The woman was attacked by the pet whilst spending time in the garden.

The Reporter understands that the four-year-old Bullmastiff, which they had since it was a pup, snapped, grabbing the hands and leg of the woman.

Speaking to the Reporter, her sister said there was no hesitation in making sure the dog was destroyed after the vicious attack, which has left the victim in hospital and scarred for life.

She told us: “It came as a total shock, it was a big dopey thing. There were never any problems with it and it was very loving.

“Nobody saw something like this happening. It was never aggressive.” The victim was left with severe injuries to both her hands, losing a finger on her left following the incident on Saturday, June 13.

She was also left with extensive injuries to her leg, requiring skin grafts to repair the damage.

Her husband was also injured in the attack as he came to the rescue of his wife, receiving a bite to his left arm. Although a serious injury, the wound was bandaged and he was released from hospital.

The couple had kept dogs since they were married and had never encountered any problems, let alone a serious injury.

But after the attack, the victim said she will never have another dog and the pet was destroyed.

And now her sister fears the attack will have lasting effect on her and her relationship with dogs in general.

She added: “They have children, so there was no question of keeping the dog, there was no hesitation. She’s a very strong character, but I think this will affect her and it’s probably something that will live with her for a while.

“It would with anybody I think. But she said to me, ‘never again, not after what happened’.” The family don’t know what caused the dog to snap, but one suggestion was it was ill, causing it to act out of character.

She said: “I don’t think it’s worth worrying if they could have done anything differently. I could have put £1,000 on the dog doing something like that and it would never have happened.

“I had to ask four or five times over the phone when they told me – I just couldn’t believe it.”