New Zealand doctors said a 7-year-old Japanese girl was bitten about 100 times during a dog mauling that has horrified many in the South Pacific nation.
Zac Moaveni, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital, told reporters on Friday that the girl, Sakurako Uehara, would likely need repeated surgeries until she was a grown woman.
According to police, she was attacked on Monday by four Staffordshire bull terrier-cross dogs in the North Island town of Murupara while her family was visiting friends who owned the animals.
The dogs have been euthanised.
Concerned residents have donated over 100,000 New Zealand dollars to help the family.
Police are investigating whether to lay criminal charges against the dog owners or anyone else.