the doctor didn't report it to animal control, because that's what they have to do here. Then before the animal can be put to sleep, it has to be quarantined for 10 days to make sure that no diseases become apparent. Not sure why that's the law, but it is.

So, I am surprised that animal control has not come to get the dog.

 

[DipsyDoodles]

Maybe you should suggest helping the mom/dad contact animal control? You could say, you understand that right now their focus is on their daughter and that you would be happy to find out what steps need to be taken to have the dog removed from their home. As long as the parents are inclined to do that.

 

[zalansky]

Desnik - so very sorry to read about this, just reading it is upsetting. I can't imagine what the poor parents are going through...let alone the girl and her sister. Just another example of how life can change in an instant. Did you ever tell us what kind of dog it is? I would like to know because we just got a puppy and this makes me nervous. I know you said it was an abused shelter dog, but still. I think that dog needs to be put down, period. All the stories on here make me nervous because my DD (6) plays with the puppy we got on the floor and he plays back, never aggressively...but all it takes it the wrong angle and she could lose an eye etc. Makes me really think!