Was she scared of dogs after that? I was bit on the face by my parents' dog when he we was stung by a bee. I was 2 years old and even though I do not remember this happening, I was scared of dogs my whole life. I still am but not as bad as I was when I was younger.
After it happened, we isolated the dog and I called a trainer the following Monday. He listened to the incident's details and gently said Del had to be put down because there was no scenario under which I could be assured Del wouldn't ever again be in a situation where a small child was nearby. He said that she just couldn't be trusted and the next time could end worse than a couple of stitches.
We'd done everything the books advised when DD was born, including blankets from her crib in the dog's bed, paying plenty of attention to the dog, etc. The attack was completely unprovoked while DD was playing quietly, and that sealed the dog's fate.
DD was too young to remember the incident and had no fear of dogs due to it.. When I think about her birthday and the date of the Dallas episode, which happened to be the season ender, so probably May, she would have been about 9 months old.
Not too long after the incident a big, fluffy, wonderfully gentle golden retriever runaway happened to be sitting at our gate. We had him for a few years - the kids loved him, but he was a runner whenever he spotted an opening.
One day, he got out when DD was about 4 and my twin sons two years old. I left them in the house and started chasing him down the street. I stopped and thought, "AM I CRAZY? What am I doing? Let the dog run."
He eventually came back but I told DH I wasn't ever chasing him down again. He agreed.
After a while he escaped again and I let him go. A few weeks later we saw him being walked by a man in his early 60s-ish. The kids said, "Mom, there's Duke!!! Tell that man he's our dog."
I stopped the car and we watched them for a minute. I said, "Look how happy they are. Duke's tail is wagging, and he and his new owner are getting some exercise. Let's let them be." Not long after that we got another dog from the pound. Fortunately, she wasn't a runner!
DH & I both grew up with dogs and continued the tradition. We've nearly always had one or two dogs, same with our kids. The dogs all get along well with each other.
Sorry to re-post this, dear Cinnamon, 
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