Three-year-old girl mauled by dog at friend's house needed three-hour facial surgery

Elouise Smith, three, was mauled by a Staffy-cross at a play date at a friend's house in Doncaster, her family said. Mother Stacey Louise Murray, 33, said she "felt sick" when she picked up Elouise and she was covered in blood with puncture wounds down to the bone.

She was angry at first - but says she has remained friends with the owners of the dog, which has now been destroyed.

Stacey, a senior care assistant for a charity, said: "Apparently the dog bit her once, let go, and then it sat next to her and she was sat next to the dog trying to calm it down. She was crying when I got to the house and her face was wrapped up in a white towel.

"As I put my hands out to get her and the towel dropped revealing her injuries it made me feel sick, but I couldn't have shown any emotion as it would have made her feel worse. It makes you feel awful as a mum because I wasn't there. My partner couldn't even look at her - it just made him cry."

Elouise was rushed to Rotherham Hospital, where she underwent three hours of surgery on Friday (Dec 1).

Stacey said: "She had a through-and-through bite to the bottom of her right cheek that went through to her jaw and then she had cut in corner of her eye that needed to be stitched. She had another cut that needed to be stitched and a gash on her cheekbone that needed to be stitched too. When the surgeon came out of theatre he said it took longer than anticipated as it was deeper than they originally thought - so it was a three-hour surgery instead of one.

"We were pacing up and down - we were just desperate for it all to go well. She said when we were in the hospital, 'its my fault, I'm sorry'. I said it's not your fault and she was blaming herself. That was heartbreaking for me to hear her say that."

Stacey is now worried about letting Elouise leave her side but says she is proud of how resilient she's been.

She said: "I don't worry necessarily about any potential scarring as it's her own story to tell as she gets older but I worry about leaving her alone with anybody at the minute - she's not left my side and I don't think she will for a while. She was a little trooper bless her. She was trying to reassure the dog after it bit her - she's so resilient."

Stacey has said they are still friends with the owners of the dog.

She added: "At first emotions were heightened and we were very angry but as time has gone on emotions have settled and now Elouise has come out the other side. They're feeling it as well. I couldn't imagine having to ring someone to tell them that their dog had bit their child.

"But there's nothing we could have done as parents to prevent it. We allowed her to go for dinner and have a play date. We can't go back, it's happened now."

A funding page has been launched to support Elouise and her family.

A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "We were called on 1 December at 4.36pm by hospital staff to reports of a girl with dog bites. It is reported that the three-year-old girl sustained dog bites to the face from a Staffy-type dog, earlier that afternoon at a property on The Crescent, Doncaster.

"The girl received treatment at hospital, where her injuries were believed to be serious but not life threatening. Officers attended the address where the incident was reported to have happened and where the owners disclaimed their dog. The dog was later destroyed. Enquiries have concluded and no arrests have been made in connection with the incident."