Dog Bites Newswoman’s Face on Live Television After Icy Rescue

A canine behavior expert said the dog that bit a news anchor exhibited classic warning signs it would do so.

Denver NBC news anchor Kyle Dyer was bitten on the face by an Argentine Mastiff during a live interview after the firefighter shown in the video rescued the dog from icy water the day before. Dyer was conducting the interview on the rescue of the Mastiff named Gladiator Maximus after the dog fell into a frigid Lakewood lake Tuesday while chasing a coyote.

At the end of the interview Dyer leaned in close to the dogs face to say “Happy Valentine’s Day” when the the animal lunged at her face, biting her lips.

According to KUSA-TV, firefighters, paramedics and animal control were called to the station after the attack.The station later showed video of Dyer petting the dog, but stopped before the attack occurred and said they would not rebroadcast it. Other video posted online showed the dog lunging at Dyer and viciously biting her face.Meghan Hughes, spokeswoman for the Denver Environmental Health department, said Robinson, 39, of Lakewood was cited with failure to have his dog on a leash, allowing a dog to bite and failure to have a vaccinated dog.Hughes said the dog is being quarantined until a judge can hold a hearing on the charges and rule on the dog’s fate.

KUSA news director Patti Dennis said Dyer was doing well after reconstructive surgery on her lip. It was reported that Dyer needed some 70 stitches and a skin graft as a result of the bite.

“The dog bite accident that happened today at 9News was unfortunate and certainly not expected based on what we knew about the dog and his owner,” Dennis wrote on the station’s Facebook page. “Our goal was to unite the owner with the rescuer for a nice segment. We are all thinking of Kyle and her recovery.”