A three-year-old boy was savagely attacked by a dog that mauled his face at a pet show.
Shocking video footage shows Atabey Eryurekli screaming in agony as blood poured from wounds on his face.
The toddler was walking past the pooch which was waiting to be judged at the Pawed Friends Beauty contest in Turkey.
A man, reportedly the tot's uncle, scooped him up into his arms and sprinted across the dog show ground to get emergency medical help.
The contest was being held at Great Ataturk Park in the district of Ceyhan in the Turkish province of Adana on May 7.
Dogs were chained to trees at the outdoor show, organised by the local town council, while spectators and judges strolled by.
There are no apparent safety measures and anyone could seemingly approach any dog.
Atabey was rushed to the Ceyhan State Hospital and his injured face was stitched up. He was then discharged from hospital.
Hid dad Fatih Eryurekli went to Ceyhan Courthouse on May 12 to file a criminal complaint against the dog owner and the officials who organised the event.
According to reports, council officials claimed that Atabey fell over when the dog barked and cut his face on broken glass.
Furious Fatih said: "What kind of beauty contest was this? They tied the participating dogs to trees at random. No precautions were taken.
"The dogs didn't even have muzzles. My son's face was badly damaged. They didn't even send us their condolences."
It is unclear if the public prosecutor’s office will investigate the incident.
Dog attacks are on the rise in Turkey where activists are calling for animals to be sterilised to solve the issue, reports the Daily Sabah.
In another recent dog attack, a nine-year-old girl tragically died after she was crushed by a truck while running away from a stray canine.
Mahra Melin Pinar was being chased by two stray dogs when she was hit by a passing truck in the south-western Turkish province of Antalya in March.
She initially had to have her right leg amputated above the knee but later died in hospital, which led to public outcry.
Another high profile attack saw a university student mauled by stray dogs as she waited for the bus.
The young woman was standing at the side of the road near the college when a pack of strays ran up to her and attacked.
She is believed to have survived the horrific incident which took place at the Van Yuzuncu Yil University in the eastern city of Van.
Birgül Rona, head of an animal protection association, says sterilisation should be “a state policy” to address the issue.
“Otherwise, it would take years,” she told the Daily Sabah.
Rona is chair of the Turkish Society for Protection of Animals, which traces its roots to Ottoman times.
Istanbul was rife with stray dogs and cats as the former capital of the Ottoman Empire and still has some of the highest numbers today.
Not all stray animal attacks are in the capital but packs of feral dogs are becoming more common there.
