A girl attacked and critically injured by two Saint Bernard dogs near Haliburton, Ont., on Sunday continues to slowly recover at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, her father says.

According to A.J. Lester, around 4 p.m. his six-year-old daughter Sadie and his wife Lindsay were jogging along Gainforth Road just south of Haliburton when the two “150-pound” dogs attacked the girl.

He says Sadie’s injuries were extensive and she was rushed by an Ornge air ambulance to Toronto Sick Kids Hospital where she underwent 4.5 hours of surgery, which included nearly 400 stitches to her face and most of her body. Lindsay was taken to hospital for injuries and later released.

OPP on Thursday morning said they continue to investigate the incident and no charges have yet been laid. The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit says the dogs were placed in quarantine for 10 days following the incident.

Lester has declined media interviews, instead offering recovery updates on a public Facebook post.

“She is stable now,” Lester wrote on Sunday night.

Lester credits his wife for saving their daughter’s life by jumping on her to intervene in the dogs’ attack.

“She threw herself onto Sadie and put herself between the dogs and Sadie. She has much back and arm trauma but was not requiring surgery,” said Lester, a father of two girls.

“I see my wife as being the hero who God did a miracle through by throwing herself onto Sadie and saving her life.”

Lester says Sadie was initially in “good spirits” after Sunday’s surgery but had to wait for swelling to reduce.

“She has been in good spirits at times and she told a nurse today that people will see God because of her hurts,” he wrote on Monday. “Such an amazing little girl. My girl, my princess.”

While swelling was “mildly reduced” on Tuesday, Lester says extensive injuries to her mouth and cheeks means she has been unable to eat food larger than “the size of a pea” with enduring extreme pain.

Source: Read Full Article