Lily Norton: Maine girl, 6, will 'never be able to smile again' after being brutally attacked by neighbor's pit bull
CHESTERVILLE, MAINE: A pit bull attacked the face of a 6-year-old Maine girl on Saturday, February 18, inflicting such severe injuries that she will never be able to smile again. Following the incident, Lily Norton, 6, underwent 11 hours of surgery and required more than 1,000 stitches to repair wounds from beneath her eyes to the top of her throat, according to her mother.
Dexter "Buzz" Bridges, an animal control officer, stated on Tuesday, February 21, that he was unable to comment on the event because it was still being investigated. It was revealed, nevertheless, that the pit bull that attacked Norton belonged to a neighboring relative, and that neighbor was present, as reported by Sun Journal.
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Six-year-old Lily Norton of Chesterville is recovering after her mother says she was viciously attacked by a dog. Coming up tonight on @newscentermaine, hear from the little girl's mother about the incident, and how her daughter is doing after 12 hours in surgery & 1000+ stitches pic.twitter.com/w91CyVuMaG
— Sean Stackhouse (@StackhouseNCME) February 23, 2023
What happened with Lily Norton?
New York Post reported Lily was having a playdate at a friend's house on February 18 when the attack happened, and the friend's mother was supposedly watching the pit bull at the time.
“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,” the little girl’s mom, Dorothy Norton said.
Lily was taken by a medical helicopter to Boston Children's Hospital after the friend's mother sent her to a neighboring hospital. “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,” Norton said.
Is Lily going to be fine?
Lily's doctors warned her that due to the injury, she would never be able to smile again, according to family friend CJ Pitcher, who started fundraising for the young girl. “Her salivary glands aren’t working … and doctors said she won’t be able to smile again,” Pitcher said. “Muscles are too damaged.”
According to Pitcher, Lily will be under sedation for at least a week to stop her from scratching her face. Lily will require a breathing tube while under sedation, the young girl's mother told News Center Maine. “She’s still sedated because she has a breathing tube in,” her mother said. “But other than that, she’s really good. She looks really good.”
Since the incident, Norton's mother Dorothy has been by her side, but her father Leo Norton has returned home to take care of their other children, according to Pitcher.
As of Wednesday, February 22 afternoon, the $6,500 online fundraising now has accrued $54,945 from 1,000 donations. Pitcher expressed his hope that this, along with all the other donations he is aware of, would enable the Norton family to continue focusing on Lily.