- Brooklyn had just started dating someone new and had gained a modelling job in an upcoming commercial
- But first, she was due to visit her family interstate and went to visit her cousin and her dog
- She’d met the eight year-old pit bull, Diesel, before but as she bent down to pat him hello in the kitchen, the dog attacked, latching onto her face
- Brooklyn Khoury, 23, shares her harrowing story…
Chloé and I sat on my deck carving out pumpkins.
It was late October, 2020, and we’d met the day before, after connecting on the dating app Hinge. We had a lot in common, including a love of Halloween.
“Let’s hang out again next week,” Chloé, 20, suggested.
“I’d love to,” I responded, “but I’m heading interstate to visit family. Let’s meet up when I get back.”
During the flight to my cousin’s, I reflected on how well my life was going.
Videos of me skateboarding were gaining traction online and a major skate company had asked me to model in a commercial next week. I was excited!
Later, after greeting my cousin, I took a quick selfie and was disappointed to see a pimple on my top lip.
My mum, Melissa, had raised me to not stress over my appearance, but I didn’t want blemishes to interrupt my promising modelling career, so I cropped my lip from the photo.
Walking into the kitchen, where my cousin was busy putting away pots, I noticed her eight-year-old pit bull, Diesel, staring up at me.
As I leant down to pat him, he suddenly sprang up and bit hard onto my face.
His entire body was dangling off me!
I need to hold his head and go wherever he goes, I thought, silent with shock.
I dropped to a sumo wrestling position, but Diesel’s teeth remained clenched.
Grabbing his head, I tried to push him off me.
Due to my high pain tolerance, I didn’t make a sound and my cousin had no idea what was happening.
Finally, Diesel’s jaw released, and I saw something fling against the wall. Blood streamed from my face.
When I turned around, my cousin saw me and let out a horrible scream.
I ran into the bathroom to inspect my reflection as my cousin raced Diesel outside.
It was hard to comprehend the disfigured face staring back at me.
My entire top lip and the bottom half of my nose had been completely torn off in the dog attack!
I look like a skeleton, I thought in horror
Running back into the kitchen, it dawned on me that the bloodied object on the ground was my lip – with the pimple I’d been so bothered by earlier.
We raced to emergency, but due to COVID, I had to report to a tent outside the hospital, holding a blood-soaked rag to my face.
I tried giving the nurse my name but struggled to talk properly.
“Vrooklinn?” she repeated with a frown. “And what’s wrong with you?”
I pulled down the rag to show my face.
“Oh my god! Get her inside!” she urged other medics.
Six hours later, a plastic surgeon arrived to stitch together the remaining flesh.
Later, I’d need to find a skilled specialist to construct a new nose and lip.
By law, the hospital had to report the attack and Diesel was euthanised.
When my cousin and her husband visited me, they were lost for words.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I told them.
In the eight years I’d known Diesel, he’d never been aggressive, but he’d clearly just snapped.
Afterwards, my thoughts kept drifting to Chloé.
Would she still like me now? I wondered, worried she’d end what had only just begun.
I texted her and told her what had happened.
I’ll get on the next flight to see you, she replied.
I managed to convince her not to make the long trip but deep down, I was relieved she still cared.
Then, I told the skate company I could no longer do the commercial and feared my modelling career was over.
It was hard to grasp that one fleeting, freak incident had impacted my life so greatly.
When Mum and my father, Ephrem, drove down to see me and I revealed the gaping hole in my face, Dad took my hand.
“How I look at you now is how I’ve always looked at you,” he said. “You’re beautiful, Brooklinn.”
I sobbed into his arms.
After two days in hospital, I was sent home. Chloé came straight over and surprised me with flowers and a book of poetry.
“You didn’t have to do this,” I said, hugging her.
“I wanted to,” she replied.
Soon, we were seeing each other every day and eventually, I built up the courage to show her my face without the bandages.
“Do I look scary?” I asked.
“You look nothing less than perfect,” she said, kissing my cheek.
Before long, we officially became a couple.
I felt so loved, and when I posted about my story online, the response from my followers was overwhelming.
It’s inspiring to see you smiling despite it all, one commented.
You’re going to change the world, another wrote.
I chose to be truthful about my story, even if it attracted anger from defenders of pit bulls.
Shame the dog didn’t kill you, one nasty person wrote.
Cruel comments like those always sadden me, because I don’t hate any canine breed. I’ve always loved dogs and continue to interact with them, if not a bit more cautiously.
It wasn’t until November 2021 that I had my first lip reconstruction surgery.
Before surgery to reconstruct my lip. The dog attack destroyed so much of my face. (Image: Supplied)
During the lip reconstruction process. (Image: Supplied)
Me after six operations. (Image: Supplied)
“You look like Homer Simpson,” a passing bloke remarked soon after.
My appearance to strangers didn’t matter to me, I was just glad to be able to eat and speak properly again.
I’ve since had five additional operations to refine the movement and aesthetic of my new lip.
But Chloé has helped me to love what I see in the mirror at every stage of the journey. I’ve sure come a long way since I cropped that pimple out of my selfie!
Beauty, I’ve realised, comes in as many forms as there are people on Earth.
You don’t need to look a certain way to feel loved and alive.
Follow Brooklinn on Instagram @brookhoury
What to do if a dog is attacking you
- Avoid the urge to run. It could encourage the dog to give chase and there’s a risk of falling over.
- Try not to scream. This could trigger a more predatory response and cause more aggression.
- Cross your arms If it’s possible to cross your arms it will make it harder for the dog to bite onto them or your sleeves
- Try to form a barrier Giving a dog as much space as possible can avoid confrontation but try to get something to ram between yourself and the dog and then get behind a closed door. If outdoors, a bench, garbage bit or lamp post may suffice
- Don’t try to prise the dog’s mouth open This is one of the worse things you could do and may make the dog clench even harder
- Grab the collar If the dog has a collar on, try grabbing the collar from the back of the neck and twisting it hard, essentially cutting off air supply so it has to let go
