A woman's nose was savagely ripped off by her boyfriend's pitbull mix rescue after being "startled by her teeth whitening. "
Olivia Quast, 30, from Connecticut, US, was wearing her UV teeth-whitening mouth guard when she went down to feed Graeme Stasyshyn's six-year-old dog, Bentley on February 3.
But when she went to touch her face she realised her nose "wasn't there" after he sunk his teeth into her and left her with a "mangled arm."
Olivia, who believes the UV light might have scared the dog, tried not to yank her arm out of Bentley's mouth as his "favourite game is tug of war."
Instead Olivia allowed him to bite her until she kicked him in the side.
She told Kennedy News and Media: “He lunged, and he got my nose first, I was in shock and disbelief. I just stared at him.
"It never dawned on me that he was going to keep attacking me, because why would he? I put my hand on my nose and he lunged at my arm twice more.”
After escaping the attack she quickly rushed to the bathroom where she frantically called her mum.
She said: “I was in pure agony. [I was saying] ‘help me mom, help me, he took my nose. My fingers are going numb, I can’t feel my fingers, I’m getting cold."
Olivia revealed she was struggling to stand still after being left in shock from her injuries.
She added: “I stayed standing but I felt my entire being drop to the floor, the room spun, it’s like everything was in hyper-focus and spinning and it was pure agony
Her mum called her daughter an ambulance and she was rushed to Hartford Hospital in Connecticut.
Medics found her nose, septum and cartilage had been torn out.
Fortunately, the ridge of her nose and her nostrils remained intact and has not affected her breathing or sense of smell.
However, the injuries to her arm required two plates, eight screws and two pins to keep the limb together.
She has also suffered damage to her nerves and ligaments, which will take a year to heal, according to doctors.
In addition, Olivia has to wait a year for her facial injuries to heal before she undergoes reconstructive surgery.
Doctors will use cartilage from her ear, pieces of her ribs and skin from her forehead to create a new nose.
Olivia also suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is a rare connective tissue disorder that makes her prone to bruises and injuries.
And due to the condition it dislocates her joints on a daily basis and has needed stitches over 80 times since the age of 6.
Following the horrific attack, Olivia and Graeme both decided to euthanise Bentley - but made sure he had a comfortable send-off.
She revealed they treated him to a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, let him play with his favourite toy, and listened to classical music.
Olivia's best friend has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help her with her expensive medical expenses and future surgery.
More than $66,000 (£55,000) has been raised in donations so far.
