Mar 02, 2014 Remembering Ryan Maxwell one year later

Tom Loewy of the Galesburg Register-Mail talks to Ryan Maxwell's family on the anniversary of his death.  Ryan was mauled by a pit bull one year ago today, and as his family tells Tom, the pain is still great, but they want to turn their pain into motivation to help protect other children from pit bulls and other dangerous dogs.

From the interview:

It’s been a year since a pit bull named Ghost mauled 28-year-old Sarah’s first-born child. She and Ryan’s grandparents, Tom and Tina Mead, still struggle with their memories of the beloved boy and the horror of how he was killed.
“Little things remind me of him every day,” Tina explained. “Sarah and I will see a bunch of kids getting off a school bus. Or we see his friends.
“Seeing other little kids around his age has to be the hardest part. It reminds all three of us, I think, of all he’s missed out on. The things that are supposed to be fun family things just don’t really feel right any more.”
Ryan should have turned 8 years old May 7, 2013. He supposed to be there for Christmas like he always was, up early and bugging grandparents. He missed his beloved little brother Jayden’s birthday party at the end of December.

Tom Mead, Ryan's grandfather, has joined a group called Dax's Friends to help spread the word about dangerous  dogs.  Daxton Borchardt was killed by a pit bull in Wisconsin just a few days after Ryan was killed.

Thank you to the Meads and Tom Loewy for keeping Ryan's memory alive for the community and for 
helping to educate about the dangers of pit bulls and other dangerous dogs.

Three children were killed by pit bulls in Illinois in a span of 10 months, a rate previously unheard of in Illinois.

Pit bulls and related dangerous dogs are attacking at an escalating rate all over the country.


Read more:
Galesburg Register-Mail
Daxton's Friends

Related posts:
Mar 03, 2013 Galesburg Pit Bulls Kill 7 year old Ryan Maxwell