Dog owner who suffered attack on her face has pioneering treatment

A woman who thought she would be scarred for life after her beloved Cocker Spaniel attacked her can ‘look in the mirror again’ after a pioneering laser treatment.

Holly Taylor, 33, from South Shields, was watching TV with her dog, Splodge, when the five-year-old pooch suddenly lunged at her face, leaving her with a deep bite on her cheek.  

She took him to the vets the morning after, and after being told such a sudden behaviour change can be down to an aggressive illness, tumour or bleed on the brain, it was decided it was safer for both of them for him to be put to sleep. 

Ms Taylor said: ‘I was in complete shock at first, Splodge jumped from my knee, I held my face but could feel the blood running down my hand.

‘My partner ran from the kitchen and knelt beside me – it was when he said take your hand away from your face and he saw the bite, that I knew from his expression it was bad.’

But the impact wasn’t just physical, as Ms Taylor was left with emotional scars that meant she struggled to leave the house, look in the mirror or even see other people, describing herself as a shadow of her former self.

In fact, she was nearly sick the first time she looked at her reflection while in the hospital.

She said: ‘When I initially saw the bite, I was so naïve to think that it would heal flat and quickly but I was so shocked as to how bad it was given the split seconds it happened in.

‘The weeks that followed the bite seem like a blur now. My face was so swollen, full of stitches and sore and my heart was aching from missing Splodge so much.

‘As a young, confident, sociable woman with a public-facing role in press and marketing, I felt a shadow of my former self.

‘I wouldn’t go out, I would sit and obsess over old photos, and my mind would even run away with itself, thinking – imagine my wedding photos in the future, or I am going to have to introduce myself to everyone I meet and tell them this story, so they understand why I look this way.

‘I am someone who really believes beauty is skin deep, and there is so much more to me than the way I look, but with a drastic change like this, it was so hard not to spiral.’

However, after the attack in March this year, Ms Taylor underwent Fraxel laser treatment, which she claims ‘changed her life’.

Fraxel, which costs around £800 per treatment, creates microscopic treatment zones that stimulate collagen remodeling and the body’s natural healing process, revealing fresh, glowing skin.

Ms Taylor said: ‘I am a positive person and tried to just keep seeing the bigger picture thinking once my stitches are out, this will heal fine.

‘However, that was not the case.’

Under the care of leading dermatologist, Dr Ophelia Veraitch, Ms Taylor underwent a series of four personalised sessions designed to soften her scars and rejuvenate her skin.

The results were completely transformative as Ms Taylor’s scars became less red and smoother in texture, her overall skin quality improved, and most importantly, she gained her confidence back.

She said: ‘Fraxel has changed my life. It has given me back my confidence and been the light at the end of a dark tunnel after the most traumatic few months.

‘The difference even after one session was remarkable. Nobody could believe it. I would take comparison pictures every few days and the look and feel of the scar was changing rapidly.

‘I felt so much hope for the future and slowly started to feel like me again, rather than being in tears every time I had to get ready for something or not wanting to get in photos.’

Consultant Dermatologist Dr Ophelia Veraitch said: ‘Fraxel is a treatment I often recommend when patients are looking for thorough resurfacing.

‘It does usually involve some downtime while the redness fades, but the benefits are significant.

‘Fraxel works by targeting the skin with microscopic laser columns that penetrate deeply to stimulate the body’s natural collagen remodelling.

‘Because it only treats a fraction of the tissue at a time and leaves the surrounding skin intact, healing is much faster than when compared to more aggressive approaches.’

The dog owner took Splodge to the vets the morning after the bite, where it was decided it was safer for both of them for him to be put to sleep.

She said: ‘It was the most heartbreaking decision of my life but the right one as I couldn’t risk this happening to another person – I would never forgive myself.

‘He wasn’t the dog I knew or loved anymore. I couldn’t even say goodbye properly as I was scared to go near his face as I used to. It was the worst day of my life.’