Dec 30, 2006 Danville post office worker mauled by pit bulls

by Pam G. Dempsey

DANVILLE – Delivering mail Tuesday afternoon in the 100 block of South Griffin Street was a typical day on the job for local letter carrier Wendy Hoskins.

But three staples in her head, three stitches in her hand and several cuts and bruises later marked this day as the worst dog attack Hoskins has ever had in the 20 years she's worked for the United States Postal Service.

"They made a beeline, came across the whole street, charging me," Hoskins said of the two pit bull dogs that attacked at around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. "I was kicking and hitting and kicking and hitting. What made me survive is I fought back."

The News-Gazette
Accessed: 2012-01-25. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64y92q92U)

Oct 11, 2006 Cops forced to kill pit bull to stop attack on woman



A pit bull charged and clamped down on a woman's arm as she was walking on a Far South Side sidewalk Monday night, prompting Chicago police officers to shoot and kill the dog when it refused to let go.

Chicago Tribune


Oct 4, 2006 Pit Bull Mauls 8-year old Girl Owner Charged with Reckless Conduct

October 4, 2006

(CBS) WAUKEGAN, Ill. A pit bull owner in Waukegan has been charged with reckless conduct after his dogs mauled a little girl.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports the savage attack has some city lawmakers looking to strengthen Waukegan's dangerous dog ordinance.

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Aug 25, 2006 Zion Pit Bull Mix Attacks Dad, Son

Zion Pit Bull Mix Attacks Dad, Son

Zion - In the last 20 years, dog attacks have killed 238 Americans.  Shane Colbert was afraid he and his song might be added to the list.

Colbert was walking home Sunday afternoon with his 6-year-old son from the Zion-Benton Public Library when they were attacked by a pit bull mix.

The dog, he said, climbed out of a hole in a wooden fence in an alley in the 2100 block of Gilead Avenue and jumped at them.

Colbert, who underwent surgery a week ago for a broken left wrist, defended the boy with his still-mending left arm.

"I was trying to defend my son with my left arm (that) I was not supposed to use.  Otherwise, he would have been bitten," he said.

Colbert's intercession was fortuitious.

Colbert was treated at Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan for scratches on his right arm.  There were no injuries on his left arm.  His son, Kyle, was unharmed.

"He was crying and didn't know what to do," the father said of his frightened son.

He said they have walked in the alley many times on their way to the library and back.  They were aware of the dog behind the fence, but there was no hole there before.

Colbert was bitter that the owners of the dog offered no aid after the incident.

The two year old pit bull went back home for a rabies observation because it had its shots.

Read more:
Lake County News-Sun

Related posts:
Lake County pit bull attacks






Jul 19, 2006 Lawsuit: Alton Pit Bull Bites Jogger Who Sues

Alton - An Alton woman claims her neighbor’s pit bull bit her while she was jogging, according to a personal injury lawsuit filed in Madison County.

Peggy McGinnis claims that on May 2 she was jogging on Ethel Avenue in a peaceable manner when Susan Gomer’s pit bull ran out of its house and across the street, viciously biting her on the left leg and ankle causing her to fall to the ground.

McGinnis claims Gomer failed to have the dog on a leash and failed to have the dog licensed as required by Alton City Code.

According to the complaint, McGinnis suffered severe laceration and puncture wounds to her left leg and ankle requiring hospitalization and surgery for treatment of infection.

McGinnis also claims she incurred substantial medical expenses, experienced pain and suffering, has permanent scarring and disfigurement, and has lost wages.

Represented by Richard Sharrard of Edwardsville, McGinnis is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.

Read more:
The Madison-St.Clair Record
http://bit.ly/1HprSn3

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Alton pit bull attacks

Jun 28, 2006 Pit bull impounded after attack, police say



WHEELING — Authorities have impounded a pit bull owned by a Wheeling woman who was cited last week with failing to keep her dog on a leash and failing to have a valid Cook County rabies tag after the animal bit a 72-year-old man, police said Tuesday.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune  Accessed: 2012-04-22. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/677Z0KFl2)

Jun 06, 2006 Three Wheaton Pit Bulls Attack Poodle

Wheaton - Tootsie was clearly outnumbered.

The small Maltese poodle saw the three pit bulls coming and tried to hide behind a bush in Wheaton. But before she knew it, one pit bull had her on one end, and the second had her other end.

"They were pulling on her just like a rag doll," said Tootsie's neighbor Keith Kolar.

Kolar and Tootsie's owner, Frank Cacciato, wouldn't let Tootsie go down without a fight.

The two men, who had been working in their front yards in the 2300 block of Albright Lane on Friday evening when they saw the pit bulls attack, ran after them, trying everything they could to pull Tootsie away.

Cacciato ended up with a broken finger and sprained hand; Kolar, with bites in his hand, forearm and leg. Tootsie was left with bite marks across her neck, and 30 doggie stitches to boot.

One of the pit bulls met his end with Cacciato's bat. A second was taken away by Wheaton Animal Control. The third returned home to the 2300 block of Richmond Drive, where the dog's owners told police they have an electric invisible fence, but it was broken. The owners could not be reached for comment.

Police are investigating whether to charge the owners, Wheaton police Cmdr. Terry Mee said Monday.

Tootsie is still recuperating.

"She's not talking. Not barking," said Frank Cacciato's wife, Kathy. "But give her some time, and she'll be begging again."

It was the second incident involving pit bulls over the weekend.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune


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DuPage County Attacks

Jun 04, 2006 Aurora Pit Bulls Maul Two Women

Aurora - Screaming, punching and kicking, two Aurora women fought off two pit bulls early Saturday, but not before suffering wounds that sent both women to a local hospital.

"They tried to eat us for dinner," a tearful Joan Ware, 44, recalled Saturday afternoon, soon after leaving Rush-Copley Medical Center with 25 stitches on her legs. Ware and friend Katrina Harden, 33, who received five stitches on her left arm, were walking home from a neighbor's house about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when the two roaming dogs attacked.

"We didn't see them until they came between the cars," said Harden, who lives across the street from Ware on the 900 block of 2nd Avenue, where the attack occurred. "We were their target."

After arriving on the scene, Aurora police shot one of the dogs, a 2- or 3-year-old male, and the dog was euthanized later, police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said. The other dog ran away and had not been found by evening. Nor had police determined if the dogs, which were without collars or tags, belonged to anyone.

The incident occurred less than a week after police in Indiana's Lake County seized 15 adult pit bulls and one puppy in a Calumet Township home, where authorities said electric prods, a treadmill, medications and other alleged fighting equipment were discovered. And on Wednesday, Gov. Blagojevich signed three bills that increase penalties for people who allow dangerous animals to run loose or use them to commit crimes.

The Aurora City Council in 2000 put some restrictions on vicious animals, but efforts to restrict ownership of large-breed dogs in the city have failed, said Ald. Stephanie Kifowit.

"I consider pit bulls to be a large-breed dog. They are big, they are all muscle," she said. "We need to dig deep and start looking at our ordinance."

Kifowit said the source of the problem could be more common pit-bull breeding in Aurora.

"You see signs everywhere, `pit bull puppies for sale,'" Kifowit said.

"We need to start looking at more owner responsibility. We must crack down."

Another Aurora alderman, John "Whitey" Peters, agreed that a new ordinance or revision of a current one might be needed.

As for Ware, she said that if the two dogs have owners, she has a message for them: "They should be ashamed of themselves."

Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://bit.ly/1G1kQks

Read more:
Kane County Pit Bull Attacks

Mar 03, 2006 Pit bull gets loose, kills dog walking with owner



KANE COUNTY — A pit bull broke free Thursday morning and attacked another dog out for a walk with its owner in unincorporated Kane County near Carpentersville, authorities said.

The attacked dog, a poodle mix, had a broken spine and lacerations and died soon after it was taken to Dundee Animal Hospital in East Dundee, authorities said.

Chicago Tribune  Accessed: 2012-04-22. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/677dCCvBD)

Feb 22, 2006 State Lawmakers Propose Law Allowing Municipalities to Ban Specific Breeds

Chicago - When state Rep. Michael Tryon proposed legislation last month to control pit bulls, he quickly learned that some dog owners could be as difficult to handle as their pets.

The evening after Tryon (R-Crystal Lake) proposed a law that would let municipalities ban specific breeds, his fax machine started whirring non-stop. It finally jammed after spitting out nearly 500 protest letters, some from as far as California.

As the momentum to control dangerous dogs swells across Illinois and nationwide, dog owners have emerged as a well-organized and loud group of activists.

Nationwide, roughly 230 cities in 32 states have pit bull legislation either passed or proposed, said Alan Beck, a professor at the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University.

So Tryon is not alone, Beck said.

"It's not like there is just this huge groundswell of pit bull people," said Beck, who has testified in Canada in support of a pit bull ban and has been on the receiving end of hate mail from dog owners. "They are just organized and noisy."

In Illinois, about 10 dangerous-dog bills or amendments are being discussed, most of them from politicians in districts where pit bull attacks have occurred.

Tryon acted in response to a Nov. 5 attack near Cary in which two children and four adults were severely injured by three pit bulls that escaped from their owner's home.

"In Illinois our laws are all about the animals and not the people," Tryon said. "Every time we try to do something about this, the lobbyists for [animal-welfare groups] get 5,000 people to jam our fax machines."

Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://bit.ly/1ElJtNX

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Pit Bull Problem Statements and BSL


Feb 03, 2006 Cop Shoots At Pit Bull in Lombard Incident

Lombard - A Lombard police officer helping federal law enforcement officers serve a warrant shot at a pit bull Thursday afternoon after the dog tried to attack him, authorities said.

The officer was watching the back door of a home in the 100 block of Majestic Drive on Thursday afternoon while agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served a warrant against a man at the home, said Thomas Ahern, spokesman for the ATF. While waiting for the federal authorities to serve the warrant, the officer saw a pit bull come out of the house and move forward in a "threatening manner," Ahern said.

The officer then fired one shot at the dog. The dog suffered a minor injury, but authorities aren't sure if the officer struck the dog or if the dog was injured when he then hit a fence, Ahern said.

The ATF served warrants against one man at the residence and then learned a second man there had an outstanding warrant, Ahern said. He would not disclose what the warrants were for, saying only that they involved federal firearms or narcotics violations. Both men were taken into custody.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune
http://bit.ly/1Ely4xE

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DuPage County pit bull attacks

Feb 02, 2006 Several Recent Waukegan Pit Bull Attacks Prompt Aldermen to Look at BSL

Feb 02, 2006 Several Recent Waukegan Pit Bull Attacks Prompt Aldermen to Look at BSL

Waukegan - This article lists several pit bull attacks from 2003 to 2005 in Waukegan and Beach Park.

2003 Aug - Waukegan Police officer was attacked by two stray pit bulls in August and required treatement for injuries to his hand. One of the dogs was later shot and killed by police when it attacked again as they attempted to seize it.

2005 Jul - A Waukegan police officer, responding to a report about a stray pit bull chasing a teenage boy on Winhaven Drive, was forced to fire a shot at the pit bull when it charged at him.

2005 Aug - 49-year-old Beach Park woman was attacked by a pit bull on the 2500 block of North McAree Road. The woman told police she was walking down the street when the dog ran from its yard, lunged at her and bit her on the right hand before being chased off by a bystander.

2005 Sep - Police seized a pit bull and a rottweiler that injured each other in a fight in a garage on Wadsworth Road. In that incident, the pit bull reportedly was on the loose and chased two girls to the roof of a car before attacking the chained rottweiler.

Because of these attacks, Aldermen are considering BSL.  8th Ward Ald. Rick Larsen directed the council's attention to an article in the January edition of the Illinois Municipal League's Review magazine, in which the municipal league attorney Roger Huebner encourages the state to allow regulations aimed directly at pit bulls.

While Hubner wrote that there currently is no Illinois statute allowing municipalities to write breed-specific ordinances, he added that other state and federal courts have upheld the special regulations.

"Cities are writing specific ordinances about specific types of dogs, (and) we should look into it," Larsen said.

North Chicago's ordinance, enacted Monday, calls for such measures as an annual $500 registration fee for a single pit bull and a limit of two such dogs per owner. It also requires that pit bulls involved in a biting incident to be destroyed or removed from the city.

Read more:
Suburban Chicago News



Related posts:
Lake County pit bull attacks