London: An eight-year-old girl who wanted to pet a Japanese Akita received 175 stitches in her face and head after she was mauled by the dog in West Yorkshire, a media report said.
Sky Barker was playing in Rastrick, West Yorkshire, last Thursday when she asked the owner of a fearsome Japanese Akita if she could pet the animal.
However horror struck when the dog - which was tied to a wall - leapt forward and grabbed her head in its mouth as she approached, Daily Mail reported on its website on Friday.
Incredibly, a week after the attack the animal-loving youngster has said she doesn't want the vicious animal put down.
Her father Brian Hackett, 33, told how Sky survived the horrific attack as she was able to roll out of the reach of the tethered dog and the emergency services were called.
She was rushed to hospital for a four-hour operation and received 60 stitches to the back of her head, 85 in her face and 30 inside her cheek, which could leave her scarred for life.
Hackett was on his way home from his work as a joiner when he received a call from Sky's mother Amber Barker, 30, who he is separated from, telling him their daughter was in hospital.
Doctors have warned it could be 12 to 18 months before Sky regains feeling and movement in her face, while she has only just managed to crack half a smile.
Sky, who has been described by her father as "bubbly", has a soft spot for animals and, touchingly, Hackett revealed that even after she was savaged by the large pet she didn't want it to be put to sleep.
Police say they cannot force its owners to have it destroyed, because the dog is not listed under the Dangerous Dogs Act.
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