A Perth schoolgirl who needed 34 stitches after a playpark dog attack is hunting for the strangers who rushed to her rescue.
Nine-year-old Alyssa MacDonald wants to say thank you to the teenage boys and adult passers-by who stepped up to save her.
Brave Alyssa’s face was savaged as she tried to protect her younger friend from the dog.
She says a group of older boys dragged the animal off her, then formed a circle round her to keep her safe.
“The boys shouted at the dog and chased it off me,” she said.
“I don’t know their names, but I want to say thank you.
“My mum says next time I see a big dog like that I have to climb up somewhere high,” she added.
“But my friend was in trouble and I wanted to help her.”
Alyssa’s mum Tanisha was also injured when she hauled the dog away from her other daughter.
Several motorists drove past as the incident was unfolding at the playpark in the Tulloch area of Perth.
But Tanisha, 26, says she is grateful to the one man who stopped and tried to catch the dog.
She also wants to thank a woman who took care of Alyssa’s three year-old sister Julie while medics dealt with their injuries.
WARNING – graphic image below
Alyssa was taken by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee on Friday night.
Surgeons stitched up three deep wounds on her face on Saturday. She needed 34 stitches in total.
The courageous youngster was back at the hospital on Tuesday.
But she has not been able to return to Tulloch Primary School since the incident.
Speaking to The Courier on Wednesday, Tanisha said the whole family wanted to say thank you to everyone who had who helped her.
She has also been left with scars and deep bruising on her upper arm.
‘I knew I had to save my children’
Tanisha had been walking to the park with Julie to pick up Alyssa when she noticed the commotion.
She was horrified when she saw her daughter on the ground with the boys circled round her.
At that point the dog turned towards her and little Julie, and all Tanisha’s instincts kicked in.
“I hauled it off and held it there by the scruff of the neck,” she said.
“I don’t know where I got the strength from. But I knew I had to save my children.”
She says she is very proud of animal-lover Alyssa for the way she helped her friend, and for the way she has dealt with the ordeal.
She is also thankful to the secondary school-aged boys, who had been playing basketball in the park.
And she wants to express her gratitude to the adults who stepped up.
Alyssa’s grandmother Lesley Brown, from Kinross, said the kindness of strangers had made the family’s trauma more bearable.
“The boys in particular deserve praise,” she said.
“Teenagers get a bad name, but these boys might have saved Alyssa’s life.”
Police respond to report of Perth dog attack
Speaking after the incident on Friday, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.40pm on Friday, 31 May, 2024, we were called to a report of a dog attacking two girls in the Tulloch Park area of Perth.
“A nine-year-old girl was taken to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee, for treatment.
“An eight-year-old was injured but did not require medical treatment.
“The dog has been removed to kennels.
“A 63-year-old man will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with dangerous dog offences.”
Conversation