Alexis Douglas, 5, is now too scared to go outside alone, and faces years of medical treatment following January’s attack.
She needed 50 stitches and must wear a mask and silicon patches up to 23 hours a day to treat permanent facial scarring.
But the owner of the flea-ridden dog that mauled her, Edward Powell, 41, walked free from Frankston Magistrates’ Court on Thursday with a $1500 fine — and no conviction.
Alexis’s mother, Monique Douglas, was reduced to tears after hearing the sentence.
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| She was attacked one week after her 5th birthday |
“It’s disgusting. I thought maybe $10,000 to $15,000, but what is $1500? I can’t believe it,” Ms Douglas said.
“He won’t forget about it in five minutes, but I have to look at Alexis every day with scars all over her face.
“Their dog was aggressive. Their son told us it was aggressive, that it growled at him all the time.”
Alexis’s treatment will cost at least $10,000 over the next three years and she will have to wait until she is almost 16 before she can have plastic surgery that may significantly reduce the scarring to the left of her face.
The Carrum Downs youngster has her scars dressed with silicon patches morning and night, and she wears a pink mask overnight that is similar to those used by burns victims.
Her mother also has to massage her face to help reduce the scarring.
Face creams cost more than $150 a month and Alexis will need new masks as her face grows.
The court heard Alexis was visiting a relative’s house when Mr Powell allowed his dog to roam at the front of his property without a leash.
Mr Powell allowed Alexis, who was playing outside, on to his property to play with the dog.
It attacked Alexis when she went to pick up a toy that it had been playing with.
Gustav Cook, acting as prosecutor for Frankston City Council, said the dog’s bites left Alexis with deep scars of up to 10cm.
He said the dog attacked Alexis and “bit her on the head without provocation.”
“She is still terrified to go outside,” he said.
“The poor kid has to sleep with a mask.”
Mr Powell pleaded guilty to charges including owning an unregistered dog.
Defence lawyer Michael Brown said his client was “baffled” and “deeply affected” by the incident.
He said Mr Powell had destroyed the dog voluntarily despite his connection with the animal, which he had adopted from a factory in Laverton.
He said that it was “flea ridden and skinny” and that Mr Powell did not register the dog because he was moving to a new area.
Magistrate Paul Smith sentenced Mr Powell to a $1500 fine without conviction because of his previous clear record and his decision to destroy the dog.
“He wasn’t aware the dog had an aggressive nature,” he said.
“I am of the view that a fine is appropriate. The injuries were serious enough for a fine to be imposed. I am of the view that this matter was totally unexpected. You have off your own bat had the dog destroyed.”
(Herald Sun - April 23, 2015)
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