Alabama girl, 9, mauled by dog that ‘grabbed’ her face, leaving brutal injuries

A 9-year-old Alabama girl suffered horrific injuries when she was viciously mauled by a dog that “grabbed” her face before sinking its teeth into her back.

Delyla McCay was sitting outside her Hanceville apartment with her 13-year-old sister on Nov. 7 when a blue heeler being walked by another child suddenly clamped its jaws onto her face and refused to let go, until a nearby teen jumped in and punched the raging canine, the girl’s devastated mother told WBRC.

While the heroic teen was also bitten, the ferocious dog returned and ripped into the youngster’s back.

“Delyla herself said, ‘Mommy, it grabbed my face, and it was just shaking,”’ Katie McCay told the outlet, adding that panicked screams erupted during the attack as her daughter stayed frozen in shock.

“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.”

The young girl was airlifted to Children’s Hospital, according to a GoFundMe started by her family.

The terrifying ordeal left the youngster’s face bloody and severely bruised, requiring dozens of stitches across her nose, mouth, cheeks and upper lip, according to grisly photos shared on the fundraiser.

McCay said her daughter also got stitches on her back and body, rabies shots, and will need plastic surgery to recover from her devastating wounds.

“Her face is still so swollen, and I think she’s still just in shock,” the distressed mother told the outlet, noting that her daughter was released from the hospital Monday night and has a long road to recovery.

“I feel a lot of anger now. For a few days, it was crying, and now, I’m pretty angry. It’s hard for everybody. It’s hard all around because I know that they probably feel terrible.”

The frenzied dog has since been put down, according to Cullman County Animal Control, WHNT reported.

The dog’s remains were sent for testing after authorities discovered it wasn’t current on its shots.

The investigation into the attack is still ongoing.