Girl mauled by mastiff needs 200,000 yuan for surgery

The father of Nannan, 5, says he doesn't have enough money to pay for his daughter's facial reconstruction surgery after she was attacked by a Tibetan mastiff on July 13 in Beijing. Hei Ke / for China Daily

A 5-year-old girl attacked by a Tibetan mastiff in Beijing may be permanently disfigured if her family doesn't come up with the 200,000 yuan ($32,580) needed to pay for facial reconstruction surgery.

On July 13, the girl, named Nannan, was bitten by an adult Tibetan mastiff while she was shopping with her father and brother in Jiangxinzhuang, Beijing media reported on Thursday. 

The incident occurred at 4 pm when a meter-long Tibetan mastiff owned by a neighbor suddenly attacked the girl. In less than a minute, the dog severely bit through the girl's face, exposing bones on the right half of her face, the father said.

The dog owner heard cries for help and stopped the dog. Nannan was rushed to Beijing Children's Hospital for immediate surgery, while the Tibetan mastiff was taken away by police.

Nannan received more than 40 stitches on her face. Her chest, abdomen and hand were also injured.

Doctors said she needs more plastic surgery to repair the facial wounds, but the father said the family cannot afford the price, estimated at 200,000 yuan. 

The dog owner was quoted by Mirror Evening News as saying she will be responsible for any further treatment the girl needs.

The owner has paid more than 20,000 yuan ($3,300) thus far, but she said she is worried that she cannot afford future expenses because her family is not wealthy, the newspaper reported.

In the first half of the year in Beijing, there have been 58 victims of dog attacks.

A girl was killed by a Tibetan mastiff in Dalian, Liaoning province, on June 27. The 6-year-old was bitten in the neck when she was on her way to a grocery store. She died from severe injuries to her trachea and arteries.

On June 3, an 8-year-old girl was also attacked by a Tibetan mastiff in a village in Shanxi province. The girl was saved by a villager and is recovering in the hospital.

Dog owners and government departments should be blamed in dog attacks, said Zhang Dan, co-founder of China Animal Protection Media Saloon, a Beijing-based NGO.

"Any animal-related problem was actually the problem of human beings," said Zhang, who added that owners must train their dogs to avoid more attacks.

According to Beijing Morning Post, the owner in the latest attack did not register the dog. In Beijing, all dogs must be registered. In June, the city's police authority issued a new regulation banning people in certain urban areas and some densely populated rural areas from keeping dogs above 35 centimeters in height. It also identified 41 breeds as violent. 

The regulation said individual dog owners will be fined up to 5,000 yuan for violations.