Jun 29, 1990 Dolton Pit Bull Kills Baby

Dolton - A 2-month-old girl who was left with her grandmother while her parents celebrated their third wedding anniversary died Thursday after being mauled by a mixed-breed dog that police said was mostly pit bull.

Map of Illinois Fatal Pit Bull Attacks by Dogsbite.org

In Dolton, Pfotenhauer said Lyla Provo was sitting next to the child watching televison about 8 p.m. when the dog attacked the infant for no apparent reason.

``My investigators were told that the grandmother had to pry the dog`s mouth open to pull him away from the child,`` Pfotenhauer said.

The baby was taken by ambulance to South Suburban Hospital`s trauma center in Hazel Crest with bites on the face, head and upper back.

``Doctors thought she was going to make it, and she was being transferred by helicopter to the University of Chicago Hospital when she died,`` Pfotenhauer said.

An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner`s office also found a skull fracture and injuries to the brain.

In November, Kevin B. Cull, a Northern Illinois University graduate student, was fatally mauled by two pit bull terriers in unincorporatd Geneva Township. The killing touched off a drive by Dr. Joseph M. Busch,

administrator of the Kane County Public Health Committee, to seek amendments to the state`s Animal Control Act.

A result was that the General Assembly last week passed amendments that would define certain dogs as vicious and place restrictions on them. Dog owners who violate the restrictions could be fined.

``The bottom line is that the county will now be able to target vicious and dangerous (dogs) and force (owners) to comply without having to take them to court,`` said Busch. ``We will be able to control these animals and make the community safer for everyone.``

Read more:
Chicago Tribune

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