Toddler’s horror injuries after ‘perfect’ family dog ​​tries to rip her face off

Exclusive:

Little Mené, one, was scarred after the family’s dog, Bernie, suddenly pounced on her face – leaving the one-year-old covered in blood

A toddler was left with horrific injuries after the family’s ‘perfect’ Saint Bernard tried to rip her face off – and had to be put down.

Mum Lizanne Naudé, 32, ran to help when she heard screams for her in the kitchen – and found her one-year-old covered in blood.

The mother-of-two realized her St. Bernard – who weighed 60kg and was 6ft tall on his hind legs – had attacked her baby daughter Mené and bitten her on the face.

The tot was left scarred and required skin grafts after Bernie the dog’s giant teeth tore through her skin and ripped her lip in two.

Lizanne, from Johannesburg, South Africa, says the dog was a well-behaved family pet who was once “calm and easygoing” – and had never behaved like this before.

But after the dog smashed his teeth into father Jaco Naudé’s arm as they put him in the car to drive to the RSPCA, he had to be euthanized.

Now head of tech support Lizanne is ready to warn other parents that “animal instincts can never really be trusted” after the attack came out of nowhere – and left the entire family traumatized.

She said: “I heard screams and as soon as I saw them my maternal instinct kicked in – I was just thinking of how to stop the blood flowing.

“Her lip was completely ripped open and she had a huge wound near her neck – it’s amazing it didn’t hit a major artery.

“We had no idea what she would even look like after skin grafts and facial surgery because she was so bandaged.

“It’s been almost 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 traumatized and my husband and I both have nightmares about it.

“We had him for almost a year and he was housebroken and perfect with the kids – he never flinched and we never had any problems, but that day he just changed.

“He gave no indication that he would attack – an animal instinct that you can never really trust and you have to be aware of that.

“At the end of the day we’re grateful because it could have been so much more serious, but it’s been one hell of a rollercoaster ride.”

Lizanne shared how the horrific attack that happened on August 22, 2021 came completely out of the blue.

Their little daughter Mené, one year old, sat in the kitchen with one of their family dogs while dad Jaco, 32, cooked dinner.

Out of the blue, the St. Bernard outshining the little girl was overcome by a willful bout of aggression and smashed his fangs into her face.

The dog left Mené with blood running down her face and neck from her myriad wounds – and mum Lizanne ran inside when she heard screams from her daughter as well as Jaco and her son Lihan, four.

Lizanne said: “I saw bite marks and blood and Mené screamed.

“At that point all I could think of was to comfort her and try to stop the bleeding.

“I had no idea what I was doing, but it was instinctive, I wanted to keep her close.”

The horrified parents rushed the tot to the hospital, where doctors operated on her wounds, including a deep cut across her neck and a tear from her upper lip to her nose.

They had to do skin grafts and realign her skin to reform her lip as well as tend to her deep throat wound.

The next day, the dog was being packed into the car to go to the SPCA shelter when it also injured Jaco’s arm.

Vets decided that a dog that had attacked more than once was too great a risk to be rehabilitated – and he had to be euthanized.

“I couldn’t understand it,” Lizanne said. “In that moment, it was like having another dog.”

She added: “He was absolutely fine for almost a year.

“Up to this point he had been perfect with the children. He was well trained and we never had any problems with him.”

Every week the family had to return to the hospital to check all 14 wounds to make sure none of them had become infected.

Mené’s entire face was bandaged so that her skin was barely visible – and the parents had no idea what she would look like until the bandages were removed.

The impact on the whole family was debilitating – Lizanne and Jaco had regular nightmares about it, while little Lihan kept telling friends at school how bad it was.

Now Mené’s wounds have healed, although she has left many red scars that she has treated in a scar clinic.

But the trauma left her unable to speak properly and she’s still “babbles” now – although she was able to say a few words before the accident.

Lizanne said: “It had a traumatic impact on her and our entire family.

“We still don’t get it – Mené used to love to sit next to Bernie and pet his fur.

“He loved it too, she would never pull his fur or his ears, even when he was young.

“But at the end of the day we’re very grateful – the doctor said we were lucky everything lined up well so it didn’t hit her eye or her neck.

“It could have been so much worse and hopefully by the age of ten she won’t have any visible scars.”

She now wants to warn other parents to be aware of the “unpredictable” animal instincts of even the most docile pets.

She said: “He gave no indication that he was going to attack – an animal instinct that can never really be trusted.

“At the end of the day, animals are animals and you can’t forget that. It was one hell of a rollercoaster ride.”