When a 100lb dog lunged at toddler Megan Macfarlane, tearing open her face, mum Julie feared the worst.
But thanks to the actions of quick-thinking Angus vet John Kneen, the three-year-old’s lip was recovered from the stomach of the mastiff.
Now, 25 years on, and in the wake of Mr Kneen’s death, both mum and daughter have paid tribute to the man who gave Megan her smile back.
“I had a brilliant surgeon, and the ambulance rushed me to Dundee but if Mr Kneen hadn’t found my lip – and been so quick to get it to the police – I don’t know how things would have worked out.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” Megan – who is now a dog walker and groomer – said.
“Hearing of his passing, and being able to pay tribute to him is humbling. I have a wonderful life and his actions have helped me.”
Tragic incident
Megan had been visiting the ice cream van in July 1997 when a bull mastiff belonging to a neighbour jumped towards her ice cream.
Mum Julie Duff, a hairdresser in Carnoustie, was watching from the window of her Priory Crescent home in Arbroath.
She said: “It was horrific. I don’t think I will ever forget it.
“The dog didn’t mean to attack her, but he wanted her ice cream.
“So because it was next to her face when he bit the ice cream he also got Megan.
“Unfortunately mastiffs have a lock jaw, meaning they tear what they bite.”
A neighbour picked up Megan, who was bleeding from the attack, and shouted to Julie to call the ambulance.
“I remember her shouting ‘it’s a bad one,’ and I turned and ran back to the house, soaked a towel in water and came running back to Megan.
“I covered her up and when I took the towel away there was just a hole where her lip should have been.
“Just teeth and gums. From then on it was a rush to get her to hospital in Dundee.”
Call the vet
As the ambulance sped to get Megan to accident and emergency the police called John Kneen, a well-known vet from Arbroath, to euthanise the animal.
But on arrival Mr Kneen saw the police desperately looking for Megan’s missing lip.
Speaking at the time he said: “Police searched the area and found nothing.
“The only place the lip could be was inside the dog.
“So once the dog was put down, I removed its stomach and began to search for the piece of lip.
‘It was very difficult to find something so small among so much semi-digested food and other things.
”It was very dirty in the stomach but I didn’t clean the piece of lip properly because that might have removed some of the tissue.
“So I put the lip in a mixture of saline and ice and it was rushed to hospital by the police.”
Miracle surgery
Consultant plastic surgeon Anas Naasan carried out Megan’s surgery at Dundee Royal Infirmary.
It was the first of its kind – using tissue recovered from the stomach of an animal.
He wasn’t sure whether the lip would survive.
In fact, surgeons had hoped to re-join the vessels left on Megan’s face directly onto vessels in the piece of lip recovered from the dog but were forced to carry out a ”composite graft” because of the way the lip was torn.
Speaking on the news in 1997 Dr Naasam added: “The vet is to be praised for his quick thinking.
“After four hours we would not have been able to do any of this.”
However the operation was a success, and Megan, though not scar free, is proud of her smile.
“I’ve had multiple operations over the years, but the reality for me is that I’ve had more of my life with my unique smile than without.
“There is a little bit of scarring but I love my smile. It’s part of me. And Mr Kneen made that happen.”
Grateful
John Kneen passed away in June, aged 93.
His family included Megan’s story in his eulogy – such was the importance of that day to the grandfather-of-three.
Marcus Kneen said: “My dad always recalled that day and was grateful in later years to have met Megan and her mother.”
But perhaps not as grateful as Julie and Megan are.
“Your face is everything. It’s who people see when they meet you – it’s that first thing.
“And so of course I’m so thankful to Mr Kneen.”
Julie added: “I said thank you at the time and I’ve met Mr Kneen since. We’ll always be thankful for what he did. He gave Megan her smile back.”
Looking forward
Now Megan, who lives in Auchmithie and is expecting her first baby in November, is able to reflect positively on her experiences.
“I don’t remember an awful lot, it was harder for my mum in that respect.
“But I did have nightmares at the time because I was so sad the dog had to be put down.
“My mum and step dad at the time bought me a dog and it helped overcome that fear and sadness.
“And in many ways it’s set me up for what I do now.
“I have my own business as a dog walker and groomer and I have two rescue dogs of my own.
“I absolutely love dogs. They’re my passion.”
Conversation