Annie Ramsay, eight, had to be fed via a syringe after the springer spaniel lunged at her face and tore off part of her lip as she played near her home in Whittle-le-Woods, Lancashire.
Magistrates in Chorley were told that Annie had bent down to cuddle the dog, called Jasper, when it bit her, but ruled that although the animal must be neutered and kept on a lead, he will be able to return home to owner Wendy McDonald.
Teaching assistant Ms McDonald, 40, lives just a few doors away from Annie and her family, and her mother Beckie, 35, says the little girl is terrified of the animal.
'The dog lives just a couple of doors away and Annie is absolutely terrified,' said Mrs Ramsay.
'She's even been left scared of the word "dog" because of what it did to her. I don't know why the dog hasn't been put down. In my mind, if it's done that, you never know what it might do in the future. No child is safe around it.'
Annie was playing with friends in a park close to her home on March 5 when she spotted her Ms Wendy McDonald walking Jasper.
Andrea Fawcett, prosecuting, told Chorley Magistrates Court that the dog was on a lead and one of Annie's friends asked to stroke him, which his owner agreed to.
Miss Fawcett said: 'Unfortunately Annie bends down. She appears to start trying to cuddle the dog. It first of all licks her cheek and then unfortunately does bite.'
Miss Fawcett said the dog was not off the lead or running wild, and that McDonald, who pleaded guilty to being the owner of a dog which was dangerously out of control and injured Annie, had expressed remorse.
McDonald's solicitor, Sarah Gruffydd, said the family had done a lot of research before getting Jasper when he was 12 weeks old.
She said he had been trained at home and was undergoing professional dog training.
Ms Gruffydd said: 'He is normally a very well-behaved, well-liked dog in the area, one that people trust. This incident is entirely out of character, unexpected and isolated.'
Magistrates said it was 'an extraordinarily sad case' and that Annie's injuries were 'going to be life-changing'.
At a hearing on Thursday last week, they made a contingent destruction order, which said Jasper must be muzzled and on a lead when not at home or in a cage or tethered in a car.
He must also be neutered - but he has been allowed home to his family, just yards away from Annie's home.
McDonald was given a two-year conditional discharge and must pay £2,500 compensation for Annie's injuries.
She was also told to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
Speaking outside court, McDonald said: 'I feel awful for what has happened. This has been an unfortunate incident, from a well-trained loving dog, that could not have been foreseen. Hopefully myself and the other family can move forward and put this behind us.'
After the case, Mrs Ramsay, who has two older sons, Steven, 14, and Josh, 12, said she and her husband, Annie's father John, remember when their daughter returned home, covered in blood.
'She thought she was going to die,' said Mrs Ramsay. 'She was screaming thinking that was it.
'There was a lot of blood everywhere and her mouth was a mess, her lip was actually hanging off. At the hospital they had to cut part of it off and create a new bit by stretching the skin back to the front of her mouth.'
Despite Annie's injuries having healed hugely in the last three months, she will still need plastic surgery for her scars - the cost for which has been estimated at £2,500.
Mrs Ramsay said: 'We're a really strong family and we have been through a lot so we're trying to focus on the positives.
'It could have been so much worse but Annie is all right. She may have scars but she's still her still here and that's the main thing. We are more concerned that the dog is still out there and it could harm another child.'
She added: 'I don't think they realise the damage that will do to Annie, seeing the dog outside her home.
'I don't hold anything against the dog but if it had been a Staffordshire Bull Terrier or a similar breed, it wouldn't be around today. If it had been owned by a young lad it would have been a completely different situation.
'Annie now has to share a classroom with her teacher despite was has gone on. We don't know how that's going to work but she wanted to go back to be with her friends.'
(Daily Mail - May 26, 2015)
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