Jul 31, 2014 Sangamon County Board Member’s Bull Breed Dogs Attack Dogs

Sangamon Co. - "A member of the Sangamon County citizens advisory board on animal control has been repeatedly caught allowing unaltered dogs to run loose with no proof of rabies vaccination. At least one of her dogs may be declared dangerous following an unprovoked attack on a dog and a Springfield woman."

On June 26, Christine Groves was walking Bella, her dachshund-beagle-chihuahua mix, at the intersection of Lincoln and Ash streets when two dogs owned by animal control board member Sheryle Henry attacked. One of the two dogs was unleashed, according to Groves and a Leland Groves police report. The other was being walked by a man identified as Henry’s brother, and witnesses reported that he had to repeatedly kick one of the dogs, which resembled a pit bull, to end the attack. The dogs were bull terriers, according to animal control records, that each weigh more than 40 pounds.

“This wasn’t a bite, this was a mauling – Bella weighs 20 pounds,” Groves said. “These dogs are not family pets. I thought they were pit bulls. She (Henry) has never contacted me. Early on, this would have been ‘I’m so sorry, let me pay your vet bill.’ But that is not what has happened. … When I sue her, it’s going to be ‘Sheryle Henry, animal control board member’ on the lawsuit.

Bella is recovering from bite wounds – the veterinarian bill came to $700. Groves suffered minor bites on her hands when she tried rescuing Bella

It was not Henry’s first visit to animal control, where records show that Pompeii had been impounded at least four times after being found running loose prior to the attack on Bella. On at least one prior occasion, in April of 2011, Pompeii was given a rabies vaccination after impoundment when animal control officials found no proof of vaccination. Animal control officials eventually required Henry to spay Pompeii, and the procedure was completed in the spring of 2013, after the fourth time the dog was picked up.


The vet bill for Bella Abzug, left, came to $700 after the pooch was bitten by dogs owned by a member of the Sangamon County citizens advisory board on animal control.
PHOTOS COURTESY OF CHRISTINE GROVES

The state’s attorney’s office may get involved.

In addition to run-ins with animal control, Henry, who is an office administrator for the Illinois Department of Public Health, has twice pleaded guilty to misdemeanor shoplifting charges and has also pleaded guilty to misdemeanor marijuana possession, according to Sangamon County Circuit Court records.

Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.

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Jul 28, 2014 Hometown Police Officer Fired for Killing Menacing Pit Bull

Hometown - Apollo the pit bull mix had run out of the front door. Hometown police had been alerted, and encountered the dog as he returned to the front yard. Echlin says she tried coaxing Apollo back in the house, but he turned and bared his teeth at one of the officers. According to police, that's when the officer withdrew his weapon and fired one shot, striking the dog.

Echlin says she questioned the use of deadly force- especially in front of her daughter- but she says the officer showed no remorse.

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ABC 7 Chicago

This is one of the hundred of pit bulls that have been shot to stop an attack

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Pit bulls that were shot to stop an attack.

Jul 15, 2014 Pit Bull Owners Stiff Cabbie, Sic Pit Bull on Police Who Shoot it

Joliet - Real winner pit bull owners, who police say appeared very wasted, stiffed a cabbie in front of their house.  When the cabbie called police, the couple refused to talk to police, threatened to sic their crazy pit bull on them, and then did sic their crazy aggressive pit bull on police who were forced to shoot and kill it.  The pit bull owners were charged with several offenses including possession of drug paraphernalia, battery and theft of labor.

Such a lovely tribute for the mauler unleashed on the police
BL  - is that jim beam
DN - Damn thing's got a saddle on him.
Joyce Lewandowski- you funny D! that's his harness,,,lmao,,lmfao
DN - and who's gonna stop him if he wanes to run? he could pull a car
RARS - Beautiful dog!! Oh you too Joyce.
Joyce Lewandowski - can't stop him dave thats why i thinkn bout the shock collar,,,he's a beast, and a lap puppy

Joyce Lewandowski - That dogs beautiful,,yes em is,,yex em is,,,,
KD - We have to take this picture have it printed and framed because he is a beautiful dog and this is a beautiful picture. yez he is...yez he is... but he's a mean SOB
Joyce Lewandowski - He was laying on my leg, he was so happy I was home, prob.  Wont leave him that long again, it was sweet to see how much he loves me, but terribly pitt a full...
KD - Aww.  I wish he was nicer I would have come over there and been with him so he wouldn't have been alone you know sit with him lay with him and stuff like that poor baby....


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The Herald-News
Joliet Patch

Jul 09, 2014 Alton Police Forced To Shoot Loose Pit Bull


Alton - According to the department, officers responded to the apartment complex on the 2900 block of College Avenue at approximately 6:07 p.m. on July 3 for an incident not related to the dog or its owners. Once there, the officers encountered the dog, which was said to be barking and growling at the officers, according to Public Information Officer Emily Hejna. Officers requested that the dog be taken inside more than once, Hejna said.


The dog’s owner, Antoinette Skelton, said she attempted to take the dog into her apartment but the dog got loose as she grappled with it while also holding her four-year-old son.


When the dog ran at the officer he feared he would be attacked, Hejna said, prompting him to fire his weapon.

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The Telegraph

Jul 07, 2014 Chicago Pit Bulls Kill Pomeranian in West Chesterfield

Chicago - “A South Side woman says she's heartbroken after two pit bulls attacked and killed her 5-year-old dog.
RIP Bear
It happened in the West Chesterfield neighborhood, as Jocilyn Floyd and her two dogs were returning from a walk. She says the pits attacked and killed her Pomeranian named "Bear." Floyd told Eyewitness News this is one of several recent attacks in the area.

"We walk our dogs as a community, to know that we're not safe to walk our dogs in the morning, or any time of the day for that matter, because we have other residents that aren't responsible dog owners, it makes things hard to feel safe," said Floyd. 

Floyd says a different pit bull killed her other Pomeranian several years ago.

Animal control caught and quarantined two dogs in the neighborhood Monday morning.”

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Jul 06, 2014 Oswego Pit Bull Escapes Home and Bites Someone

Oswego - Jordan McDowell, 22, of 112 Harbor Drive, Oswego Township, was charged with allowing her dog to run at large at about 2 a.m. July 4 near her home  McDowell’s pit bull allegedly bit someone near her home, according to a Kendall County Sheriff’s office report.

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Only Oswego