Warning: This story contains distressing images that may upset some people.
A US mum-of-four has shared the traumatic event where several of her family's puppies mutilated her daughter in minutes, leaving her face unrecognisable.
Michele Peden and her husband Michael adopted four Queensland labrador puppies, having dreamt of having pets join their family for years.
On June 3, the couple was preparing for their youngest child's birthday when Michele left their home to go shopping. Her husband was left at home with their four kids.
Moments later, Michele received the call from hell - her daughter had been mauled by the group of new additions.
Within 10 minutes, two-year-old Felicity had chunks of her ear missing and her face covered with scratches.
Michele told Jam Press that when she arrived at the hospital, she found Felicity unconscious with deep gashes and bloody scratches all over her face.
"They had eaten her ear and mutilated her face, neck and upper body."
She said the smell of little Felicity's head made her "sick to my stomach".
"All I could smell was puppy slobber all over her head, which made me want to cry.
The mum said her daughter was missing her hair too. She had stitches in multiple places, including her lip, neck and throat.
Michele told Jam Press that at that moment, she felt helpless.
"I cried, my heart was broken and I felt like I was going to pass out, the feeling of not being able to do anything to help my baby was overwhelming."
She said the guilt of not "seeing the signs" was overwhelming too, and she blamed herself for the tragic incident.
"At the time, I had no other information but I concluded that the only thing in the backyard that could have caused that kind of damage was the puppies."
The parents shared their story on social media in a bid to raise awareness about dog attacks - which soon went viral.
The family also launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for Felicity's growing hospital bill. Their fundraising efforts currently sit at $US13,977 (NZD$22,210) with the goal of $US25,000 (NZ$39,726).
Felicity's injuries were so severe that she was flown to a specialist children's hospital with a trauma centre in Fresno, California, where she received plastic surgery in an attempt to save her ear.
The mum said that after hours under the scalpel, those efforts failed and much of Felicity's ear couldn't be saved.
"She struggled to open her eyes and was crying for us, as well as signing that she wanted her 'baba' and that she needed to be sick, probably because of the morphine."
And Felicity's journey is far from over. Michele said medical professionals said her daughter has muscle damage to her face, arms and legs, which will need further surgeries.
Her neck injuries are so severe that her parents are unable to even hold her.
Over the following days, Felicity stabilised and the swelling on her face began to reduce. Scans showed Felicity hadn't suffered any lasting damage to her internal organs or neck.
She has since improved and has been released from the hospital after seven long days and is still attending appointments to have plastic surgery once a week.
The family's four puppies were taken to an animal shelter after local authorities determined they didn't need to be euthanised and instead be separated.
Warning: The pictures below may be distressing for some.
