By Joe Johnson
A Barrow County teen Monday morning was in intensive care at an Atlanta hospital after she was mauled by a pair of pit bulls three days earlier.
Joslyn Stinchcomb, 15, was walking in her Winder neighborhood off of Bowman Mill Road NE Friday afternoon when the dogs chased and attacked her.
According to a Barrow County Sheriff’s report, a deputy who responded to a witness' report of the attack arrived on the scene to find the girl lying face down against a curb, with one dog grabbing her neck and the other biting at the girl’s head.
When the deputy got out of his vehicle, one of the dogs began to approach him and he shot it, according to the report. The wounded dog ran off and the other released its grasp on the girl and also ran away.
The dogs were later located at the owner’s residence and taken into custody by Barrow County Animal Control and subsequently euthanized. The owner, 29-year-old Alexandria Torregrossa, was arrested for reckless conduct after she returned home, according to the report.
The victim’s aunt, Charity Stinchcomb Montgomery, has been acting as spokesperson for Joslyn’s family and has kept the community apprised of the girl’s condition on the Prayers and Updates for Joslyn Facebook page.
Montgomery said that after the attack, Joslyn was flown by helicopter to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was in critical condition and on a ventilator due to her trachea being badly damaged.
The girl who was a rising freshman at Winder-Barrow High School and a flutist in the Bulldoggs marching band, also lost her hair from one of the dogs tearing off her scalp and lost an ear that doctors were able to reattach, but Montgomery said it was not clear if the ear will be viable.
“Nor do they know if she will be able to hear out of that ear,” Montgomery said.
She said that Joslyn was aware that her hair was gone, and that her niece might never have hair again.
“There may be implants and things that can be done, but it will be over a year before those discussions can even begin,” Montgomery said.
Joslyn suffered lacerations all over her face and body and so much nerve damage was done that it “may affect her smile, her blinking and other facial expressions,” according to the girl’s aunt.
On Sunday, doctors discovered that Joslyn had a blood clot in her jugular vein that may need treatment.
“There is still so much that we don’t know about her injuries, but we know that God knows and that can heal her,” Montgomery said.
The woman said that her niece faces extensive therapy.
Anyone wanting to donate to help pay for Joslyn's medical expenses may do so at https://paypal.me/pools/c/8rm0RZItmD