Rhonda Stickney, Minnesota grandmother mauled by pitbull as she stands between herself and her daughter and grandkids as neigbhor’s dog goes on vicious attack.
A heroic grandmother was violently mauled as she wrestled her neighbor’s pitbull with her bare hands to protect her two young grandchildren, leaving her dripping with blood after the dog tore chunks out of her face, legs and arms. Wounds that the woman took selfies of to share with police.
Rhonda Stickney, from Motley, Minnesota, said the animal lunged at her daughter Tiffani, 27, grandson Jaxsyen, four, and Keyahra, two, as they stood in her doorway.
The 50-year-old instinctively jammed herself between the aggressive mut and the children to protect them from being ‘killed’, only for the vicious dog to drag her outside by her leg.
‘I didn’t think twice about getting in front of them’
The giant dog went on to tear chunks out of her arm and face. Stickney claims she then grabbed hold of the dog’s jaw to stop it from biting her further until the owner came over to wrestle it off and drag it inside.
Shocking photos show the extent of the injuries Stickney incurred as she drove herself to hospital with blood pouring down off her face.
Pictures show deep wounds – one very close to her eye – and extensive bruising from the brutal attack according to Kennedy’s News and Media.
Told Stickney to the outlet: ‘My neighbor’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.’
Once she arrived at the hospital she was rushed into surgery to have the wounds stiches.
The grandmother remains on medication months later and has to go to hospital twice a week to get her leg repacked.
The mother-of-five believes she will have scars for life on her chin, eye, arm and leg as a result of the incident.
She added: ‘My grandchildren saw the whole thing. My daughter was screaming. It tore at my face and latched onto my arm.
Dog owner forced to microchip pitbull and wear muzzle when outside
‘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 realize how bad it was. I saw in the mirror, and I was gushing blood all over the place.’
Stickney has since set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe to help pay for her bills after she was forced to give up her job in a fish factory while she recovers.
Following the horrific ordeal, Stickney contacted the police. The dog was not destroyed but the neighbor was forced to put a microchip in the animal and make it wear a muzzle whenever it goes outside.
She added: ‘The police came over and they were going to deem it as “possible dangerous” but I pushed it and showed them the photos of my injuries and they deemed it as a dangerous dog.
‘They made her microchip it and wear a muzzle when it goes outside. That’s not ok when there are kids around.’
It remained unclear what charges, if any, the dog owner faced.