A one-year-old girl who had her lipped torn in two and was left needing skin grafts after the family’s ‘perfect’ St Bernard tried to rip her face off is still ‘traumatised’ by the attack nearly a year ago, her horrified mother has said.
The pet – weighing 132lbs and standing at 6ft tall on its hind legs – had to be put down following the incident, when mother Lizanne Naudé, 32, from Johannesburg, South Africa, found little Mené covered in blood.
The toddler also had a ‘huge wound near her neck’ from the completely unexpected assault.
Ms Naudé has told of how the horrific onslaught, which still haunts the family, seemingly came out of nowhere as the dog was ‘house trained and perfect with the kids’.
Last year her young daughter Mené was sat with one of their family dogs in the kitchen while father Jaco, 32, cooked the dinner.
Out of the blue, the St Bernard, which dwarfed the tiny girl, was overcome with a random bout of aggression and sank his teeth into her face.
Following the incident, mother Lizanne Naudé, 32, from Johannesburg, South Africa, found little Mené (pictured) covered in blood
Ms Naudé (pictured with Mené) has told of how the horrific onslaught, which still haunts the family, seemingly came out of nowhere
The dog left Mené with blood pouring down her face and neck from her countless wounds. Ms Naudé ran inside when she heard screams.
She said: ‘I saw bite marks and blood, and Mené was screaming.
‘At this stage, I wasn’t thinking about anything except to comfort her and try to stop the blood.
‘I had no idea what I was doing but it was instinctive, I wanted to keep her close to me.’
Mené’s entire face was bandaged up to the point that her skin was barely visible – and the parents had no idea how she would look until the bandages came off. Pictured left as she is now, and right following the horror assault
Father Jaco, 32, pictured with the family St Bernard which was put down after the gruesome attack
The horrified parents rushed Mené to hospital where doctors operated on her wounds, including a deep cut across her neck, and a tear from her top lip all the way up to her nose.
They had to do skin grafts and realign her skin to reform her lip, as well as attend to her deep neck wound.
Speaking about the day of the attack, the mother-of-two said: ‘Her lip was completely ripped open and she had a huge wound near her neck – it’s amazing that didn’t hit a major artery.
‘We had no idea how she would even look after the skin grafts and face surgery because she was so bandaged up.’
Ms Naudé said she and her husband still have nightmares about the incident, which took place on August 22, 2021.
The horrified parents rushed Mené to hospital where doctors operated on her wounds, including a deep cut across her neck, and a tear from her top lip all the way up to her nose
Speaking about the day of the attack, the mother-of-two said: ‘We had no idea how she would even look after the skin grafts and face surgery because she was so bandaged up’
She added: ‘It’s been nearly a year now but the impact has been huge – it’s hard not to think about the worst that could have happened.
‘My daughter and son are both traumatised and my husband and I both have nightmares about it.
‘We had had him almost a year and he was house trained and perfect with the kids – he’d never flinch and we’d never had any issues but that day he just changed.
‘He gave no signs he was going to attack – animal instinct you can never really trust and you need to be aware of it.
Ms Naudé (pictured with her children) said she and her husband still have nightmares about the incident, which took place on August 22, 2021
‘We’re thankful at the end of the day because it could have been so much more serious, but it’s been a hell of a rollercoaster.’
The day after the attack, the pet was being bundled into the car to go to the SPCA shelter, when it savaged Jaco’s arm too.
It was decided by vets that a dog who attacked on more than one occasion was too much of a risk and could not be rehabilitated – and it had to be put down.
‘I couldn’t understand it,’ Ms Naudé said. ‘In that moment, it was like having a different dog.’
Every week the family would have to return to the hospital to check all fourteen wounds to ensure none of them had become infected
Now, Mené’s wounds have healed although she has been left with lots of red scars that she is having treatment for at a scar clinic
Every week the family would have to return to the hospital to check all fourteen wounds to ensure none of them had become infected.
Mené’s entire face was bandaged up to the point that her skin was barely visible – and the parents had no idea how she would look until the bandages came off.
Now, Mené’s wounds have healed although she has been left with lots of red scars that she is having treatment for at a scar clinic.
But the trauma has left her unable to speak properly and she still ‘babbles’ now – despite being able to say some words before the accident.
Ms Naudé said: ‘It has had a traumatic effect on her and on our whole family.
‘We still don’t understand it – Mené used to love sitting next to Bernie and stroking his fur.
‘He loved it too, she would never pull his fur or ears, even at a young age.
‘But we are very thankful at the end of the day – the doctor said we are lucky everything was well aligned so it didn’t hit her eye or neck.
‘It could have been so much worse and hopefully by the age of ten she won’t have any visible scars left.’
