A little girl has been left in critical condition and will never be able to smile again after being attacked by a pitbull dog over the weekend.
Six-year-old Lily Norton suffered serious injuries after she was bitten by a dog while at a friend's house on February 18, and had to undergo a 12-hour surgery and over 1,000 stitches to close up the wounds on her face.
The family had been pet-sitting the pitbull-type dog when the tragedy occurred, and the alarm was raised by Lily's friend who had left the room to get some cards to play with and returned to find the dog had Lily's face in its jaws.
Following reconstructive surgery, it has now been revealed that the little girl will never be able to smile again due to the damage to her facial muscles.
A GoFundMe was set up to help the Norton family with travel expenses from their home in Chesterville, Maine, to the Boston Children's Hospital where Lily remains due to having a breathing tube.
The fundraising page explained: "Yesterday February 18th 2023 Lily Norton the daughter of Leo and Dorothy Norton was viciously attacked in the face by a pitbull.
"She was flown to Boston children's hospital where she went a long 11 hours of extensive surgery on her face. She has over 1,000 stitches from below her eyes all the way to under her chin. This poor sweet little girl has had her life changed forever.
"She's only 6. Not to mention her parents life has now been flip over. Lily is in critical condition at the [ICU] in the Boston children's hospital and will remain there for at least 10 days if not longer then have a long road of recovery and hospital visits.
"The Norton family is from a small town called Chesterville, Maine. They will be enduring alot of traveling in the future years to come from Maine to Boston for thier daughters 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.. my heart goes out to the Norton family especially the beautiful little Lily."
CJ Pitcher, who helped set up the fundraiser, told The Sun Journal that Lily will be left with lasting damage, explaining: "Her salivary glands aren't working … and doctors said she won't be able to smile again. Muscles are too damaged."
Her mother, Dorothy Norton, told News Center Maine that Lily is currently sedated in the hospital as she has a breathing tube, adding: "But other than that, she's really good. She looks really good."
Revealing how the attack happened, Dorothy told the outlet: "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.
"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."
Officer Dexter 'Buzz' Bridges, who is the animal control officer for Chesterville, told The Sun Journal that the dog attack is current;y under investigation.
The GoFundMe page was initially set up with a target of $6,500 but currently has amassed over $70,000 in donations at the time of writing from 1,300 donors who were moved by the story.
Our thoughts are with Lily and her family in the hopes of a speedy recovery.
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