A Texas college student who was left “catastrophically” disfigured from a dog attack was bitten more than 800 times and lost almost 30 percent of her blood — as terrifying bodycam footage shows cops struggling to get the beasts under control.
Jacqueline Durand, a student at the University of Texas at Dallas, was mauled a day before her 22nd birthday in December when she showed up at the home of Dr. Justin Bishop and his wife Ashley to walk their two dogs.
But when she opened the door, the animals — a German shepherd mix-breed named Lucy and a pit bull mix-breed named Bender — pounced on her and pinned her down.
“I felt the skin hanging from my face,” Durand told CBS News in her first interview since the incident. “I thought I was going to die.”
Durand, who was shown in a wheelchair, also revealed the severe injuries to her face — which has undergone skin grafts from her buttocks.
The student also lost almost 30 percent of her blood in the life-altering attack and had to be resuscitated multiple times and put in a medically induced coma for a week, CBS News reported.
“She had to be resuscitated on the trauma table,” her father John Durand told the outlet.
“Multiple times,” her mother, Shirley Durand added.
“I was just glad to see her alive,” the mom said. “Her whole face was totally bandaged.”
Meanwhile, never-before-seen bodycam footage shows the responding officers struggle to get the dogs under control.
“We can’t make entry because of the dogs,” a cop can be heard saying in the footage.
It took 37 minutes from the time officers arrived to when medics felt safe enough to enter the premises.
Durand had her nose, ears, lips and cheeks torn off during the attack by the “bloodthirsty” animals, according to a lawsuit filed in January.
“The dogs violently attacked her head and face — mauling her catastrophically,” the suit says.
“The dogs were so violent and bloodthirsty that they pulled all of Jacqueline’s clothes off, including her blue jeans. The dogs tore off and ate both of Jacqueline’s ears, her nose, her lips, and most of her face below her eyes.”
However, Durand said she decided to come forward and show her injuries now so she can be seen as an example, not a victim.
“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,” she told CBS News.
“I want dog owners to know their animals and be able to communicate with their sitters how they are.”
The lawsuit accuses the couple of negligence for allegedly failing to control, secure and train the dogs, as well as “failing to provide a safe environment for their invitees.”
Durand is seeking a jury trial and compensation of more than $1 million.
The 22-year-old likely only survived the nightmare because the security alarm at the Bishops’ home went off when the front door was left open during the attack, the outlet said.
The couple told investigators the dogs came from rescue organizations and that they hadn’t had any problems with them.
But the lawsuit includes a photo of an “ominous sign” on the couple’s front door that states: “Crazy Dogs. Please Don’t Knock or Ring the Bell. Call or Text Instead.”
Durand’s attorney, Chip Brooker, told CBS News that the sign “suggests that the Bishops knew that both of these dogs had acted aggressively to people arriving at the front door.”
The couple turned down an interview request by CBS News but said in a statement that they are “heartbroken.”
“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,” the Bishops said.
“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,” they added.
Durand said she hopes to continue working with animals, possibly as a dog trainer, but still faces additional surgeries and a long road ahead in her recovery.
“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 said.
Also at her side is her boyfriend of three years, Nathan, 24, who just recovered from cancer.
“I’m so grateful that I get the same opportunity to show the same level of love and care that she showed me during that time,” he told CBS News. “I’m glad I get to be there for her.”
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