A 6-year-old girl was brutally attacked by a pit bull that bit her in the face on Saturday, February 18, in Chesterville, Maine. Lily Norton, was playing at a friend's house when the incident occurred. The friend’s mom was dog sitting the pit bull, and was the one to take Lily to a nearby hospital from where she was flown to Boston Children’s Hospital by a medical helicopter.
“They were going to play cards at the table, so she sat down at the table, the friend went and got the cards, and then as soon as the friend walked back in the room, she screamed to her mom because the dog had Lily in her mouth,” Dorothy Norton, Lily’s mother, said in statement to News Center Maine.
Lily had to undergo emergency surgery.
friend of the family, CJ Pitcher, who created a fundraiser for Lily, told the Sun Journal: "Her salivary glands aren't working … and doctors said she won't be able to smile again. Muscles are too damaged."
She reportedly underwent an emergency surgery that lasted 11 hours and involved 1,000 stitches from under her eyes to the top of her throat.
In a statement to News Center Maine, Dorothy Norton said Lily will continue to stay in the Boston Children's Hospital's intensive care unit for at least 10 days. She was sedated because she had a breathing tube in and to prevent her from scratching her face.
There are efforts underway to help the Norton family.
“They will be enduring a lot of traveling in the future years to come from Maine to Boston for their daughter's care. We are asking for any and all help we can get for this family and help them ease some of the expenses that this terrible tragedy put them in," the description on Pitcher's GoFundMe campaign for Lily and her family reads. So far over $64,000 has been raised to support the Norton family with Lily’s medical expenses.
"Lily is very thankful for everyone's prayers,” Dorothy Norton said, according to News Center Maine. She also said that Lily is not afraid of dogs but she’s "… so energetic. She loves to be outside, loves it. And she doesn't hate all dogs, at least that's what she told me. She just doesn't want to see that one again."
Dog attacks are common.
According to a study posted on the National Library of Medicine's website that analyzed data on bites on children's faces from dogs, “Dog bite injuries are common and devastating with an annual incidence of 12.9 per 10,000 persons.” The study notes that children are statistically affected more than adults.
“It has been estimated that the likelihood of a child sustaining a dog bite in their lifetime is around 50% and approximately 80% of severe dog bites in children involve the head and neck,” the analysis found.
The investigation is ongoing.
In a statement to the Sun Journal, Animal Control Officer Dexter “Buzz” Bridges said Tuesday that he “could not comment on the incident because it is still under investigation.”
Dayton 247 reported that “Norton said the dog will be quarantined for 10 days and evaluated.”
