Heroic gran mauled after wrestling pitbull with her bare hands to protect two toddler grandchildren
A heroic gran was mauled after wrestling with a pitbull to protect her two young grandchildren - and, once she managed to fight the dog off, she even drove herself to the hospital, covered in blood from her wounds.
Rhonda Stickney says her neighbour's dog lunged at her daughter Tiffani, 27, grandson Jaxsyen, four, and Keyahra, two, in April this year.
The 50-year-old said she didn’t think twice about putting herself between the dog and her grandchildren after it lunged at them in the doorway of her home.
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However, things soon took a terrifying turn for Rhonda after the dog dragged her outside by the leg and started to bite her face and arms - leaving her pouring with blood.
Rhonda, from Motley, Minnesota, USA, said: "My neighbour's dog was outside and my dogs were going crazy so I was heading over to the door.
"My daughter opened the door and I saw the dog lunging over to the door, I stepped in front of her.
"My four-year-old grandson and two-year-old grandchild were stood next to her so thank God I did because if it had got hold of them it would have killed them.
"I didn't think twice about getting in front of them. It grabbed hold of my leg, knocked me down and dragged me out. It was so scary.
"It went from my leg to my face. My adrenaline was going so bad that I don't remember feeling anything. I was just so scared.
"My grandchildren saw the whole thing. My daughter was screaming. It tore at my face and latched onto my arm.
"My arm was punctured so when they went to rinse it to clean it out, it ran straight out the other side.
"Its owner pulled it off me. I got hold of its jaw with both my hands so it couldn't bite me anymore. I basically fought it off.
"I walked into the house, I didn't realise how bad it was. I saw in the mirror and I was gushing blood all over the place."
After being savaged in the attack, the mum-of-five hopped into her car and drove herself to the hospital, all while blood poured from her injuries.
Once at the hospital, she was rushed off for surgery and is still taking medication to help cope with the pain.
She fears the scars to her chin, eye, arm and leg may be permanent, but has no regrets about what she did.
"I'm just glad it happened to me rather than my grandkids,” she said. “The dog would have killed them.
"I'm so close to all of my grandkids. They struggled sleeping for a while after and they're scared to play outside when they come over.
"I've never been scared of dogs before but now I'm apprehensive. I'm scared of pitbulls and we don't want the kids around dogs we don't know."
Rhonda said that police deemed the dog dangerous after seeing images of her injuries, and the owner was made to 'microchip it and wear a muzzle when it goes outside'.
Claire Reid