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Reunion Week: Dog bite seen around the world changed Kyle Dyer's perspective

Seven years ago, a dog bit former 9NEWS anchor Kyle Dyer on live television. For Reunion Week, she discusses how that moment impacted her life and career.

DENVER — All this week on 9NEWS mornings, you’re going to see some familiar faces. We’re invited former anchors and reporters to join us.

Kyle Dyer worked at 9NEWS for two decades before deciding to leave in 2016. She began as a morning anchor in 1996 and spent 18 years on the anchor desk next to Gary Shapiro.

Dyer said her most memorable TV moment isn't a story she told, but a story where she became the story. 

"The biggest story for me when I was here at 9NEWS, was when I was, looking back, was certainly when I was injured," Dyer said. "It wasn't because I was injured, and got bit by a dog, had a scar on my face, it was more of what I learned from that time." 

Credit: KUSA
Kyle Dyer on set with the dog, before she was injured on live television

In February 2012, an Argentine mastiff and his owner were in the 9NEWS studios for a live interview during the morning show. The day before, the dog had been rescued from an icy lake. The station was doing a follow-up to the rescue, and when Dyer leaned in toward the dog, it bit her. Part of her upper lip was torn off.

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"When I couldn't talk for 10 days because my lips were sewn shut, I had to listen," she said. "That's all I could do when I could talk again, people wanted to hear what I had to say and I felt understood."

Dyer said that incident changed the way she told stories and the way she approached life in general.

"That was such a profound experience, I would almost say it was a good experience," Dyer said. "I approach all my work now and all my stories with that we have to deeply listen to one another to truly connect with somebody and to really find that part of a story that is most important to them."

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In 2014, she scaled back her role at 9NEWS. She stopped anchoring the morning show and began anchoring the midday shows. It allowed her to spend more time with her family and gave her the chance to do more storytelling at 9NEWS.

"It really kind of propelled me to reach out to people," she said. "You know everybody has a story. And everybody deserves to be heard, and I truly believe that from what happened to me."

In 2016, she announced she was leaving and planned to continue telling stories through her own business, Kyle Dyer Storytelling. That decision to leave after two decades at 9NEWS came in large part due to her injury.

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"Sure it hurt when it happened, there was all sorts of chaos when it happened, but looking where I am in my life now, I don't know if I would be here," Dyer said. "I don't know if I would be so passionate about telling stories about what's going on in our community and really helping people be heard and have their stories be heard."

Even after seven years, Dyer still gets letters and cards from all over the world. They find the stories about her online and reach out to her. Some of them have gone through similar things.

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"They Google, and they find me," she said. "I get questions about healing and I look at your story, and you're doing great and I'm like it takes time. One woman wrote to me and said I just went back to work and people don't know what to say, and I'm like I know."

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