Pit Bull Attacks and Dogfighting in Illinois: Dec 7, 2013

Dec 05, 2013 Chicago Tribune: Pit bulls flood shelters, strain rescuers

The Chicago Tribune is stepping up and reporting on pit bull statistics in Chicago and the surrounding area. Read this in depth article about the state of the pit bull population in the Chicagoland area.

Graphics plainly show that since Safe Humane Chicago was founded with grant money from Best Friends Animal Society in 2007, the percentage of pit bull bites has skyrocketed from 27% of all dog and cat bites to an astounding 44% in 2012.*

While total numbers of dogs impounded and euthanized remains in the same ballpark as 2010, the percentage of pit bulls euthanized has risen from 57% to 66% in the first 11 months of 2013.

Nearby Waukegan's pit bull problem is noted in the article. One rescuer says that there is a litter of pit bull puppies in every other house in Waukegan despite an (unenforced) ban on unlicensed dog breeders. Despite that, animal control director Susan Elliot says it is that dog breeding licensing law that she feels addresses the pit bull problem in Waukegan. hmmm...

Elliot says that people get pit bull puppies and then surrender them when the pits are between 10 months to 1.5 years old. This is exactly the age when dogfighters would see their fighting dogs "turn on" and become aggressive, high energy fighting dogs. Elliot has noticed that a major reason people give up pit bulls is because "it has too much energy." That might be a way to say, "I am terrified of my maturing fighting dog." About half of the dogs entering the Waukegan shelter are pit bulls.

Unfortunately, the Tribune article ends with pit bull advocates saying that BSL isn't the answer, education is. This is exactly what they have been saying for 30 years and look where we are now.

With pit bull attacks being such a serious issue, instead of interviewing this guy who references Snoop Dog's crass sexual innuendo on his dog training website and who profits from people who get dangerous dogs and want training, why not talk to emergency room and trauma center staff about their experiences treating pit bull attack victims. I mean, do we really need research about the strength of pit bull jaws when people who treat pit bull attack victims can tell you that the removal of quantities of flesh and amputations are highly associated with serious pit bull attacks and not attacks by other types of dogs? Why not interview victims' advocates like Colleen Lynn of dogsbite.org? And why not interview pit bull attack victims themselves? You can ask Nick Foley if he'd be willing to talk about growing up with severe injury including the removal of most of the muscle in one forearm due to a protracted pit bull attack. And I know Joseph Finley, who recently lost a leg to a pit bull, has been willing to talk about his devastating injury. There have been several attacks by pit bulls just this year in chicago that were so severe, initial reports indicated the victim might lose a limb. But, there has been no reporting on how these victims have fared and if they were able to keep their limbs. Where is the investigation into what happened in the pit bull attack at CACC?