3-year-old Argentine Mastiff, fresh off his rescue from the icy waters of Smith Reservoir, has bit veteran KUSA anchor Kyle Dyer on the face during a segment being filmed at at 9News studios this morning.
The dog, its owner and the firefighter involved in the Smith Reservoir rescue Tuesday afternoon were in 9News studios with Dyer for a follow up report on the dramatic rescue, according to The Denver Post. In the video below, Dyer is seen kneeling on the floor petting the dog's neck and getting close to its face, when suddenly Max, perhaps still traumatized from the rescue, bares his teeth, lunges and bites Dyer's face.
Dyer underwent reconstructive surgery for injuries to her lip on Wednesday, her recovery is expected to take several weeks, Fox31 reports. Meanwhile, Max is being quarantined at Denver Animal Shelter for 10 days to be observed for any signs of rabies.
On the 9News Facebook page, viewers reacted to the bite with sympathy for Dyer's injury. Some expressed that it might have been too early to put the dog on television or that perhaps Dyer may have been too close to the dog's face and that his "reaction was out of trauma."
The 3-year-old dog was off-leash "doing his business," according to 9News when he saw a coyote running out of a bush. Max took after after the coyote and both Max and the coyote wound up on the ice of the Smith Reservoir.
Unfortunately for Max the ice didn't hold up and only seconds later both he and the coyote fell into the icy water around 5 p.m. as the sun was beginning to set. Max's owner Michael Robinson told 7News that the coyote went under the icy water and was not spotted again, however Max kept paddling and was able to stay afloat.
Max paddled for about 20 minutes before the West Metro Fire Department came to the rescue. As seen in the video above, firefighter Tyler Sugaski, in a special cold-water rescue suit and tethered by a rope, waded over to the water's edge until he finally broke through the ice and fell into the frigid water himself.
