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Pet dog mauls Wisconsin toddler, 2, bites off part of lip and ear after getting 'spooked' by LED collar

Kenzie Riemenschneider took hold of the dog's LED collar and reportedly 'blinded' him with the light when the dog snapped
PUBLISHED MAR 29, 2023
2-year-old Kenzie Riemenschneider (L) had to go through several hours of surgery after being attacked by her pet dog, a Berndoodle (R) (GoFundMe, Getty Images)
2-year-old Kenzie Riemenschneider (L) had to go through several hours of surgery after being attacked by her pet dog, a Berndoodle (R) (GoFundMe, Getty Images)

HOULTON, WISCONSIN: A Wisconsin baby was mauled by the family dog when it attacked the toddler and tore off part of her ear after getting "spooked" by its own collar. This led the family to issue a warning regarding LED collars.

Kenzie Riemenschneider, 2, of Houlton, St Croix County, was playing with Curly, a 10-month-old Bernedoodle, while perched on the couch. She took hold of the dog's LED collar and turned it around, reportedly "blinding" him with the light. The dog snapped at the little girl's face, biting off the top of her left ear and removing a part of her lip.

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Kenzie underwent multiple surgeries

Kenzie's parents, Jaisa and Andy Riemenschneider found Kenzie covered in blood in the living room after hearing her scream. "Kenzie grabbed the LED light [on the collar] and pulled it round. I'm sure he got spooked or scared by the light, because she blinded him essentially," Jaisa said, as per Daily Mail

When paramedics arrived, they picked up the piece of Kenzie's ear from the living room floor and cautioned that "time wasn't on their side" to reattach it. Kenzie underwent surgery around 30 minutes away from the family's home, at Children's Hospital Minnesota. She then underwent 62 hours of sessions in a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber. Two additional procedures were performed after the initial 90-minute surgery. Kenzie has now totally recovered, with the exception of minimal damage to the tip of her ear.

The family is looking for a new home for Curly

The family claimed they made the "difficult" decision to find a new home for the dog in the wake of the horrific accident in order to prevent further risk. Jaisa claimed that she initially believed the dog's bark during the attack may have terrified her because it had not displayed any signs of hostility before.

A bernedoodle (Getty Images)
Bernedoodle (Getty Images)

"She screamed very loudly. My husband ran in there and grabbed her," said Jaisa. "Her lip on the left side was sliced wide open. It was like a pie shape, you could see her teeth". She added, "I immediately passed off Kenzie to the paramedics, and the paramedics started wrapping her head. I looked at them like, 'her lip is cut', thinking that's the only thing that's wrong with her. They said, 'she's missing part of her ear'. I was like, 'you're joking'." 

'I was beyond heartbroken'

She continued, "I was trying to stay strong for Kenzie. A lot of that came from the adrenaline, and just shock. I knew I couldn't break down in front of her. I walked up [to the ER] and they saw me covered in blood from holding her, and Kenzie with blood all over her face. At this point, I was beyond heartbroken." 

Kenzie was transferred to a private room to heal after her surgery. She had little clusters of stitches on her cheek and her lip, and her head was wrapped up in bandages. "I was so broken seeing our little two-year-old sleeping in the bed hooked up to all of these machines," Jaisa said. A GoFundMe was set up for Kenzie which has raised more than $10,000 of the $60,000 target to pay for the overall costs.

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