Kyle Dyer, a veteran television anchor of Denver’s KUSA-TV, who was bitten in the face by an 85-pound dog during a live broadcast says she needed 70 stitches in her lips and nose and she still cannot talk.
Kyle Dyer wrote on her Facebook page over the weekend that she can’t talk because her mouth is stitched shut to let a skin graft take and so blood can circulate in her lips again.
The Facebook post says Kyle Dyer expects another procedure in the next few weeks.
Kyle Dyer was injured last week while doing an on-air segment with the dog’s owner and a firefighter who had rescued the Argentine Mastiff from an icy pond in suburban Lakewood the day before.
The veteran TV anchor was petting the dog’s head seconds before it bit her.
Kyle Dyer, who had been working at the Denver, Colorado station for over 15 years, had reconstructive surgery last Wednesday afternoon following the attack, and was released from the hospital Thursday afternoon.
In order to communicate, Kyle Dyer is using tools on her iPad to type out messages to loved ones.
The dog, whose full name is Warrior Maximus, recently survived a harrowing rescue from a freezing pond and was on the show as part of a mini-reunion between him and his rescuers.
A video of Max trying unsuccessfully to find a way out of the pond was released last week, and provides some context for the background which led him to lash out the next day.
Though immediate reports said that the dog was not properly vaccinated and his owners have put out a statement saying that he was up-to-date with all of his shots.
“Max is current in his vaccinations. Max has no history of aggression. Max is a gentle, loving, family dog. Max is well mannered and obedient and he hardly barks,” said the dog’s owners The Robinsons in a statement.
“This incident truly is unfortunate and does not reflect Max’s disposition towards people.”
Now, Max has been caged by animal control officers and his owner, Michael Robinson has been fined.
In addition to comments wishing Kyle Dyer well, most Facebook respondents left angry messages blaming her for getting too close to the dog.
“I totally agree with all those saying it was her own fault and she should have known better,” wrote Cassandra Hughes Kramer.
“The dog was being a dog, defending itself in a stressful situation. He didn’t jump on her and maul her, he nipped her lip… and she shouldn’t have been trying to kiss him. Maybe it’s a hard lesson to learn, but hopefully she learned it.”
A number of viewers also expressed concern that the dog would be euthanized as a result of the incident, which was something they appeared angry about.
“It was clearly human fault. Why should the animal be blamed for both the owner a Kyle’s mistake?
“Hope he isn’t put down, it would be a crime,” wrote Bruno Naletto.
Unless the dog has rabies – which it is not showing signs of – it will not be put down.
Even if the vaccinations are current, the owners will definitely face two charges from Denver Animal Care and Control: a penalty for having the dog bite someone and a second penalty for having the dog off its leash at the time.
“While we normally walk Max on-leash, we understand that by letting him off-leash in an open area away from anyone was still a mistake. We will never walk him off-leash in public areas after this,” the Robinsons said in their statement.
Max was brought into the studio after the station’s news chopper captured video footage of a firefighter rescuing Max from a freezing pond Monday after he fell through the ice and couldn’t make it out.
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