NEED TO KNOW
A 17-year-old girl, identified locally as Tracy, was mauled by multiple dogs in Newberry Springs, Calif., on July 17
According to ABC 7 Los Angeles, she was severely injured in the attack and required over 500 stitches
“I didn’t know who she was. She was covered in dirt, so I couldn’t recognize my daughter,” Tracy’s mother, Maria Azpeitia, told the outlet
A 17-year-old girl has been left severely injured after being mauled by multiple dogs in California, according to reports.
At around 7:00 a.m. local time on July 17, the teenager, identified locally as Tracy, was out jogging when she was attacked by a pack of dogs in Newberry Springs, according to a GoFundMe page. She had been on a dirt road near her family’s home, traveling toward a workout facility near the community center in the area at the time of the incident, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported.
A neighbor heard the teen’s cries for help and called 911, according to the outlet. Having suffered lacerations and bites all over her body in the attack, she was transported to Loma Linda Children’s Hospital, where she received over 500 stitches.
“I thought she was going to be fine because she walks to her bus stop every morning … I never thought anything would happen to her,” Tracy’s mother, Maria Azpeitia, told ABC 7 Los Angeles.
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Tracy
Recalling the moment she arrived at the scene, Azpeitia added, “I didn’t know who she was. She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn’t recognize my daughter.”
Sixteen dogs were seized from a nearby property. Detectives said the dogs weren’t fenced or leashed at the time, per ABC 7 Los Angeles.
Photos obtained by the outlet show Tracy in the hospital with bite marks and gashes all over her body. She is also seen lying in bed with bandages on her legs while wearing a leg cast.
“I thought they ripped her arms off,” Azpeitia said of her daughter’s condition.
“What was going through my mind was the worst,” Tracy’s stepfather Carlos Ramirex told ABC 7 Los Angeles. “It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot. They bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.”
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Dog (stock image)
Tracy was left unable to walk on her own following the incident, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported. However, she was recently released from the hospital,
“She was getting ready to do her senior year of high school this year. Now, because of this, she has to stay home and go to several doctors’ appointments and rehab,” a GoFundMe page for the teen reads. “Due to the trauma, she cannot sleep at night; she’s having nightmares.”
The page so far has raised over $8,000 with a goal of $12,000 for Tracy.
PEOPLE has contacted the San Bernardino Police Department for comment.
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