Dog mauls young girl’s face in Perth park

A young girl was rushed to hospital after a three-legged dog bit her face as she walked through a park on Father’s Day with her dad.

Paige Hankee, 10, had asked the owner of the dog if she could pat it as she passed through a reserve in Waikiki, Perth, on Sunday afternoon. 

The owner said she was welcome to pat the ‘medium-sized’ dog, but when she knelt down to touch it she was bitten on the face.

‘It felt like I got bitten by like something that was big and it makes me really scared. It makes me not want to pat dogs,’ she told 7 News.

‘It nearly ripped my face off.’

Paige (pictured with mother) had knelt down to pat the dog when it bit her face

Paige said the dog was not wearing a leash when it latched onto her face.

She was taken to hospital with three puncture wounds and a swollen cheek after the attack.

Doctors treated the lacerations and gave her antibiotics to stop an infection spreading.

‘I can’t even let my daughter go down to the park in case she gets bitten by another dog,’ Paige’s mother Tracee said.  

Dogs are allowed off leash in the reserve, but Rockingham Council advises pet owners to keep a close eye on their dogs.

Doctors treated the facial lacerations and gave her antibiotics to stop an infection spreading