Pit Bull Attacks and Dogfighting in Illinois

May 18, 2015 Chicago Pit Bull Kills Two Little Dogs in Lakeview

Chicago - Two little dogs were massacred by a pit bull around 9 pm Saturday night in upscale Lakeview on the north side of the city.

In typically bizarre Chicago reporting , WGN called this horrific dog attack on small dogs a dogfight which the pit bull SURVIVED. Seriously? Are they that delusional in Chicago that they think the little dogs were fighting with a pit bull and that the pit bull's life was in jeopardy?

Animal Care and Control arrived at the scene and took the pit bull, but, as always, refuses to provide any information about what they're doing with the pit bull.

The grotesque scene - when authorities arrived, the owner of a small dog was weeping over the two little dead dog victims and someone else was caressing the pit bull to "calm it." Chiraq is a pretty grotesque place.

comment from someone who says they are the owner:

AnonymousMay 19, 2015, 8:40:00 AM

They were our dogs. The most ferrying experience of my life. The pitbull killed the Maltese first. She was the most kind dog who loved children. I still can't sleep at night. Her scream haunts me. These dogs were part of our family for 7 years.

May 14, 2015 Freeport Man Arrested After Officers Discover Dog Fight

Freeport - A 26-year-old Freeport man was arrested Wednesday night after police said they discovered him instigating a dog fight.

Kahill Brown is charged with dog fighting and resisting a peace officer after Freeport police saw him encouraging two pit bull dogs to fight in the backyard of a house in the 600 block of East Crocker Street at 11:16 p.m., Freeport Deputy Chief Jeff Mastroianni said. Officers saw Brown cursing at the dogs, encouraging one dog to kill the other, while holding his cellphone as if he were recording video, Mastroianni said.

Read more:
Journal Standard
http://bit.ly/1FkwquF

May 14, 2015 Pits for Patriots Wants to Put Aggressive Pit Bull in Our Communities

Berwyn - Pits for Patriots is has a dog aggressive pit bull it wants to place in one of our neighborhoods. Since there is no such thing as a pet free community, and because so called "dog aggressive" dogs also eventually show aggression to people as well, this pit bull is a danger to any community.

May 08, 2015 Police Blotter: Oakbrook Terrace: Pit Bull Bites Man

Oakbrook Terrace - Jose L. Leon, 44, of the 1S400 block of Leahy Road, Oakbrook Terrace, was charged with keeping a vicious animal at 3:51 p.m. May 4 after his white pit bull bit a 61-year-old man at Leon's residence. The victim refused medical treatment; the dog was place in quarantine in a local veterinary clinic.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune

May 06, 2015 Alsip Pit Bull Seriously Mauled Boy

Alsip - Notice that the headline on the original Tribune story was altered for this blog post to reflect appropriate and normal human values and priorities. (Chicago Tribune's headline: Pit bull could be euthanized after mauling Alsip boy)

Also of note, there was no news coverage of this boy's extremely serious mauling. The mauling did not become news until it was found that a pit bull might be found legally vicious and might be put down after attacking a dog and seriously mauling a boy. That is considered important news - the pit bull's fate, not the fate of the child or the safety of the community.

10-year-old Matthew Dancho after he was seriously mauled
by a pit bull because he knocked on his friend's door

A reading of the Chicago Tribune's news story reveals how ridiculously difficult and rare it is to have a pit bull declared vicious in Illinois.

Illinois' dangerous and vicious dog laws were written by Ledy VanKavage, a lobbyist who is head of the Pit Bull Initiatives at Best Friends Animal Society, who has bragged that the law is purposefully written to make it difficult have a vicious dog declared vicious and safeguard the citizens of Illinois. "Under Illinois law, it is very easy to get a dog declared dangerous. Not vicious. That's a much more involved procedure involving the court system." Note that local officials must involve the State's Attorney with a full blown investigation and file a complaint in circuit court just to have a dog that has viciously attacked be declared vicious. It is no surprise that some municipalities choose not to initiate this process even when they should do so.

The Law:
(510 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 365)
Sec. 15. (a) In order to have a dog deemed "vicious", the Administrator, Deputy Administrator, or law enforcement officer must give notice of the infraction that is the basis of the investigation to the owner, conduct a thorough investigation, interview any witnesses, including the owner, gather any existing medical records, veterinary medical records or behavioral evidence, and make a detailed report recommending a finding that the dog is a vicious dog and give the report to the States Attorney's Office and the owner. The Administrator, State's Attorney, Director or any citizen of the county in which the dog exists may file a complaint in the circuit court in the name of the People of the State of Illinois to deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Testimony of a certified applied behaviorist, a board certified veterinary behaviorist, or another recognized expert may be relevant to the court's determination of whether the dog's behavior was justified. The petitioner must prove the dog is a vicious dog by clear and convincing evidence. The Administrator shall determine where the animal shall be confined during the pendency of the case

Here is an excerpt from a 2006 article about the 2003 changes to Illinois law:

Lawmakers three years ago changed the standard of proof in vicious-dogcases from preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The difference can be huge. “Preponderance” meant that the doggie cops needed to show it was more likely than not that a dog needed confinement — if 51 percent of the evidence is against a dog, it loses. “‘Clear and convincing’ is 70 percent,” Carey says. The folks who pick up the carcasses and impound the biters and sometimes wield the euthanizing needle say that they don’t have enough discretion or power. Largent and other animal-control officers are asking lawmakers to restore their authority to declare a dog vicious and order it confined. They say that it’s too difficult to get a dog declared vicious in Illinois. “If you look at the Animal Control Act, there’s an almost infinite number of excuses that could be conjured up by an owner to prevent a dog from being declared vicious,” Largent says.
Illinois Times, February 02 2006

May 06, 2015 Wood River Boy Seriously Mauled by Family's Bullmastiff.

UPDATE: Conner, the 8 year-old boy victim was hospitalized for 8 days. When he was found, Conner was unconscious. It was feared that Conner might lose his leg, but he has kept his leg despite losing muscle and veins in his leg. He has gone through extensive physical and occupational therapy.

The dog is now being called an English mastiff and was 18 months old at the time of the attack. The family had only owned the dog for two weeks prior to the attack.

Wood River - A 5-year-old Wood River boy was flown by helicopter to a St. Louis hospital Wednesday afternoon after being mauled by the family’s Bullmastiff.

The boy, a son of a Wood River police officer, according to Wood River Deputy Chief Dan Bunt, was being treated for multiple injuries after the attack, which happened at approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Wood River Fire Chief Steve Alexander said the child sustained “a number of injuries to the (lower) extremities.”

The boy was air lifted to St. Louis Children's Hospital. The bullmastiff, a family pet, was put down.

Read more:
KSDK
The Telegraph
http://bit.ly/1Kmo0BX

Related posts:
Jul 29, 2013 Zion Teen Receives $1.125 Million After Bullmastiff Attack
Nov 11, 2012 Kane County Health Dept. Confirms That First Responder Dawn Brown Killed by Bullmastiff

May 05, 2015 Looking for Pit Bull Owner of Pit Bull that Bit Jogger

Chicago - I realize this is a long shot, but I was bitten by a dog while running in Humboldt Park a couple of weeks ago (4/19) and have been unsuccessfully trying to locate owner, so I'm posting to see if anyone possibly has any leads.

All I got from the owner is her first name and a phone number. She is of Indian descent, and said her name is Diana. But when i call her, it goes to voicemail (appears to be a google voice #), and the message says her name is something along the lines of Aidan (though the message has changed and it previously appeared to be affiliated with a henna shop or something like that - I could be wrong, but this is based on what my friends and I could understand when it would go to voicemail).

At the time of the attack, she had two medium-sized black dogs attached to her body with ropes/leashes - they appeared to be mixed breeds, either mixed with Cane Corso and/or Staffordshire terrier (based on the fur pattern). She headed off in the direction northwest of the park (I got bit by the pond just south of the beach/field house, behind the baseball field), so I'm guessing she lives either west and/or northwest of Humboldt Park. If anyone possibly has any leads, no matter how small, I would greatly appreciate it. I would really like to track her down and am pretty sure she lives in the area.

Just FYI, the dog was leashed to its owner, and the attack was completely unprovoked as I ran past them on the trail. At first the owner was nice but got defensive and left when I said I would have to report it to the police and animal control (standard protocol for dog bites). It was a deep gash for which I had to go to the ER, and it was a painful, 2 week long recovery. The owner is supposed to take certain steps, but she has not been responsive to me, the police, or animal control. I'm most concerned about the fact that the dog might bite again.Thanks in advance for any help!

Chicago Everyblock