A six-year-old girl was brutally attacked by a dog and rushed to hospital with horrific injuries, and later needed more than 1,000 stitches.
The frightening incident happened on February 18 inside a neighbour's home in Chesterville, Maine, US, when mum Dorothy Norton took her daughter Lily to see her friend.
Lily went to sit at the table when the pit bull attacked, as Dorothy suddenly heard a loud scream and quickly rushed to her daughter.
Dorothy said: "Lily sat at the table and the dog attacked her. She went like this to put her shoulders up, so she did the right thing because the dog was going for her neck.
"Then the mom came out of the bathroom because the other little girl was screaming, ‘Mom, mom, there’s something wrong.’ And as soon as she walked out into the kitchen, the dog let go."
The girl's mum said her neighbour was looking after a female pit bull when the savage attack occurred.
Lily was quickly rushed to a nearby hospital, but as her injuries were extreme she was later flown to a Boston medical centre with her parents.
Mum Dorothy was so worried about her injuries that she asked: "Is she gonna make it? It was a 12-hour surgery and she has over a thousand stitches."
She needed stitches across her face, which has left Lily unable to talk at the moment, according to her mum.
Lily remained sedated in hospital until Friday. Fortunately, she is responding and can communicate by blinking.
Dorothy revealed: “She can’t talk at all right now but she has been very responsive today. She’s been looking at me, blinking and telling me what she needs."
The mum said she's praying for a speedy recovery following the traumatic incident.
"She kept trying to take the tube out and that's not a good thing, so they had to tie her hands down. Which is hard to see", Dorothy said.
Chesterville animal control refused to comment on the incident, but told Lily's parents officials were working with police to have the dog put down.
The female pit bull remained quarantined for 10 days until a decision will be made, according to authorities.
Due to the staggering medical bills, a GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family with their expenses.
