Many of you know or remember Stacy Finelli, former member of The Believers Band. Her mother Ginny Enzor was also a long time member of the band. Stacy and Ginny both played clarinet with the band. Stacy’s daughter Zoe played trumpet with the band on a few occasions.
The article below concerns a dog attack on Stacy that was published in The Times this morning.
Please keep Stacy, Tony, Zoe, Ginny and their family in your prayers.
Jerry L Butler
Gainesville High teacher hospitalized after dog attack
A Gainesville High School teacher has spent the last five days in Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s trauma unit after she was mauled by a dog.
Tony Finelli said he was at work after 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24, when he received a text that his wife, Stacy Finelli, was in an ambulance.
Finelli said his wife suffered wounds all over her body. “Her left forearm was just destroyed down to the bone,” Tony Finelli said. “She lost a tremendous amount of blood.”
The incident happened on Hawthorne Lane. Hall County Animal Services Director Mike Ledford said Monday, March 28, that the dog, a labrador/pit bull mix, was impounded and in quarantine at the animal shelter.
“This is very much an open and active investigation at this time so there is not much more information that I can release but I will say that the dog was not running loose at the time of the bite,” Ledford wrote in an email.
Ledford said the dog was inside its home when the bite happened. He did not answer follow-up questions Tuesday, March 29.
The incident report did not have a narrative other than one comment written that the dog attacked a neighbor. The Times called phone numbers associated with the homeowner, but those numbers did not work. Tony Finelli said he has tried to find out more about what happened but has not learned much.
Tony Finelli said the biggest concern right now has been caring for the wounds and warding off bacterial infection. Every time he visits, he said he sees a new spot “that’s now not covered in blood that has stitches.”
Tony Finelli said Stacy has been the French teacher at Gainesville High School for several years. Gainesville High Principal Jamie Green declined to comment when reached by The Times Tuesday.
Tony Finelli said his wife likely has a “long road” ahead of her in terms of recovery, but the family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from the community.