The Pocket Bully dog that 'ripped off' part of a five-year-old girl's face when she tried to stroke it has been pictured.
Farrah-Leigh Nichol, five, had gone to stroke the Pocket Bully after asking permission from the owner at around 6.30pm on Saturday near a Nisa store in Teesside.
But as the schoolgirl patted the animal's head it pounced - biting a huge chunk out of her left cheek.
Her father Alex Nichol, 30, kicked the Bully away and scooped his daughter up before she was rushed to hospital, where she is being treated for serious facial injuries.
Farrah-Leigh's mother Danielle Kemp, 32, and Mr Nichol are by the youngster's side as she prepares for skin graft operations.
Ms Kemp told MailOnline: 'What I saw and the screams I heard will haunt me, she really didn't deserve this.
This is the Pocket Bully dog that 'ripped off' part of a five-year-old girl's face when she tried to stroke it
This is the devastating injury caused to little Farrah-Leigh Nichol after she was savaged by a bully-type dog outside a corner shop
Yet as the schoolgirl gently patted the animal's head it pounced - biting a huge chunk out of her left cheek
Farrah-Leigh Nichol had gone to stroke the Pocket Bully after asking permission from the owner at around 6.30pm on Saturday outside a Nisa store in Teesside (pictured)
'I was cooking tea when Alex came running in with Farrah-Leigh.
'Our heads are all over the place at the moment.
My little girl has already had one operation and she has another two to come.
'She has one tomorrow morning and then another in two weeks, she's been very brave.
'The support we have had from local people has been overwhelming, we can't thank them enough.'
The family live close to the store on Norton Road, in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and the youngster was accompanied by her father when the dog struck without warning.
The owner of the animal waited at the scene as emergency services arrived and the dog has now been seized.
Pocket Bullys are smaller variants of American Bullys, with full-grown males under 17 inches and females under 16 inches at the shoulder blades.
Farrah-Leigh Nichol, five, (pictured) was injured when she was mauled by a dog after she stroked it on Saturday
The dog, a Pocket Bully, allegedly involved in the attack on five-year-old Farrah-Leigh Nichol
The family live close to the store on Norton Road, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, and the youngster was accompanied by her father when the dog struck without warning
She has had one operation and is set for two more following the horrific incident outside a Nisa store on Saturday evening
Mr Nichol, who works as a tiler, said: 'We had gone to the shop together and she had paid for some bread at the till.
'We came out and I pressed the button to cross the road and she said, "Can I stroke that dog?"
'I said, ''Yes, but you will have to ask the man first.''
'She said, "Can I stroke your dog?" and he said, 'Yes, no problem.'
'She went to stroke the dog on the head.
She loves dogs. She was stroking it really gently.
'The dog jumped and she jumped back and I thought, that was lucky.
'But then the next minute I saw her curled up on the floor and she said, "Dad".
'She was crying and all her face was off.
Her face was gone. It was just gruesome.'
Her father, Alex Nichol, 30, said: 'We have three dogs (pictured, Farrah-Leigh with one of the family's dogs) ourselves.
We have a Staffie and two XL Bullies. But I would be happy to muzzle them'
Farrah-Leigh's father Mr Nichol, 30, (pictured) said: 'If all dogs were muzzled it would just take away the risk.
If it saved just one child it would be worth it'
Mr Nichol rushed over to his daughter who was still in dangerously close proximity to the animal.
He added: 'I ran across to get her but the dog was right behind her.