Eldorado - A pit bull named Memphis dug under a fence to get to a shih tzu puppy and kill it in front of its 13 year old owner.
The boy and a woman who tried to stop the attack were bitten by the pit bull. The family is traumatized, especially Jonathon, the thirteen year old who witness the horrible killing.
The pit bull's owner wants the dog back. No one else in the neighborhood wants the pit bull to come back, but town official don't seem to know what the local and state ordinances empower them to do.
Local official believe that the pit bull can be deemed vicious according to local ordinances but not according to state laws. However, there is a provision in the law that specifically permits municipalities to enact more stringent ordinances than the Illinois law provides.
(510 ILCS 5/24) (from Ch. 8, par. 374) Sec. 24.
...nor shall anything in this Act be construed to, in any manner, limit the power of any municipality or other political subdivision to further control and regulate dogs, cats or other animals in such municipality or other political subdivision…
Taking this to the State's attorney is the right thing to do here if officials do not believe they can euthanized the dog under local ordinances. However, Saline county and counties across Illinois ought to go the route of Lake county Illinois and enact dangerous dog ordinances that allow local health departments make decisions about whether the dog can be removed and put down for the sake of public safety.
ACC-1201.2.4 Animal-aggressive Dog Dispositions:
In the provision of an animal-aggressive determination notification pursuant to Section ACC-1201.2.3 of this Chapter, the Administrator shall, based upon the evidence of the severity of the attack and/or previous history of other similar attack(s), determine the disposition of the dog, which may include any one or a combination of the following requirements:
A) Enforcement of any or all of the requirements of a dangerous dog determination pursuant to Section ACC-1201.1 of this Chapter;
B)Requiring that the dog be kept in an enclosure approved by the Health Officer, and only allowed out of the enclosure to obtain veterinary care, in case of emergency where the dog’s life is threatened, or to comply with an order of the court;
C)Humanely euthanizing the dog.
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WPSD
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Jul 24, 2013 Pit bull kills beloved Shih Tzu in Wauconda park
