IT was meant to be a fun day soaking up the last of the summer rays in the back garden.
But moments after stepping off her trampoline in her back garden, six-year-old Deborah Dzvene’s life was changed forever.
Her big brother’s pet dog attacked her face so savagely that dad Crispen had to prise its jaws apart to free his blood-soaked daughter.
Deborah underwent seven hours of complex surgery to pull skin from her neck onto her face. She is the youngest patient in the UK to ever have the procedure done.
But the youngster has still been left with a patchwork of scars across her face.
She is the latest child victim of a dangerous bully-type dog and The Sun can reveal the animal that mauled Deborah had traces of pitbull – a breed BANNED in Britain.
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Mum Lyvona Mucheksei, 43, last night called all bully-type dogs to be culled.
She said: “Danger is in this dog's DNA. They can change nature in the blink of an eye.
“Deborah was just beautiful and, while the scars will fade they won’t ever go away completely.
“Every time I look at her I feel so much hurt for her. I try to hide it but when I’m alone I sometimes cry.
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“The Government needs to cull all of them because it will be too hard to enforce a ban. These animals can not be trusted – just look at what’s happened to my lovely daughter.”
The surgeon who treated Deborah said he had never seen such damage to a child’s face before.
Deborah’s family say South Yorkshire police, who seized the animal, carried out tests and found its DNA contained traces of pitbull – a breed that was banned in 1991.
The Sun has previously told how unscrupulous dealers are still getting pitbulls into the UK.
Dog trainer Stan Rawlinson, an expert witness when the Dangerous Dogs act was brought in, said: “Pitbulls are still coming into Britain.
“It’s easy to get a dog into the country simply by naming it a different breed on the paperwork.”
Horror in the garden
Deborah’s horror unfolded as she played with dad Crispen, 57, a support worker, and 11-year-old brother Declan in the back garden of her home in Rawmarsh, Rotherham, South Yorks, in September.
Her 22-year-old brother Denford’s pet dog Socks was roaming the back garden when it attacked Deborah out of the blue.
Denford was upstairs when he heard his little sister screaming and ran downstairs to alert mum Lyvona, who was playing music in the front room.
Lyvona said: “When I saw Deborah she was covered in blood.
“Denford heard her scream but by the time we got into the garden she was quiet. She didn’t cry. I think she was in too much shock.
“The neighbours called an ambulance while we put Socks on a lead and tied her to the trampoline until the police came.
"Crispen said it just attacked Deborah from nowhere and bit down so hard on her face that he had to open its jaws with his hands.”
Deborah was taken to Sheffield Children’s Hospital where surgeons performed a complex operation to pull spare skin up from her neck on to her face.
The family say the dog was well loved by Denford, who bought it from a friend, and videos of Socks as a puppy show a playful, energetic animal.
Lyvona said: “Denford feels absolutely terrible, the guilt is killing him. He feels like it’s all his fault, even though he had Socks from six weeks old and treated him really well.
“He loves dogs and would never harm an animal so the aggression had to be inbuilt.
“There was no reason for Socks to go for Deborah that day. She’d helped her brother feed him a little while before and, even although it was a hot day, the dog had a big bowl of water to keep cool.
“It just shows you how fast these dogs can turn. I would warn every parent in the land to never fully put their trust in a dog after this – let alone a bully-type.”
Maxillofacial surgeon Professor Muzzammil Nusrath told how he avoided skin grafts, which would have caused an “obvious mismatch” on Deborah’s face and extensive scarring.
He used a technique which pulled up excess skin from her neck and chest to repair the damage. It is usually reserved for cancer patients past the age of 50.
The professor said the technique has never been used for a child so young before and was a “big risk.”
Prof Nusrath said: “Skin grafts were the logical choice given the extent of injury but this would have meant an obvious mismatch on Deborah’s face in colour as well as dents and extensive scarring.
“Given Deborah’s age, the psychological and social issues and current social media scrutiny that kids have to live up to, compared to when I grew up, this was less than ideal.
“I haven’t seen such extensive defects to a child’s face before and this is in the category of the one of the worst I’ve seen.
“It’s an awful thing to go through at this age, but bless her, she has taken it in her stride along with the family.”
I haven’t seen such extensive defects to a child’s face before and this is in the category of the one of the worst I’ve seen
Bully dogs have been responsible for 12 out of 23 fatal attacks in the last three years, including that of 10-year-old Jack Lis in November 2021.
Bully-type dogs cover a range of animals, including the XL bully and pitbull. They are descendants of crosses between ancient bulldogs and a variety of British terriers
Jack, of Caerphilly, south Wales, was so badly mauled by a near-7 stone XL Bully called Beast that he had to be identified by his shoe.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made it illegal from December 31 to breed, sell, advertise, rehome or abandon an American Bully XL.
From February next year, owners who want to keep their dogs will have to register it.
Deborah’s mum says the new laws don’t go far enough.
The little girl spent two weeks in hospital and will have further surgery down the line to reduce the scarring.
Lyvona says Deborah has been traumatised by her ordeal and too scared to go to school. She is being introduced back into the classroom for hours at a time.
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She said: “While these dogs exist there will always be people who will breed them illegally and their DNA will always be passed to other dogs.
“We need to have a mass cull. It might sound harsh but it’s the only way we can stop attacks like the one on my daughter.”
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