EDITOR’S NOTE: Names have been removed and updated from an earlier version of this story.
A girl attacked and critically injured by two Saint Bernard dogs near Haliburton, Ont., on Sunday continues to slowly recover at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, her father says.
According to the girl’s father, around 4 p.m. his six-year-old daughter and his wife were jogging along Gainforth Road just south of Haliburton when the two “150-pound” dogs attacked the girl.
He says the girl’s injuries were extensive and she was rushed by an Ornge air ambulance to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital where she underwent 4.5 hours of surgery, which included nearly 400 stitches to her face and most of her body. His wife was taken to hospital for injuries and later released.
OPP on Thursday morning said they continue to investigate the incident and no charges have yet been laid. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit says the dogs were placed in quarantine for 10 days following the incident.
The father has declined media interviews, instead offering recovery updates on Facebook.
“She is stable now,” he wrote on Sunday night.
The man credits his wife for saving their daughter’s life by jumping on her to intervene in the dogs’ attack. He calls her the “hero who God did a miracle through.”
“She has much back and arm trauma but was not requiring surgery,” said the father of two girls.
He says his daughter was initially in “good spirits” after Sunday’s surgery but had to wait for swelling to reduce.
“She has been in good spirits at times and she told a nurse today that people will see God because of her hurts,” he wrote on Monday. “Such an amazing little girl. My girl, my princess.”
While swelling was “mildly reduced” on Tuesday, the father says extensive injuries to the girl’s mouth and cheeks means she has been unable to eat food larger than “the size of a pea” with enduring extreme pain.
“Some of the trauma went through her cheek into her mouth and so she is struggling to eat,” he said. “We want her to gain strength and food will help that.”
She drinks chocolate milk as a “treat” twice a day after each bandage change, the father wrote.
Hospitalization is also taking its toll on his little girl.
“She is talking, she dreads the facial cleanings and brings her to tears just mentioning it,” he said. “When she cry’s it hurts her face, so it’s just a vicious cycle.”
He also noted his daughter is having vision issues and may require additional treatment to her right eye. She will require the use of a walker to assist with mobility when she is released from hospital.
“We are hopeful that through prayer and reduced swelling this will get better,” he said on Wednesday afternoon. “She’s such a tough kid, like incredibly tough.”
He noted an emotional moment on Wednesday when he took the six-year-old out of her hospital room on a wheelchair and toured around the floor.
“It was good for her although she wondered if people would be scared by her.
“Daddy stepped in and let her know her protector here on Earth knows she is beautiful and others will too.
“Think that truly broke my heart, but after some time she’s seen others not stare or point and the staff here at Sick Kids are champs, just top-notch world-class people.”
He says his family has been overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from the community and online. That includes a crowdsourcing fundraiser to support the family that has already raised more than $19,000 by late Thursday afternoon.
“We really appreciate you all. I can’t believe the outcrying of prayers here, thank you from all of us,” he said.
The father is also holding onto a promise to take his family to Disneyland once their ordeal is over.
“I feel bad but I’m encouraging her with the thought of a trip to Disneyland when this is all over,” he said. “I just wanna give this beautiful little creation something to set her sights on in the midst of all this pain.
“Her questions break my heart, her body just randomly shakes at times and she tells me moments afterwards that it’s just a cracking pain in a certain cut, I’m just beside myself.
“But again truly thankful to God for sparing her, just still in total disbelief. Thank you for holding us up, I can’t stress enough how much I mean that from the bottom of my soul.”
Update April 17
The father reports his daughter will have stitches removed on Friday.
“If all goes well and they are pleased with the healing when they remove them she will be discharged tomorrow as well,” he said.
The GoFundMe Page has received more than $25,000 in donations as of 10:30 a.m. Friday.
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