Woman feared she would bleed to death after rampaging dog ripped off her bottom lip

A woman has described the horrifying moment she thought she would bleed to death after a dog tore off her entire lower lip in a vicious park attack. Minna Pickell, 35, was walking her 11-year-old Boxer, Zeus, in St Petersburg, Florida, when a stray black-and-white dog suddenly appeared and began sniffing around her pet.

Thinking the animal was lost, she tried to loop Zeus's lead around its neck to take it to a rescue centre - but the dog suddenly turned and lunged at her face, ripping off her bottom lip in a single bite. The brutal attack left Minna bleeding heavily and terrified she wouldn't survive until help arrived. She said: "The dog came out of nowhere. It didn't have a collar, and some people nearby said they'd been trying to catch it to take it to a rescue centre.

"I thought I could help, so I slipped Zeus's lead around its neck. I loosened it a bit so it wouldn't choke, and that's when it went for my face. It was one clean bite."

The lab technician said she was overwhelmed with panic as blood poured from her mouth.

She said: "I couldn't speak. I didn't even realise my lip was gone. I just knew I was bleeding badly. I grabbed a towel from my car and pressed it against my mouth, trying to stay conscious."

When paramedics arrived, one looked at her injuries and tried to reassure her.

She said: "The paramedic's eyes went wide and she told me, 'It's okay, they can fix it.' But when I looked at myself in my phone camera, I completely freaked out. My lip and part of my chin were missing, my teeth were exposed, and I was horrified. I wanted to die. I just wanted it to stop."

Minna underwent emergency reconstructive surgery, where doctors used a skin graft to connect the right side of her mouth to what remained on the left.

She said: "They managed to rebuild my face, but I'm not the same person. I have PTSD and anxiety. I struggle to leave the house because I'm scared something bad will happen again. I've never been a homebody, but now I stay inside most days."

The attack also left her with lasting physical challenges.

She said: "My mouth doesn't open properly, so eating is really hard. I have to break food into tiny pieces and push them in. I drool without realising because my lips are numb.

"The scar tissue makes talking harder, and I get frustrated when I can't say things clearly. I feel embarrassed in public because of how my face looks now."

She said: "A lot of days I look in the mirror and I'm angry and sad. I'm mourning the woman I used to see. I don't look, sound or feel like me anymore. This has changed my life forever."

Minna has since launched a fundraiser to help pay her medical bills and cover living costs while she's unable to work.

She said: "I've been out of work recovering, and I still have more surgeries ahead. I just want to focus on healing without worrying about money. That's all I can do - keep recovering and try to move forward."