A mum has revealed how her pal's "usually friendly" Labrador leapt at her in a terrifying and unprovoked attack, ripping her lips off.
Charlie O'Dell, 30, had just left the bathroom in her friend's house last month when the dog walked over sunk its teeth into the left side of her mouth, tearing off her top and bottom lip and leaving an artery poking out of her skin.
The mum-of-three saw her blood and passed out before horrified friends rushed her to hospital where she underwent surgery to get the wounds stitched up.
READ MORE: Whole family supporting Brazil at World Cup have six fingers on each hand
A family member said Charlie lost "both the upper and lower lip on the left side of her mouth".
Now, two weeks on from her ordeal, Charlie is slowly starting to heal and is waiting to have three more lip surgeries to make her look "more normal".
The incident wasn't reported to police but the dog is being surrendered to the city of St. Louis, Illinois, USA, with an incident report attached.
She said: "I didn't expect the dog to attack me. It happened so quickly. It was just like how normal dogs see someone and come over and jump on them.
"Dogs shouldn't do that, I get that, but it's so normal. I don't think I felt anything when it hit me, I didn't even realise it took my lip off.
Hundreds strip for jaw-dropping naked calendar to raise money for cancer-hit resident
"My friend put her dog back into the bathroom, and when she turned around to look at me, I pulled my hand down [from my mouth].
"That's when I noticed all the blood was pouring out. I was screaming when I saw my face in the bathroom mirror.
"The whole of my clothes were soaked in blood, and their [my friends'] clothes were soaked too."
It was then that Charlie passed out. She is now forced to only eat small bites of solid food, avoiding anything that requires extensive chewing to prevent damage to her stitches.
"It will leave me with some scars for life," she said.
Her aunt Fawn Terwilliger has started a GoFundMe page to help with household and medical bills, as Charlie is currently out of work.
For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
READ NEXT:
- Man 'has sex with mate's dog in public' before destroying church nativity scene
Schoolgirl, 11, rushed to hospital with broken bones after vicious dog attack
Pit bull that savaged family's pet pooch 'still on the loose and will attack again'
Best motorway service stations for drivers travelling with their dogs this Christmas
Pet rhea left dripping with blood after dog attack as men in camo shout 'kill it'
Source: Read Full Article