Pit Bull Attacks and Dogfighting in Illinois: 02/01/2013

Feb 28, 2013 Victim of severe pit bull mauling left with expenses

Bloomington - Criminally negligent pit bull owner SHANIE DOSS is being charged with reckless conduct with possibility of causing great bodily harm, a Class 4 felony after she allowed her pit bull to escape her house and attack two people.

In Illinois a class 4 felony calls for incarceration between one and three years and ordinarily provides for fines of up to $25,000. However, only a small proportion of convicts actually do prison time with most receiving suspended prison sentences and probation.

And yet another irresponsible pit bull owner forces the victim to pay for her own horrific mauling in every conceivable way.

There is the life altering injury. After $73,000, and extended hospital stay in December, two surgeries, the first one lasting four hours, with more to come, Connie Ijams still has no feeling in her arms.

Then there's the emotional consequences. She is naturally jumpy after having gone through such a harrowing experience. “I’m just always really nervous,” she said. “I drop things. I shake. I have nightmares. I still cry. I’m in pain constantly..."

And there's the actual monetary expenses. While insurance has paid for some of it, Connie and her husband Scott must do their own fundraising to pay for the mounting medical expenses.

Here are the details:

****************Fundraiser***************

**********What: Benefit for Scott and Connie Ijams*********

When: 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday March 3

Where: The Eagles Aerie No. 527, 313 S. Main St., Bloomington

Highlights: Bands; food; silent auctions and drawings with all proceeds going to cover medical expenses

Feb 23, 2013 Pit bull attacks UPS driver, cop and shot

The paddlewheel sightseeing boat runs out of East Alton

East Alton - An aggressive pit bull caused a melee when it first attacked a UPS driver and then escaped once again to attack when police went to the door of the owner's home. Police had to shoot the pit bull five times to subdue it. It survived and was later euthanized.

Though all of Madison county had a population of 268,459 in 2011, Madison county has seen disproportionately high number of serious pit bulls attacks over the years.

Read more:
The Telegraph

Related posts - the pit bull attacks of Madison county:
The Nature of the Beasts: Illinois pit bull bullies
May 31, 2012 Godfrey pit bull only quarantined after 3 confirmed attacks
Sep 27, 2010 South Roxana Officer Shoots Pit Bull to Death
Mar 11, 2010 Police Fatally Shoot Pit Bull After Attack on Cop
Nov 13, 2009 Pit bull shot during drug raid
Nov 5, 2009 Police shoot 2 pit bulls tazer third
Oct 23, 2009 'Precious' the pit bull bit customer's arm, says suit
Sep 17, 2008 Officer Shoots Pit Bull
Aug 19, 2008 Pit Bulls seriously maul Woman, 19
June 28, 2008 Pit Bulls Stir Loathing, Loyalty
May 13, 2008 Alton pit bull attacks boy, 9, for no reason

Feb 15, 2013 Pit bull attack survivor prevails 10 years later

Angelica Osusky has prevailed since surviving a pit bull attack

Romeoville - Ten years ago, 8 year old Angelica Osusky was horrifically mauled by a pit bull. In an instant, it bit off and consumed her thumb and then took a chunk out of her neck the size of half an apple.

The pit bull was shot by police and taken to the same hospital as Angelica so surgeons could remove the thumb from its stomach, but two sets of surgeons were unable reattach Angelica's thumb.

Despite the loss of her thumb, she is tied as the second-leading scorer for her basketball team, the Spartans, at Romeoville High School this year

She will be going to college next year, and has met the extra challenges she faces now. People say "it's only a thumb" but Osusky knows all to well how much people use their thumbs for just about everything.

She has a cat. She likes some dogs. But she is afraid to be around pit bulls - like so many others who have been attacked.

Angelica's attack took place almost exactly seven months after pit bulls mauled two nurses, one, Anna Cieslewicz, fatally. The nurse who survived, Mary Murphy-Smith, lost her career as a midwife when she lost the use of her arm in a twenty minute battle with the pit bulls. Murphy-Smith was strongly supportive of a pit bull ban, saying "What do you say about the children who are being attacked by these dogs?"

Read more:
Herald News Accessed: 2013-02-15. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6ESnfKqgO)

Related posts:
Aug 14, 2003 Pit bull launches devastating attack, consumes girl's thumb
Nov 5, 2005 Nick Foley Survives Agony of a Pit Bull Rampaging Attack

Feb 08, 2013 Man siccs pit bull on police officer

Champaign - While police were attempting to arrest LISA G. EHLER, for driving under the influence, her boyfriend JOHN P. CARGO sicced his pit bull on police who then shot and killed the pit.

Read more:
News-Gazette