3 days ago
Teen girl mauled by pack of dogs while jogging near her home in California
A teenage girl was left with devastating injuries after she was attacked by a pack of 'large-breed dogs' while out on a morning run in California.
Tracy Azpeitia, 17, was out jogging near her home in Newberry Springs on July 17 just after 8am when she was surrounded and mauled by at least 10 dogs, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
The girl's mom remembers her daughter asking a gut-wrenching question the moment she saw Tracy at the scene of the attack.
Her mom, Maria Azpeitia, told ABC7: 'I got close to her and she asked me "Mom, am I still pretty?" and I said, "Yeah, you're beautiful".
'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 was headed to a workout facility near the community center. A neighbor heard the her screams and called 911.
Sheriff's officials said in a written statement: 'Deputies spoke with the victim's parents and learned the victim had been out jogging when she was attacked by 10 or more large breed dogs.
'The dogs bit the victim several times on her legs and arms. The bites caused large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh.'
A total of 16 dogs were seized from the area by San Bernardino County Animal Control following the attack. Investigators say the dogs were not leashed or fenced and are believed to have belonged to a nearby resident.
Tracy's stepfather, Carlos Ramirez, said the teen suffered hundreds of bites across her body, requiring more than 500 stitches to close lacerations and wounds from the attack.
'It was not one dog or two dogs, it was a lot,' Ramirez said. 'I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.'
The mauling left Tracy so badly injured that her mother said she was unrecognizable when she arrived at the scene.
Maria said: 'I didn't know who she was. She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn't recognize my daughter. I recognized her bra, that's what I recognized.
'I thought they ripped her arms off. That's what it looked like.'
Update: Tracy was hospitalized at Loma Linda Children's Hospital and has since been released, though she still cannot walk on her own
A GoFundMe has been set up by Tracy's family to help with her recovery and ongoing medical care.
The fundraising page reads: '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 doctor's appointments and rehab.
'Due to the trauma, she cannot sleep at night; she's having nightmares.'
Kristine Watson told ABC7: 'We have been in situations where we're out walking, and all of a sudden dogs rush out from a fence, or out of nowhere, and start circling around us.'
The dogs are currently being housed at the Barstow Humane Society - about 17 miles from the attack site.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
