'She was pinned against the fence while the dog ate her arm': How little Thalia, 8, lost her hand in a savage dog attack as she played in her friend's backyard

AUSTRALIA -- The friends and family of a brave eight-year-old girl have described the horrific moment her arm was 'chewed off' in a brutal dog attack while she was playing in her friend's backyard.

Thalia Standley was grabbed by an Alaskan malamute through a 20 centimetre gap under a fence and pinned to the ground as the dog viciously chewed on her arm, resulting in her losing a hand.

Her seven-year-old friend, Layne Kidd, witnessed the mauling in which the dog initially grabbed Thalia's finger, tearing it off before continuing to chew, and rushed for help.

Layne called her father Darren Kidd who was shocked to find Thalia sobbing as the dog destroyed her arm.

'I'm punching it in its mouth, just trying to make it let go, but it wasn't,' Mr Kidd told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Since the attack on August 29 in the suburb of Valentine, in the New South Wales' Hunter region, Thalia has undergone eight surgeries.

'I had my arm around her as I'm doing it, and I felt her sort of come back towards me. I thought, "You beauty, it's let go." I picked her up, and realised it hadn't let go.'

That's when Mr Kidd realised that the neighbour's dog had tore Thalia's arm off.

Thalia's parents Randall and Sally Standley have expressed their grief and disappointment after the attack.

'This is hard to accept,' said Mrs Standley in an online video on the family's fundraising page. She was running around with her friends as he has done a hundred time before in the same place,' she said.

 

Thalia's parents are grateful for all those who helped rescue there little girl and have warned other parent to check for gaps under backyard fences.

'This wasn't big hole in the fence...for God's sake check your fence if you have a dog - if this stops this happening to one more little girl or boy then that's a great blessing.

'We wouldn't have had her here if wasn't for the people that got to her and saved her,' said Thalia's father, Mr Standley.

Thalia described the attack as a bad dream that she wanted to end.

'Mummy, this is like a bad dream. When am I going to wake up?' Thalia had told her mum after the attack.

In the emotional fundraising video, little Thalia thanked her family for 'looking after her all the time.'
The brave girl has also patted a dog since the horrific attack.

The Standley family are seeking support to help with the financial burden associated with the cost of Thalia's medical bills which include the cost of of a prosthetic arm.

The online fundraising campaign can be viewed on the Reaching Thalia website.

(Daily Mail - Nov 22, 2015)