Bitten by dog - need advice please!

Hello,

I've been dog walking/boarding for about 7 years now. Over these years I've looked after dogs (and other animals) of all breeds and sizes and never had any problems whatsoever. As a massive animal lover this started off as a bit of a hobby for me, and developed into my full-time job. It's something I've always loved doing and done with passion.

Yesterday, an incident occurred. I'd accepted a booking to look after a dog for two days. When the dog came to my house for the customary meet and greet, he lunged at my face completely out of the blue. I have a gash on the side of my face and a cut right down my chin - blood was dripping out of my face in both areas. My left hand was also bleeding. I was driven by the dog's owner - who was also in a state of shock - to the nearest walk-in centre where I was treated and dressed up by a nurse. My blood was taken to determine whether or not I needed a tetanus shot, and I was told I was already protected and did not need one.

The dog in question is a one-and-a-half-year-old rottweiler. I was assured by the owner that this dog was "great with people" and while he is not good with other dogs, he was to be muzzled around other dogs on walks at all times. This was fine with me because as I said, I am used to handling big dogs and have done so without issue for over 7 years. As long as the dog was good with humans, I am perfectly capable of handling it in my environment and out and about.

When the dog arrived at my house, the owner walked him through to my living room. I allowed the dog to explore the house on his terms while I chatted over some details with the owner. When the dog eventually came over to me, he had a little sniff around me and then walked off sniffing the house again. A minute or so later, he came back up to me - he looked absolutely at ease and was even wagging his tail (which even the owner commented on as he was driving me to the walk-in centre). There were no warning signs at all that this dog was about to attack me. But then he did. He just lunged at me and I was truly shocked by what happened. At first, I did not realise that he had bitten me - I felt nothing at all. The owner quickly got hold of the dog and took him back outside into his car. When he returned he asked me if I was alright and I said yes. It was only when he told me I was bleeding I started to realise what had happened. I then got some kitchen roll and saw quite a bit of blood coming out of my face.

The owner seemed genuinely shocked and remorseful. He reiterated to me that never has he behaved like this with any human before, and apologised to the point of repetition. He told me that whatever I decide to do, he will comply fully and accept full responsibility. Yesterday, I was pretty much in a state of shock and barely spoke much. Today I am starting to process the incident a bit more clearly. By the way, this booking was done through a well-known dog service website and all details and information are fully accessible.

The nurse who treated me told me I was quite lucky in that it could have been so much worse - I was almost certain I was going to need stitches in at least one of the two areas, but she told me they should heal on their own and just not to shave for a couple of weeks. I started to feel a bit better as time went on but today I am starting to feel the anger I probably should have felt yesterday were it not for the shock I was experiencing.

I am still really not sure what I should do about this, what I can do. Any advice would be really helpful.

Thank you for reading.