Iowa: Woman drops cell phone next to her friend's pit bull. It proceeds to rip her nose right off her face. Best part? The pit bull's owner - her so-called 'friend' - refused to surrender the dog

IOWA -- A Marshalltown woman is recovering from a "horrific" dog attack that left her maimed and disfigured.

Police say on March 8th, Judy Maschmann, 49, was attacked by her friend’s pit bull, Lucky. She was at the friend's Marshalltown residence and reached down near the dog to pick up her cell phone.

 

  

That’s when the dog attacked and ripped Maschmann's nose completely off her face.

She was taken to the hospital and then life-flighted to the Iowa City Trauma Center, where surgeons were able to reattach her nose.

“Our hearts go out to the woman and it was very, very unfortunate, and thankfully the dog was since seized and is not going to be able to cause any more harm,” said Marshalltown Police Chief Michael Tupper.

The dog's owner, 24-year-old Scott Slocum did not give Lucky up willingly. Slocum, whose criminal history includes serving time for domestic abuse, assault, and drug possession, was cited for not turning over the dog.

 

He would not talk to Channel 13 crews who knocked on his door.

Although Marshalltown does not have breed-specific laws, the attack was severe enough to have Lucky put down later in March.

Chief Tupper doesn't believe that breed was the contributing factor for why the attack happened.

“I don't know that it's fair to label a specific breed as being a problem," he said. "I think any large dog needs to be properly trained and taken care of, and certainly owners have to be responsible in caring for their pets and making sure their pets are safe and trained appropriately.”

Chief Tupper has earned the "apologist" label for feeling the need to tell us it's just not fair to blame pit bulls. Boo hoo.

Maschmann sent information about the attack to local news stations, and when Channel 13 reached out seeking an interview Maschmann replied with an email. The message said she is “lucky to be alive,” and with two surgeries to go she hopes to have minimal scarring for her daughter’s wedding in September.

(WHOTV - April 25, 2017)