A four-year-old girl who was left screaming during a dog attack said after winning a national pageant: “My scars make me beautiful.”
Elouise Smith entered Little Miss Glamour UK in a bid to rebuild her confidence after being bitten by a family friend’s Staffordshire bull terrier. Mum Stacey Murray, 34, said: “We’ve been teaching her that her scars are her story, that’s what makes her beautiful. So she always tells people she got ‘bitten by a doggy’ but tells them: ‘My scars make me beautiful.’”
Elouise spent five days in hospital after the attack in Doncaster, South Yorks. She was set upon during a regular play date at her friend’s house.
The girl entered the beauty pageant in a bid to rebuild her confidence
Elouise was left scarred after a dog attackThe family handed the dog over and it has since been destroyed. Stacey told how she received a phone call in December to say there had been “an accident”.
She said: “I thought she’d just fallen over and hurt her knee at first. When I got there the front door was open and the girl’s dad was pacing up and down.b Her mum brought Elouise downstairs covered in a white towel. It was wrapped around her face. My heart sank. She was screaming and crying.
Dog who 'always melts hearts' with his smile hopes to find a loving family
“When they passed her over, the towel fell from her face and I saw all the lacerations on her face. There was blood everywhere, all over the floor and all over the towel.” Elouise had stitches along her jawline, inside her mouth and around her eye during three hours in surgery. She had around 200 stitches in total.
Elouise's mum Stacey Murray said her daughter wanted to take part to show that 'it doesn't matter what scars you've got'Stacey said: “It was supposed to only take an hour but the surgeon said they were a lot deeper than he thought.” She added: “It was an accident. They’d had this dog for eight years with no problems. As a family this has traumatised us. I still have nightmares now. [Elouise] still suffers now, but not as much as she did. She still has meltdowns in nursery.”
Elouise’s older sister Savannah Grace-Riley, 12, said: “I’m really proud of her because she’s been through a lot lately. Then she’s gone out and won Miss Glamour and she’s only four.” Asked what was her favourite thing about winning, Elouise said: “A crown!”
She was keen to thank her sister, and said: “Savannah takes care of me, I really like her, she’s my best friend.” Stacey is backing our Time for Action on Danger Dogs campaign as she worries about the number of big dog attacks she sees in the news. She said: “I can’t believe it’s still happening.”
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