"Does this face look scary to you?" accompanied a picture of Victoria Wilcher on the Facebook page Victoria's Victories, which documents the child's recovery from the attack at her grandfather's home in Simpson County.
Authorities said one of Donald Mullins' dogs ripped open the back door and jumped on the girl. Two other dogs dragged her into the back yard and began mauling her, investigators said.
"The right side of her face is paralyzed. She's got a lot of surgeries to go through and she won't even look in the mirror anymore," said Victoria's grandmother, Kelly Mullins. "When we go to a store, she doesn't even want to get out (of the car). She's 3 years old and she's embarrassed about what she looks like. She's embarrassed and I hate it because she shouldn't be. It ain't her fault."
Victoria hadn't felt that way until last week when she was turned away from a KFC in Jackson, Mullins said.
"I took her to the doctor and I went to KFC. I ordered a large sweet tea and her some mashed potatoes and gravy because she was hungry. She was on a feeding tube at the time, but I figured she could just swallow (the potatoes)," Mullins said. "They just told us, they said, 'We have to ask you to leave because her face is disrupting our customers.' (Victoria) understood exactly what they said."
Mullins said she put Victoria in the car and left. She said Victoria cried all the way home to Simpson County.
"No matter what's wrong with a person, if a person's different, if a person's scarred, or is a different color or anything, people shouldn't be discriminated against," Mullins said. "Her being 3 years old and already being discriminated against, it makes me mad, because I know for the rest of her life it's going to be like that."
KFC officials sent an email Friday to 16 WAPT News in response to the incident.
"KFC launched an investigation as soon as we were made aware of this report. We take this very seriously, as we have zero tolerance for any kind of hurtful or disrespectful actions toward our guests.
Our investigation is ongoing, but we have been in touch with the family and are committed to doing something appropriate for this beautiful little girl and her family. We will also work with the franchisee to take appropriate action at the restaurant once the specifics of the incident are determined," said KFC spokesman Rick Maynard.
Victoria is on antibiotics and still has more surgeries ahead of her, but she's doing well, her grandmother said.
"She surprised us. I think she surprised everybody. She's a fighter," Mullins said.
Donald Mullins, who is Kelly Mullins' ex-husband, shot and killed two of the dogs that attacked Victoria. The third dog was euthanized.
Donald Mullins and his girlfriend, Rita Tompkins, were arrested after the attack on child endangerment charges.
(WAPT - June 13, 2014)
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