Since we do not know the reason that her dog "mauled" her hand, I think that we really shouldn't judge the dog.

I was pretty badly bitten by a young male rottweiler. He had his foot stuck in the sliding mechanism of my mini van and was literally screaming in pain. In order to pull his foot out, I had to grab him and pull him up. I knew long before teeth hit skin that I was going to get the short end of that particular stick - my only decision at that point was where to take the bite.