A student suffered shocking injuries while dog-sitting just a day away from celebrating her 22nd birthday.
Jacqueline Durand, 22, from Texas, had her ears, nose and face ripped off on the day before her birthday, leaving nothing but bone behind. She lost 30% of the blood in her body and was in the hospital for 60 days after being bitten an estimated 800 times.
Two days before Christmas Durand’s face was nearly erased. It happened when a dog sitting job in Coppell, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, went terribly wrong.
After Durand opened the front door of Justin and Ashley Bishop’s home, the dogs she had met once before dragged her from the front door to the living room.
Lucy a German Shepard mix, and Bender a Boxer and Pitbull mix, pinned her down, tore off her nose, ears, lips, and cheeks to the bone. On CBS News Durand said: “I thought I was going to die.”
Thirty-seven minutes passed before the police arrived when first responders felt safe going into the house. Police camera footage shows the dogs holding first responders at bay, leaving Durand agonizing for help. A medic eventually rescued Durand and ran out with her. She was rushed to a trauma center in grave condition.
When asked why it took 37 minutes to rescue Durand when police could have shot the dogs, Coppell Police Department told CBS News that first responders were only able to see Durand’s legs and were not immediately aware of the extent of her injuries as they tried to contain the dogs.
When the dogs rushed her, the door was left open, triggering a security alarm at the Bishop’s home. Police said that it was pure luck that she was rescued alive.
The couple told the police that they got the dogs from rescue organizations and hadn’t had any problems with the dogs. Justin Bishop said: “I have three kids. One is 3 years old. No history of violence. None.”
Justin released a statement saying: “We are heartbroken by the tragic incident involving Ms. Durand. We know that she was injured severely, and are devastated by what she and her family are going through.”
“We would never knowingly put anyone in harm’s way, and were shocked by what happened at our home. Due to pending litigation, we have been advised not to give any interviews, however, we want Ms. Durand and her family to know that we fervently pray for her recovery daily,” the Bishops added.
Durand was in emergency surgery for seven hours before her parents, John and Shirley Durand, heard from one of the doctors. She said revealing her face: “I feel like I didn’t ask for this. So, I think that it’s time to show who I am now, and I can’t be scared of it.”
On her way out of the hospital she received applause from her doctors and nurses, outside of her home, the first responders who saved her life gave her a champion welcome while her boyfriend Nathan, 24, stood by her side and from the start he was there too.
Durand wants to be seen not as a victim, but as an example. That’s perhaps why she didn’t hide her scarred body, which shows the more than 800 bites she endured.
She said: “I want dog owners to know their animals and be able to communicate with their sitters how they are, honestly, I’m speechless.”
“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. It’s not fun to think about and I also think about how amazing the doctors are and so I’m putting it in their hands to help me,” she added.
Even after the brutal attack, there’s a place still in her heart for dogs. Durand was a dog-sitter for seven years and still dreams of working with animals, possibly as a dog trainer.
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