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By Associated Press
DENVER -- A Denver television news anchor who was bitten by a dog on live TV is planning to return to work next week.
Kyle Dyer of KUSA-TV was bitten in the face by an 85-pound Argentine mastiff last month during a segment with the dog's owner and a firefighter who had rescued the pet from an icy pond. She received 90 stitches.
The station says she plans to return to work on Monday.
Dyer called the incident an accident. She says she's glad the dog is home after spending 10 days in mandatory quarantine.
Speaking about the accident on the "Today" show in February, Dyer gave further detail about the seriousness of the injury saying that a portion of her upper lip was "gone" after the bite. She said 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 said the accident 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.
Dyer also revealed that she thought 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 responded by pointing at her upper lip and with some humor, "What do you think? Yeah, I got too close."
Dyer also went 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 less than 2 months 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 in February that it could be "six months, or never" to get the feeling back.
Despite it all, Dyer has remained optimistic. "This has been such a really positive experience for me," she said on the "Today" show, "just the way people have made me feel so loved, I know everything will be okay."