Mum scarred by dangerous dog

A mum left scarred for life after being mauled by a powerful American Akita dog says she can no longer look at her savaged face in a mirror. Sylvia Baillie was pictured lying in hospital with her face bloodied and stitched back together after the savage attack. The 60-year-old was at a neighbour’s home and went to pat three-year-old Kioshi when it pounced on her, the Daily Record reported . The attack left her needing an emergency op and so many stitches that doctors lost count and having to be tube-fed. Speaking for the first time since her ordeal, Sylvia, of Paisley, said: “I’m distraught. I’ve had flashbacks of the dog launching itself at my face and I can’t sleep.
“A surgeon told me that he had never seen a dog bite as bad.
“I’d been at the house and as I got up to leave I went to pat the dog on the head when it just jumped at me and bit into my face.
“I remember the dog on me as I fell, then I passed out. I woke up in hospital and the doctors wouldn’t show me my face.

“When I asked how many stitches I had, they said they didn’t know. They just had to keep stitching and stitching to re-attach my face.
Everything was done under local anaesthetic as I have heart problems and can’t go under general anaesthetic. I felt the needle going in and out my face as they tried to patch it up.
“After the op, I went to the bathroom and that’s when I saw my face. I’m devastated at how this has left me.
“I can’t bring myself to look in the mirror now. The injuries are disgusting.
Police initially couldn’t find the owners or the dog – but hours after the attack, an American Akita was put up for sale on Gumtree for £50. Sylvia said: “I couldn’t believe it. I recognised the dog straight away as the one that attacked me.
“It’s so reckless to try and sell it on. They know how evil it is. To risk someone else going through what I have for £50 is ludicrous.”
The seller, “Brian”, did not respond to our emails but after we published pictures of Sylvia's injuries, the ad was removed.

Sylvia before the attack

Police seized the dog on Monday. A man and woman will be reported to the procurator fiscal.
Sylvia said: “I want that dog put down and the owners held responsible. It’s been a hellish experience.”