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An 11-year-old boy who was mauled by three pit bulls in his Georgia neighborhood said he was recovering from the attack that left 70 percent of his scalp missing.
Justin Gilstrap, of Appling, underwent multiple surgeries after he was attacked by the pack of dogs while cycling home on Friday.
In a short clip posted by local WRDW, the wounded boy says: ‘Hello everyone. I love you all. I just want you to know that I’m okay.
His mother, Ericka Gilstrap, says he is awake and able to speak in small intervals as he recovers from the vicious attack, with the family starting a GoFundMe who has raised more than $220,000 for his medical expenses.
Justin Gilstrap, 11, of Appling, Georgia, underwent multiple surgeries after a pack of pit bulls attacked him Friday.
Despite losing 70 per cent of his scalp, the boy was filmed telling his followers: ‘I love you all. I just want you to know that I’m fine’
The three pit bulls that attacked Gilstrap belonged to neighbor Burt Baker III (pictured)
According to authorities, Justin was riding his bike in front of his home Friday when his neighbor’s three hounds broke free and gave chase.
One of the dogs grabbed his leg before the others joined in, pulling him off the road and into a nearby ditch.
There, they proceeded to mutilate him, tearing off pieces of his scalp, ears, chest and legs. The pit bulls savagely attacked Justin within an inch of his life before running off.
Minutes later, his relatives found him lying defenseless on the ground, and Ericka told the Augustan Chronicle that his mother was the one who witnessed the bloody scene.
“She said there was just blood everywhere,” Ericka said. “She couldn’t tell where he was bleeding from… but apparently he was bleeding everywhere because there isn’t an inch of his body that isn’t covered by a cut or a bruise.”
Justin was then rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma as doctors worked to save his life. He remained in a coma until Sunday morning when Ericka wrote that he had woken up.
The dogs’ owner, Burt Baker III, was charged with reckless conduct as he also admitted that his dogs liked to chase bikes.
Along with the dogs involved in Friday’s attack, Baker turned over four other dogs, pit bull terriers and mixes, to authorities. Officials said at least two of the dogs had been vaccinated against rabies.
Baker had been the subject of several complaints regarding her pets, and Columbia County officials face scrutiny over their handling of the case.
“The sad thing is that we have reported these dogs multiple times before,” Erica wrote on the GoFundMe page. Columbia County did nothing! It’s sad that this was necessary for them to finally do something,’ she stated.
Justin’s family said he was discovered in a pool of his own blood after falling into a ditch.
Justin suffered lacerations all over his body, losing 70 percent of his scalp and half of his ear.
On Jan. 2, 2022, Baker was cited by the county after his dogs attacked a neighbor’s Yorkie.
The dogs were then found roaming the neighborhood freely a week later, prompting a final warning from the county.
But in July, Baker had another complaint filed against her about dogs that were seen wandering outside her home on Langston Drive.
One of the dogs was detained, however Baker was allowed to pay a fee to retrieve the hound, per state code.
Columbia County Administrator Scott Johnson defended the county, saying they were just following the rules and couldn’t impound the dogs because of their prior history.
“We are not naive to the fact that there may be ferocious dogs out there,” he told WRDW. “They just have to attack someone before the county can do anything.”
I’m not saying that Columbia County always does everything right. But in this case, we follow the protocol,’ he added.
Doctors placed Justin in a medically induced coma while they struggled to stop the bleeding. They eventually managed to close his wounds.
As her son begins the long road to recovery, Ericka created the hashtag #JustinTough to raise awareness about his situation.
She told the Chronicle that along with her medical bills, her son will need counseling to deal with the trauma of the attack.
“I hope she doesn’t have PTSD,” Ericka said. “They warned me that he will probably need some therapy, just to get him back to where he was.”
She noted that last week, Justin was in severe pain and needed a morphine drip, and that he once removed his feeding tube in confusion when he woke up one night.