4 days ago
Woman whose entire face was torn off by two violent dogs reveals what she looks like 4 years later after 28 operations - as people say her progress is 'astonishing'
A woman who was violently attacked and bitten 800 times by two dogs she was hired to care for has shared an update on her recovery four years on from the ordeal that left her badly disfigured.
Jacqueline Durand, a student at Texas University, was just shy of her 22nd birthday when she was mauled by two rescue dogs, a German Shepherd mix, Lucy, and a Pitbull mix named Bender in 2021.
The attack was so vicious it left the student fearing for her life, but as she shares photos of herself well into recovery four years on, people say her progress is 'astonishing'.
Ahead of Christmas in 2021 Durand, a supply chain management student and dog sitter of seven years, had been hired to dog sit the creatures and believed them to be 'lovely' in a meeting the day before she looked after them for the first time.
Before arriving at the dogs' home, Durand had been assured by her new employers that the pooches would be in crates and kennels - but when she arrived they were wandering around freely.
Despite having a positive first encounter with the dogs, Durand walked into an entirely different atmosphere on 23 December when they took their opportunity to pounce, biting her 800 times in an attack that tore the flesh from her face.
They savagely bit into her nose, ears, lips and cheeks, leaving her with injuries so severe that she was placed into a medically-induced coma while doctors performed an emergency seven hour surgery on her.
Following the horrific attack, the dogs were captured and placed in the care of the City of Coppell before a municipal judge decided that both dogs should be euthanized.
Four years on from the attack, the 25-year-old shares regular updates on her recovery as she continues to live with the consequences four years on from the attack that changed her life.
Hoping to raise awareness to the dangers of dogs, Durand has shared details of her story on both TikTok and Instagram, explaining that she had since had facial reconstructive surgery to improve the appearance of her injuries.
She told how doctors first carried took a skin graft from her buttocks and forehead. They rebuilt her nose using skin from near her hairline and her lip was remade from skin on her left thigh.
'It's a long road to go to recovery but I am doing alright, I am progressing,' she said in a video posted in 2023.
She recently had her 28th surgery, telling followers that despite the 'lack of sleep', the process was 'all worth it' to see progression.
In the weeks following the surgery, where 'a lot was done', she said she was 'beyond excited' by the results, sharing a photo of her face, which still had stitches around the cheek area.
'I can finally say I'm starting to see myself again and the more I heal the more I will be pleased with how things are progressing,' she captioned the picture, thanking doctors for helping with her 'remarkable healing'.
In another update share to Instagram a week ago, she attached a picture of her face following the surgery. 'My eye is still slowly easing up on swelling but scabs are falling off and the integral is doing well,' she captioned the picture.
Responding to Durand's updates, her followers have expressed their awe at how well she has recovered following the vicious attack.
One person wrote: 'Wow!!! I see the progress from your last surgery. Amazing!'
Another said: 'The progress is truly astonishing. Seeing your features being restored. Your doctors are truly artists.'
Despite experiencing horrific injuries at the hands of canines, it hasn't deterred the 25-year-old from owning dogs and she now shares a close bond with her own pet, Luna, who she said has helped in her recovery.
'I had to also share these precious moments of Luna laying with me. She knows what I need before I even know,' she wrote next to a picture of the pair snuggling up together.
Durand has come a long way in the last four years, despite initially being unrecognisable after sustaining the injuries.
Describing the attack, which took place in 2021, Durand said the two offending dogs had been nothing but 'lovely' when she first met them, but that things had taken a violent turn as soon she entered the property where she was supposed to be taking care of them.
Led to believe both would be in crates when she arrived, Durand was left stunned when she opened the door and was straight away knocked her off balance, causing her to fall and drop her cell phone.
The bloodthirsty creatures then pinned the dog sitter to the ground and dragged her though the corridor into the living room where they proceeded to hack away her face.
So violent were the dogs that they even pulled all of Jacqueline's clothes off, including her blue jeans.
They then ripped off her ears, nose, and face, leaving nothing but bone behind, and she lost 30 per cent of the blood in her body, leaving her hospitalised for 60 days.
In the interview with CBS Mornings at the time, she said: 'When I felt the skin hanging from my face, I thought I was going to die.'
The dogs dragged Jacqueline from the entryway into the property. Photographs taken after the attack show a bloodied rug and dog bed. Jacqueline lost 30 per cent of her blood in the mauling and now faces several surgeries and has frequent physical therapy sessions
During the attack, Durand was unable to call for help - but 911 was alerted because the property's front door was left open when the dogs pounced, triggering an alarm.
When first responders arrived, they were unable to enter the home for an excruciating 37 minutes because the dogs were so aggressive.
A representative told CBS News they were 'only able to see Jacqueline Durand's legs and were not immediately aware of the extent of her injuries'.
Bodycam footage from officers on the scene reveal Jacqueline screaming for help as the dogs continued to attack her.
She was laying on her stomach naked when police were finally able to enter the home and rescue her, with footage showing her crying as medics inspected her body and told her to 'keep breathing'.
She was then rushed to hospital where she received a seven hour long emergency surgery.
Her parents also said their daughter had to be resuscitated multiple times and was placed in a medically induced coma during the first week.
'It was clear that he was saying she's in for a fight for survival,' her father John told CBS News, calling her a 'miracle.'
Despite the horrific attacks and the multiple reconstructive surgeries she underwent, Durand said she is ready for the world to see her face.
'It's time to show who I am now, and I can't be scared of it,' she said.
Speaking on the show, she was keen to use her horrendous experience to set an example to dog owners.
'I want dog owners to know their animals and be able to communicate with their sitters how they are,' she told CBS News.
She described being left 'speechless' by the radical change in their behaviour, having appeared to get along with them on first meeting.'
After every meet and greet I had, I always felt the same with those other dogs and they don't change their attitude from the time that I met them to the time that I go there for the first time.'
The owners, who have three children - including a three-year-old - claimed the dogs were never violent, telling investigators that they had 'zero' problems with them.
However, they reportedly had a sign on their home claiming to have 'crazy dogs' and to not 'ring the doorbell'.
The front door sign read: 'Crazy Dogs. Please Don't Knock or Ring the Bell. Call or Text Instead.'
'The warning on the door suggests that the Bishops knew that both of these dogs have acted aggressively to people arriving at the front door,' Durand's lawyer Chip Brooker told CBS Mornings.
Following the attack, Durand filed a lawsuit, accusing Dr Bishop and his wife of negligence for allegedly failing to control, secure and train the animals, as well as 'failing to provide a safe environment for their invitees.'
The lawsuit lays the blame directly at the Bishops who allowed the animals to remain on their property while 'knowing they had dangerous propensities'.
It alleges the Bishops knew of the dog's tendencies towards violence because of the 'crazy dogs' warning sign that was visible to anyone walking up to the front door.
'Jacqueline will forever measure her life in terms of before and after opening that door,' Brooker said.
'She will be permanently disfigured for the rest of her life, and we filed this lawsuit to make sure all the responsible parties are held accountable.'
Between 2005 and 2017, there were a total of 433 deaths caused by dogs in the US
Pit bulls continue to top the list of America's most dangerous dog breeds, having been responsible for 284 fatal attacks on humans from 2005 to 2017.
The second breed on the list, Rottweilers, came a distant second with 45.
