COPPELL, Texas — More than a month after being attacked by two dogs, a 22-year old University of Texas at Dallas student remains hospitalized.
Family of Jacqueline Durand said they are trying to find a way forward after the attack left her “permanently and catastrophically” disfigured by the dogs she had been hired to take care of.
“We just hope that she can return to whatever her normalcy will be one day," her father John Durand told WFAA.
Durand, who runs a dog-sitting business on the side while attending college, went to a Coppell home on Dec. 23 to take care of a couple's three dogs, including a German shepherd mix and a pit bull mix, while they were out of town.
But when she got to the home and opened the door, Jacqueline was "immediately was taken down," John said.
"Dragged throughout the home. Clothes ripped off. Eight hundred to 1,000 bites around her body,” John described.
“Her ears, nose, upper lip, and face - from cheek bone to cheek bone - were pulled off of her face," he continued. "She will never look the same.”
Officers said the home's glass storm door was off its hinges with the front door wide open, and blood was visible in the foyer by the time they arrived on the scene.
Once inside the home, a police report says an officer could hear someone moaning, and then saw Jacqueline on her stomach with "serious facial damage" on her head. Paramedics and police, who also had to struggle to restrain the dogs, were eventually able to get her out of the home.
Durand and her family are now filing a lawsuit against the dogs owners. WFAA has attempted to contact them, but received no response.
A judge ruled the animals should be euthanized, the family's attorney Chip Brooker appealed to give them time to further investigate.
“This is just the beginning of a long journey for the family, as we begin to investigate this,” Brooker said. “We believe that not just the family that owned the dogs, but there may be other parties that are potentially liable here.”
The lawsuit seeks several things, including payment for medical expenses and loss of earnings in the past and future.
Jacqueline's family told WFAA that the situation is even harder because of how much the 22-year-old loves animals.
“With such a kind heart, a warm, loving compassion for dogs and animals, that even continues to this day,” John said.
“She walked into that house with nothing but love for those dogs,” Barreca, Jacqueline’s sister, added.
Sadly, she left with her life forever changed.
"But we will be with her every step of the way," her dad promised.