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Kyle Dyer, KUSA TV news anchor who was bitten on the face by a dog during a live on-air segment, appeared on the "Today" show this morning to talk about the accident and her continuing recovery.
Speaking about the accident on the "Today" show Dyer gives further detail about the seriousness of the injury saying that a portion of her upper lip was "gone" after the bite. She says her surgeon, "took a part of her lower lip, kind of flipped it up and then sewed my mouth together. Then those cells regenerated and it worked." Dyer also says the accident has left her without her so-called "Cupid's bow," the common curve that the upper lip takes named after the curve of mythical god Cupid's bow.
For the first time Dyer also reveals that she thinks she may have made a mistake with the dog. When asked by Ann Curry, "With 20/20 hindsight, did you make a mistake?" To which Dyer responds by pointing at her upper lip and with some humor, "What do you think? Yeah, I got too close."
Dyer also goes on to describe her misunderstanding of the situation with the mastiff, "I thought I was a dog person. I've lived with dogs all my life and that dog, I thought, seemed to really love my nails and my rubbing, but, you know, you just don't know. It was a freak accident -- I was too close, he was unsettled, we think we know what dogs are saying, but we don't really know."
Although it has only been about three weeks since Dyer was bitten on the face by Max, the 85-pound Argentine mastiff dog, it has been a long journey back for Dyer who has had two reconstructive surgeries, a skin graft, 90 stitches and nearly two weeks with her mouth sewn shut, The Denver Post reported.
It's a serious accident that has changed the course of her life and career. Dyer's injury may never fully heal. She told 9News last week that it could be "six months, or never" to get the feeling back. And she has not made any immediate decisions on when she will return to to the air, but she says she will return.
"This has been such a really positive experience for me. Just the way people have made me feel so loved, I know everything will be okay and I'll be back," Dyer said during an at-home segment of her "Today" show interview.
On Feb. 8, Dyer was injured during an on-air segment with the dog's owner and the firefighter that rescued the dog from icy Smith Reservoir in Lakewood the day before. Dyer was petting the dog on the head and then got close to its face when it lunged toward her and bit her. After completing a mandatory 10 day impound, Max returned home to his family last week.