A TODDLER mauled in a vicious dog attack has told her parents she is now “ugly” after being left with horrific wounds to her face.
Three-year-old Ronin Waldroup walked into a Texas restaurant with her family when the dog – identified as a pit bull – wearing a service vest shook her “like a rag doll”.
Her mom Cleveretta Gordon-Waldroup said the youngster was a few steps ahead of her in the line to order nuggets when she was confronted by the dog.
Ronin was taken to hospital where she had 15 stitches sewn into her face but heartbroken Cleveretta says her daughter has been left traumatised.
Cleveretta revealed she recently walked in on her daughter smothering makeup over her face in an effort to hide the wounds.
“She’s trying to put makeup on her face when I asked her why she’s doing that,” she told Fox19.
“For a three-year-old to turn to me and say, ‘Mommy, I’m ugly’ – It’s earth-shattering.”
A witness described how the dog “had a hold” of the tot’s face and when its owner yanked it away it dropped poor Ronin “like a rag doll”.
Dad James reportedly then chased the pet owner down the street as she tried to flee.
Surveillance video obtained by ABC13 shows the the woman and the dog walking down the sidewalk with the girl’s father walking not far behind her.
The video does not include audio, but body language indicates an exchange between the two.
“It’s enough that she’s going to have the mental trauma,” Cleveretta told KTRK.
“I don’t want her to look in the mirror and have that be a constant reminder of what happened.”
The family have started a GoFundMe page in a bid to raise money to cover Ronin’s medical costs and so far well-wishers have raised a $13,349 towards the $100,000 target.
Cleveretta said she doesn’t believe the dog who attacked her daughter was a certified service dog and thinks its owner put a false vest on so she could bring it inside the restaurant.
She said the family want a change in the law around service animal registration.
“We love service animals of all breeds and sizes but as we are going through this we are finding more information that just about anyone can purchase a service animal vest online or wherever to have their pet out in public,” she wrote on GoFundMe.
