A mum believes her family dog ‘hated her’ so much that it tore off a chunk of her baby’s cheek to punish her – leaving the petrified tot scarred for life. Heather and Nicholas Harris brought home a Weimaraner – a German hunting dog – in 2021 at eight weeks old.
The 34-year-old nurse said her husband had longed to own this dog breed his whole life, but soon noticed their new pooch Remington was showing aggressive traits. The mum-of-two said Remington became ‘obsessed’ with her husband and ‘hated’ her, even more so after the pair welcomed a new baby in 2023.
Heather insists she never left the three-year-old hound alone with baby Savannah, but didn’t believe his aggressive behaviour would escalate.
On October 15 2024, Heather was at home with her 11-month-old, who was using her walker to get around the kitchen, when she heard a snarl coming from Remington followed by a piercing scream.
Horrified, Heather discovered Remington had bitten a chunk from Savannah’s right cheek and dumped the flesh on the floor, spattering blood across the kitchen.
Savannah was rushed to hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery to try and rebuild her mutilated face.
Heather believes Remington intentionally targeted Savannah to ‘get back at her’, and says her now two-year-old will be left with a facial scar for life from the attack.
Now, the mum-of-two is urging other parents with young children to remove pets from the home if they exhibit any aggressive traits.
Heather, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, said: “We’d had Remington since he was eight weeks old. My husband had wanted that breed his whole life.
“Remington ended up being super clingy with my husband. He was obsessed with my husband and hated me. There were a couple of incidents where Remington had attacked our other dog, but I didn’t think this would escalate.
“We ended up taking him to the vet and he was put on a mood stabiliser and had been on the pill for about eight months. There hadn’t been any more incidents but he still had some issues sharing.”
However, Remington’s aggressive behaviour nearly had fatal consequences when the canine suddenly attacked baby Savannah, ripping a chunk of flesh from her right cheek.
Heather said: “My daughter was 11 months old and I’d always tried never to keep my eyes off her or leave her in a room with him unattended.
“I was in the kitchen and Savannah was walking around with her walker and heard him make a snarl then heard a loud scream from my daughter.
“He literally took a chunk of her cheek out, there was blood everywhere. The chunk was on the floor. It was so traumatic.
“I feel like this was targeted at me. Ever since Savannah was born, I feel like he was even more clingy with my husband.
“He just loved my husband and I felt [Savannah] was the one thing he could get back at me for. I could barely breathe, she was inconsolable. I was in such shock.”
Paramedics rushed Savannah to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Michigan, US, where she underwent surgery to have a bioengineered synthetic skin replacement fitted to help regrow cells on her face.
Since then, Savannah has undergone another surgery to remove scar tissue and is due to have a final operation next month.
Heather, who says Remington has now been euthanised, is now urging other families to remove any aggressive pets from their home as soon as they show concerning traits.
Heather said: “He was just centimetres away from taking the facial nerve on that side, he had barely missed it. I think if he had gotten her in the right spot, he probably could’ve [killed her].
“There’ll always be a scar. As a mother, I’ll do and pay whatever I can to reduce the look of it but she’ll always have a scar there.
“If you have any kids in the home and your dog is showing any kind of aggression then I think they need to be removed from the home completely. It’s just not worth it.”
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