A NINE-YEAR-OLD girl has been left with severe facial injuries after a dog attacked her while she sat outside her apartment.
Horrifying photos show the shaken child covered in blood after the animal “grabbed” onto her face and refused to let go.
Delyla McCay was sitting outside her Hanceville apartment with her 13-year-old sister on Nov. 7 when she was suddenly attacked by a dogCredit: YouTube/WVTM 13 News
Horrifying photos from the scene show the blood-soaked child in shock while getting medical attentionCredit: YouTube/WVTM 13 News
Delyla McCay from Hanceville, Alabama, was sitting outside her family’s apartment with her older sister, McKenzie, 13, on November 7 waiting for their father when the shocking mauling took place.
A child walk past the pair with a blue heeler on a leash when the dog suddenly sunk its teeth into Delyla’s face.
“Delyla herself said, ‘Mommy, it grabbed my face, and it was just shaking,’” her mother, Katie McCay told WBRC .
The child who was holding the leash dropped it in fear, McCay said, and a nearby teenager intervened to help get the dog off Delyla.
When the teenager, who was also injured in the attack,succeeded in splitting up the pair, the dog quickly returned its attack on Delyla, biting into her back.
“McKenzie said afterwards, everybody was just screaming,” the girls’ distraught mother said.
“Delyla actually wasn’t screaming. She was in shock.”
Shocking images taken moments after the attack show the poor child staring blankly at the camera with blood covering her face and clothes as she received medical assistance.
She was airlifted to a children’s hopsital where she needed dozens of stitches to her nose, mouth and cheeks.
Her family revealed that the dog’s attack left the child with a detached top lip.
McCay added that her daughter also had stitches on her back and other parts of the body and will need to undergo plastic surgery.
“Her face is still so swollen, and I think she’s still just in shock,” her mother said.
“I’ve never dealt with nothing like that in my life, and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.
“She’s the sweetest kid in the whole world. Anybody that knows my child — cause there’s a lot of people that ask, ‘What was she doing to the dog? Was it provoked?’ My kid was just sitting there. She’s so sweet.”
Delyla was released from hospital on Monday night to fully recover at home.
But her ordeal is not over as she will return to hospital on Thursday for a meeting with a plastic surgeon followed by another on Friday with a general surgeon.
Cullman County Animal Services Director Randy Bannister confirmed that the dog responsible for the attack has been put down.
Tests on the remains came back to reveal it had not had all of its shots meaning Delyla has had to receive rabies vaccines and other treatment.
An investigation into the incident is still ongoing, officials have said.
Delyla’s family have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for medical expenses which has raised over $9,400 at the time of writing.
She was left needing dozens of stitches all over her body including to her faceCredit: YouTube/WVTM 13 News
Delyla was released from hospital on Monday but will need further surgery to her faceCredit: YouTube/WVTM 13 News 
