Jun 28, 2008 Springfield Mailman Attacked by Pit Bull Amid Epidemic of Pit Bull Attacks


Springfield - Sixty year old postal carrier Calvin Shepherd sr. was attacked by two pit bulls.  suffered two deep puncture wounds in his right arm that required stitches and a dislocated left shoulder. The dogs also lacerated his inner thigh and put three gashes in his back, which the hospital could not stitch up because of a high risk of infection from dog saliva in the wounds, he said.

U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Sue Litterly said this was the fifth dog-bite incident involving Springfield postal workers this year. On Friday, that number jumped to seven, as two more postal carriers were bitten by pit bulls, Litterly said.
“Usually we don’t have more than five in a year, and it isn’t even July. I don’t know why it’s so high this year,” she said.

Shepherd said he hopes the dogs will be put down.
“I have seen this before on my route,” he said. “A little girl got her ear bit off by a pit bull. There was also the lady on my route over on Wheeler.

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State Journal Register

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June 28, 2008 Pit Bulls Stir Loathing, Loyalty



Rosewood Heights - ...It was one of the first warm days in May, and the 80-year-old Williams decided to take Maggie, a Lhasa apso, out for a walk. Upon stepping out the back door of her home in Rosewood Heights, she was startled to see a pair of pit bulls coming toward her.

"I heard the dogs barking," Williams recalled. "The two pit bulls were coming right at us. I pulled Maggie toward me, but she fell on her back. That's when one of the pit bulls grabbed her."

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Jun 27, 2008 Pit Bull Attacks 9-year-old Boy

By MAGGIE BORMAN

ELSAH — A 9-year-old boy was attacked and severely injured by a pit bull Thursday after he went into the dog’s fenced yard to retrieve a toy.

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Jun 26, 2008 Rockford Pit Bull Mix Attacked 3 Dogs in 4 Years

Rockford - After at least three attacks in the last four years, neighbors on one Rockford street want one dog removed.


Two dogs have died, and now another is in the hospital. Neighbors say they fear their children could be next.

"I looked out the window and they weren't fighting, it was a straight attack."
Tuesday night, Tina McFarland says a chow wandering her street was brutally attacked by Jasmine, a rotweiller-boxer-pitbull mix.
"As a parent, I’m scared to death."

And just a year ago, neighbor Dayma Coy says her dog Lassie was attacked and later died, also because of a fight with Jasmine.
"She was in my yard and the dog came and attacked her." She's since put up a fence.

PHILLIP SMITH, who evidently let his dangerous pit bull mix run loose regularly, says “…there' ain't no sense in having a dog if she ain't a guard dog, that's the bottom-line."

Smith paid Lassie's vet bill after she died and also admits to another dog killed by Jasmine.

“Something needs to be done, because I don't want this to be a kid, because if that was a child, I don't know what you could do to stop it."

These neighbors say they've had enough.

"They need to get rid of the dog or they need to put up a fence, because if they love their dog they’re going to protect it and the neighbors."

Winnebago County Animal Services says it's investigating the case and Jasmine could potentially be taken away.

But the fight with the Chow Tuesday night is the only incident with a dog in the neighborhood actually reported by neighbors.
Smith says he would consider putting up a bigger fence if the neighbors would help pay for it.

No word on the chow's condition.

Read more:
My State Line

Related posts:
Mar 2, 2008 Pit bull attacks on the rise, Ledy VanKavage thwarts all attempts to protect people and pets
March 2, 2008 Communities across Illinois are prevented from addressing pit bull problems
Feb 19, 2008 Pit Bulls Attack Man Walking Dog on Northwest Side

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Jun 04, 2008 Machesney Park Police shoot pit bulls savaging a pug

Machesney Park - Two pit bulls savagely mauling a little pug were shot by police.

Pugsly the pug's owner said, "I mean it looked like hyenas attacking a bunny rabbit or something. She was on her back, she wasn't even touching the ground, and they both had her at opposite angles just pulling her apart."

State police sergeant Schroeder said, "My officers have been told that any time there's an aggressive dog in their proximity that could bite them or a citizen, if it's safe to do so, they need to dispose of the dog if that's their only option."

The pit bulls owner was due in court for a previous attack on an innocent dog when Pugsly was torn apart.

After Pugsly's horrific attack other Winnebago county residents wanted stricter laws regulating pit bulls.  The Winnebago County animal services director said that something needs to be done about Illinois' horrible animal control act which prevents law enforcement from protecting people and pets from these pit bulls.

Another dog owner who tried to protect her dog from mauling pit bulls and was bitten herself says that she was just luck that her dog survived.  She has to go to a vicious dog hearing and the worst the pit bull owner will get is a fine.

Debbie Heath says, "Pit bulls were bred originally to fight, to kill, that's where the name came from," Debbie says. "With an animal like that a fine is not enough. That animal has got to be caged so it cannot get out. A six foot fence with a top, concrete on the bottom."


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Pontiac Daily Leader Accessed: 2012-02-22. (Archived by WebCite®at http://www.webcitation.org/65eecA4uQ)
Pontiac Daily Leader  Accessed: 2012-02-22. (Archived by WebCite®at http://www.webcitation.org/65eeyXASj)


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