Vicki Mitchell, 17, of Rumford wipes away tears as she lies in bed at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Thursday, a day after she was bitten on the legs by a pit bull in Rumford. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

RUMFORD — The day after her two teenage daughters were hospitalized after being attacked by a pit bull in Strathglass Park, a Rumford mother said Thursday one of the girls was coming home but the other faced a second operation on her leg.

Alicia Mitchell spoke by telephone from Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where she was visiting her daughters who were sharing a room.

Ashley Mitchell, 18, of Rumford lies in bed at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Thursday. She and her sister, Vicki, 17, were bitten by a pit bull in Rumford on Wednesday. Mitchell has had one surgery on her leg and expects to have another. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

She said her younger daughter, Vicki, 17, would be heading back with her to their Erchles Street duplex, but Ashley, 18, whom Mitchell described as having “a big hunk of flesh hanging from her leg” after the attack, will require more surgery Friday.

Police received a call at 10:25 a.m. Wednesday from an Erchles Street resident, who said a pit bull was attacking a neighbor and not letting go of her leg, according to Chief Stacy Carter.

Mitchell and her daughters live in the left side of the duplex. The dog got loose from the residence on the right side.

Mitchell said the pit bull got out through a broken door, and then ran through a broken fence.

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The pit bull bit Vicki, then Ashley. Their mother tried to intervene and was also bitten.

Alicia Mitchell of Rumford, right, stands next to her daughter Vicki, 17, at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston on Thursday. Alicia was bitten on her leg by a pit bull when she tried to intervene as the dog attacked Vicki and Vicki’s sister Ashley, 18, in Rumford on Wednesday. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

“I sprayed the dog in the eyes, thinking it would let go,” Mitchell said. “He did let go for a brief moment, and that’s how I got bit.”

Mitchell said she sprayed the attacking dog with the first thing she could find, but could not recall what is was.
Mitchell, who said she only knows two people in her neighborhood, wanted to thank those who came to their rescue during the attack, “especially the neighbor across the street for this bravery.”
“He saved my daughter’s life and leg,” Mitchell said. “He beat that dog off my daughter’s leg and held him until rescue came and got him.”

She said they had not encountered the pit bull previously.

“We’d never seen that dog out loose before,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said she had not heard from her neighbor, the pit bull’s owner, and that the dog is quarantined for another 15 days. She also said she had not heard from the landlord of the duplex.

Her voice quivering, Mitchell added: “I’ve been through a lot. I’m just worried about my girls getting better and coming home.”

Vicki Mitchell, 17, wipes away a tear while talking to her mother about Wednesday’s pit bull attack in Rumford. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

Ashley Mitchell, 18, of Rumford is facing a second surgery on her leg after being bitten by a pit bull in Rumford on Wednesday. She and her sister, Vicki, 17, are being treated at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal)

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