A six-year-old girl from Chesterville, Maine, will never be able to smile again after a vicious attack by a pit bull caused severe injuries to her face.
Lily Norton, 6, had to undergo a 12-hour surgery that required over 1,000 stitches from just below her eyes to above her throat. The girl was flown to a hospital in Boston on Saturday, February 18, to receive emergency surgery after the attack. According to a GoFundMe page on her behalf, she still has two more pending procedures.
CJ Pitcher, a family friend who created the fundraising page on behalf of the little girl, told a local outlet that the girl’s doctor said she would never be able to smile again because the attack had resulted in extensive muscle damage.
According to Pitcher, doctors will keep the girl in intensive care for at least ten days. They will also sedate her for a week to keep her from scratching her face during the healing process.
While she is sedated, Norton will breathe through a tube, her mother, Dorothy Norton, said.
The girl’s mom said that her daughter was doing well in spite of the sedation and breathing tube.
The attack happened while Norton was at a friend’s house. The girl and her friend had a playdate, and her friend’s mom was reportedly dog-sitting the pit bull.
The mother had left the girls to play cards in the kitchen when she heard shouting. Norton’s friend found the pit bull attacking the six-year-old and called her mom for help. The dog let go of Norton when the mom came.
The mom rushed Norton to a nearby hospital and the girl was airlifted to Boston Children’s Hospital for surgery and treatment.
Chesterville Animal Control Officer Dexter Bridges said they could not release more information about the dog because it was an ongoing investigation.
The fundraiser has already raised more than $55,000.
