11-year-old has reconstructive surgery after dog attack

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) -- A little girl has undergone reconstructive surgery after a dog attacked her face.

Eleven-year-old Jacklyn Tucker had surgery to repair the damage done to her upper lip and nose after a Jack Russell Terrier/Bulldog mix bit off part of her face last month. "It was her best friend's dog. It was the second night she was staying there. They said it's never bitten anyone before. Nobody knows what happened," said Jack Tucker, the girl's father.

The girl from Royal Palm Beach was left with over 100 stitches after the attack that happened on June 19.

Surgeons at Saint Mary's Medical Center in West Palm tried repairing the tissue the dog bit off but her body didn't respond. For two weeks, doctors even tried putting Jacklyn in a hyperbaric chamber in hopes that would help her heal but to no avail.

That's when they transferred her to Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Hollywood for a series of reconstructive surgeries. "They tried to re-attach the right side of her face, a big piece taken out," said Jack Tucker. "The piece didn't heal back, so we had to come here for facial re-construction. The surgeon is pretty confident of the future. I think she's gonna be all right. She'll go through good."

Jack Tucker is a tow truck driver and said he has not been able to work since his daughter has been in the hospital. "I just told her I'd never leave her. I've never left her side since we came in on the 19th," he said.

The dog's owner has not been cited but the dog will likely be euthanized.

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