A 17-year-old female barely survived being mauled by a number of dogs while she was out jogging, according to California police.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the brutal mauling of Tracy Hurtado in Newberry Springs, a town in the Mojave Desert.
‘It was not one dog or two dogs; it was a lot. I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of.’
Hurtado’s mom, Maria Azpeitia, spoke to KABC-TV about what happened to her daughter on July 17 as she jogged to a workout facility near a community center.
“I thought she was going to be fine because she walks to her bus stop every morning, so I never thought anything would happen to her,” Azpeitia said.
A neighbor heard Hurtado’s screams for help and called 911. Azpeitia said her daughter’s injuries were so severe, she was unrecognizable.
“I didn’t know who she was,” she said. “She was so dirty, covered in dirt, so I couldn’t recognize my daughter. I recognized her bra, that’s what I recognized.”
The mother said that when she approached her daughter, the girl asked her, “Mom, am I still pretty?” and she responded, “Yeah, you’re beautiful.”
Carlos Ramirez, the girl’s stepfather, said she needed 500 stitches as a result of all the bites, scratches, and lacerations to her body.
“What was going through my mind was the worst,” Ramirez said to KABC. “It was not one dog or two dogs; it was a lot. I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.”
The girl was treated at the Loma Linda Children’s Hospital and released, but she was still unable to walk on her own.
KABC said residents of the area were fearful of many loose dogs that have been abandoned in the desert.
“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,” resident Kristine Watson said.
Police said they seized 16 dogs at a residence near the attack that were neither fenced nor leashed. They are being housed at the Barstow Humane Society.
A GoFundMe donation page has been set up to help pay for Hurtado’s medical bills. The organizer of the page said the girl was suffering from nightmares and couldn’t sleep at night.
Newberry Springs is an unincorporated community of about 2,900 residents near Barstow.
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