Dog bite victim recovering well, may need surgery

NORTH CAROLINA -- Two-year-old Makayla Riley is home and recovering well after a dog bit her over the weekend, sending her to the hospital in need of stitches.

Makayla is getting back to her normal self, her father Michael Riley said, after being home for a few days since she was bitten by a Siberian Husky on Aug. 2.

 

“She's tough, that's for sure,” Riley said.

 

Makayla was taken to Park Ridge Health and received eight stitches to her chin and two to her cheek, which could come out as early as Friday, her father said.

 

 

Doctors said Makayla may need plastic surgery to repair the damage, but that won't be known for another six months to a year, Michael Riley said, though there will be a prominent scar.

 

The dog is being held in quarantine for 10 days at the county animal shelter on Stony Mountain Road.

 

The Henderson County Sheriff's Office has contacted the dog's owners, who live less than a mile from MacPherson's home on Frankie Lane where the bite happened.

 

The dog “had wandered away from home, but they (the owners) were making every effort to try to locate the dog,” said Maj. Frank Stout.

 

The owners posted a plea on social media asking for anyone who may have seen their Husky dog that looked a little like a wolf to contact them. The description sparked a wave of debate on social media after the reported bite, with some saying the dog may have been a wolf or a wild husky-mix.

 

The dog, however, appears to be a purebred husky, Stout said.

 

The dog is current on all shots and vaccinations, including a rabies vaccination, according to the Sheriff's Office.

 

At the end of the dog's quarantine period, pending the outcome of the Sheriff's Office investigation, officers will determine whether or not any criminal charges will be filed in the case and whether or not the dog will be returned to its owners, Stout said.

 

The dog first appeared early Saturday morning at Lucretia MacPherson's home on Frankie Lane in Flat Rock while the family was helping MacPherson, Makayla's aunt, pack for a move to the Brevard area.

 

The dog seemed friendly, Michael Riley said, allowing people to pet it and playing with the family's dogs, a Great Pyrenees and Collie. It left Saturday night and returned Sunday.

 

Stacey Riley, Makayla's mother, said the dog looked starved, and her brother and his girlfriend took it in to give it food and water Saturday.

 

She said she saw Makayla in the doorway of a corner closet just before the dog bit her, and Michael Riley said he was in a bedroom, breaking down a bed when they heard Makayla scream and saw the dog run out the door.

 

The Rileys didn't know the dog was in the closet — it was supposed to have been taken out of the house earlier along with the other dogs, Michael Riley said.

 

Makayla has been around dogs most of her life, loving to hug them around the neck and kiss them on the head, Michael Riley said.

 

“For a 2-year-old, she's really good with dogs,” he said.

 

He didn't know what may have spurred the dog to bite, but speculated it may have been trying to get out of the closet or Makayla may have gone in to hug or kiss it.

 

Michael Riley said the family doesn't want the dog to be euthanized. The incident was “just one of those freak accidents,” he said.

 

(BlueRidgeNow.com - Aug 6, 2015)