Dog bites off 7-year-old Utah girl’s nose
ST. GEORGE, Utah (News4Utah) – A 7-year-old girl in Utah has months of medical care ahead of her after a dog bit off her nose.
Grace Mampel told her mom she went to pet the dog when it turned on her.
“I went over to give the dog a hug and started loving on him, and he put one paw on where my heart is, and I tried to get up, and when I tried to run he put one paw on my forehead and he bent down and grabbed my nose. I tried to go but he grabbed on tighter and started shaking it like a chew toy,” Grace said.
Grace has spent her days in the hospital and at multiple doctors appointments since Saturday’s attack. On Tuesday she was in Salt Lake City seeing specialists.
“They have to take some of her rib to rebuild the tip. The surgeries that she’ll have to endure, I don’t know how many, but it’s just … it’s going to be a long road,” said Destiny Mampel, Grace’s mom.
“It’s been hard to go to sleep because I don’t want the bandage to fall off,” Grace said.
“The victim was playing with a friend in the friend’s yard and had called the dog over to pet it, when it lunged at her face and bit her,” said Lona Trombley with St. George police. Officials are quarantining the black lab mix because it has never been licensed or vaccinated.
The St. George community is raising funds trying to help the family with medical bills.
“I never expected this could happen in a million years. I just don’t understand it. It’s hard to keep it together for her,” Destiny said.
The owner has been cited with an infraction for an attacking dog. Police say the dog will be monitored for 10 days to determine if it is deemed vicious. If so, police say the dog would be humanely euthanized at an area vet.