A young girl posed a heartbreaking question to her mother after being attacked by over 10 dogs while she was jogging in a secluded California neighborhood, leaving her nearly ‘unrecognizable.’
Tracy Azpeitia, 17, managed to speak to her mother through the pain of the attack, asking her: ‘Mom, am I still pretty?’
The teenage girl was jogging close to her home in Newberry Springs on July 17 when she was surrounded and brutally bitten by a pack of at least 10 dogs, as reported by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.
Almost a month later, 61-year-old Craig Arthur Simmons was arrested on suspicion of owning an animal responsible for causing serious harm or death, officials stated.
After monitoring the area, officers saw Craig cycling down his driveway, leading to his arrest in relation to the dog attack.
Following an interview at the police station, he was booked into the High Desert Detention Center without incident.
The horrific incident for Tracy began just after 8 am, while she was jogging towards a fitness center near the community center on the 30000 block of Newberry Road—a remote desert region in Southern California.
Moments later, she was suddenly attacked by ’10 or more large-breed dogs,’ prompting a nearby resident who heard her screams to call 911.
Tracy Azpeitia, 17, was attacked while jogging near her Newberry Springs home on July 17, surrounded and violently assaulted by at least 10 dogs.
According to officials, Tracy was bit ‘several times on her legs and arm,’ causing ‘large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh (pictured: Tracy’s injuries)
Tracy’s mother Maria Azpeitia said her daughter, left nearly unrecognizable after the dog mauling, asked her through the pain: ‘Mom, am I still pretty?’
‘The dogs bit the victim several times on her legs and arms. The bites caused large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh,’ the sheriff’s office said in a written statement.
A total of 16 dogs were seized from the area by San Bernardino County Animal Control following the attack, with investigators noting the animals were neither leashed nor fenced.
Carlos Ramirez, Tracy’s stepfather, 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 told ABC 7 News. ‘I mean, they bit every part of her body you could think of except for her ankles.’
A good Samaritan ultimately intervened, bringing the brutal attack to an end and preventing even more serious injuries.
The attack left the teenage girl so severely injured that her own mother said she was unrecognizable when she arrived at the scene.
‘I didn’t know who she was,’ Tracy’s mother, Maria Azpeitia, told the outlet. ‘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,’ she tearfully added. ‘That’s what it looked like.’
‘I got close to her and [she asked me] ‘Mom, am I still pretty?’ and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re beautiful.’
A good Samaritan ultimately intervened, bringing the brutal attack to an end and preventing even more serious injuries (pictured: Tracy’s injuries)
Carlos Ramirez, Tracy’s stepfather, said the teen suffered hundreds of bites across her body, requiring more than 500 stitches to close lacerations and wounds from the attack (pictured: Tracy’s injuries)
Nearly a month later, 61-year-old Craig Arthur Simmons was arrested on suspicion of being the owner of an animal causing serious injury or death, authorities announced
Tracy was jogging to a workout facility just after 8am – a remote, desert area in Southern California (pictured: Craig’s residence circled in yellow, attack site area circled in red)
According to officials, Tracy was bit ‘several times on her legs and arm,’ causing ‘large lacerations, abrasions, and removed flesh (pictured: Tracy’s injuries)
A total of 16 dogs were seized from the area by San Bernardino County Animal Control following the attack, with investigators noting the animals were neither leashed nor fenced (pictured)
A GoFundMe page launched by Tracy’s family to support her recovery and ongoing medical care has raised over $33,000 as of Sunday morning.
‘She was getting ready to do her senior year of high school this year,’ the description read. ‘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,’ it added.
Local residents have since raised growing concerns about the ongoing presence of stray and unrestrained dogs in the area.
‘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,’ Kristine Watson, a Newberry Springs resident, told ABC7.
The dogs are currently being housed at the Barstow Humane Society, about 17 miles from the attack site.
Craig’s bail was set at $30,000.
