Pit Bull Attacks and Dogfighting in Illinois: 05/01/2015

UPDATE: May 26, 2015 Chicago Pit Bull Fatally Mauls 5 Year Old Boy

UPDATE - "James Nevils III and his 7-year-old sister had been outside with the dog while staying at their cousin's home in the 8900 block of South Carpenter Street Monday night, according to a police report. Their mother let the dog and the children back into the house and was locking the door when the dog bit into the boy's neck, the report said."

UPDATE - Police say they issued two citations to the owner of a pit bull that killed a five year old boy, but no charges will be brought against the man whose identity is being protected.

UPDATE - Chicago Animal Care and Control is once again refusing to acknowledge a pit bull that launched a fatal attack is a pit bull.
"Brad Powers, a spokesman for the Commission on Animal Care and Control, said the dog was "large and muscular."
"While we have no way to confirm a dog breed based on physical characteristics alone, the animal has features consistent with the Dogo Argentino breed," he said in an email."

People can identify pit bulls by physical appearance. That obvious fact has been upheld by court decisions.

Powers' other statement is true, however, because every single pit bull does, in fact, have features consistent with the Dogo Argentino breed because pit bulls and other related gripping dog breeds were all foundation stock for the development of Dogo Argentinos which were developed for the exact same purposes as pit bulls and all gripping dogs - dog fighting and "hunting" by attacking large game. See this link and this link for more about Dogos and their relationship to pit bulls.

Thankfully, the dangerous gripping breed Dogo Argentino is still fairly scarce in the United States. On two pages of Dogo Argentino Breeder websites, no puppies were available immediately and all were being bred as catch dogs for hog dogging. On BYB breeder sites, there was one single Dogo puppy listed for $1800. The rest of the Dogo puppies were listed for between $2400 and $3300.

So, the expert handlers at CACC looked at a white (and some say white and brown) pit bull, with supposedly no other information, and jumped to the conclusion that instead of a pit bull mix, they were looking at different, rare, expensive, related pit fighting/big game hunting dog.

This is not the first time that CACC has tried to hide the pit bull. In 2010, after Johnny Wilson was killed by his daughter's 6 pit bulls, then director Cherie Travis contended that the killer dogs were completely unidentifiable mixed breeds.

It is downright frightening that CACC persists in misleading the public in order to protect pit bulls.

UPDATE - An autopsy on Tuesday found James W. Nevils III died of multiple sharp and blunt force injuries to his head and his neck. His death was ruled an accident.

Chicago - A 5 year old boy, James W. Nevils III, was fatally attacked by a pit bull according to witnesses. The pit bull had the boy by the throat and was shaking him around. Neighbors came and beat, bludegeoned and stabbed the pit bull to death with a brick, pole and knife to get it to stop the attack.

RIP sweet boy

The attack evidently began inside a home the victim was visiting with his mother. A neighbor said,

“They were trying to drag it out of the house, I guess so people could help. So my brother went across the street to get a chair to get the dog off the baby but it didn’t work.”

In what is typical of pit bull attacks, after the pit bull was disengaged from the victim once, it went back to attack. When they finally had killed the pit bull to stop the attack, James Nevils was lifeless.

Witnesses reported that seeing this lifeless boy was the worst thing they'd ever seen.

The dog owner, the victim's adult cousin, was not there when the attack happened. He returned home after James was taken to the hospital.

Neighbor Lamar Lewis said, "All I heard was, 'Why y'all let the dog out?' Because he knew what kind of dog he had. So them letting the dog out, he knew what was possible to happen."

Several outlets are reporting this, including a couple local and one national outlet. All but the Tribune and Fox news have mentioned that witnesses had seen the dog around the neighborhood, were familiar with it, and identified it as a pit bull.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune
ABC News
CBS Chicago
ABC Houston
ABC Chicago
ABC News
Chicago Sun Times
CLTV
Chicago Tribune
Fox News Chicago

Related posts - Illinois' Fatal Pit Bull Attacks:

May 26, 2015 Chicago Pit Bull Fatally Mauls 5 Year Old Boy

Jan 18, 2014 Bloomington family pit bull kills four year old Kara Hartrich

Dec 8, 2013 Chicago Fatal Pit Bull Attack: 2 year old Jah'Niyah White

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

Nov 11, 2012 Kane Co Health Department: Bullmastiff Killed First Responder Dawn Brown

Aug 16, 2012 Man Killed By Own Pit Bulls In Englewood

Dec 07, 2011 Rockford woman dies after attack by her pit bull

Aug 25, 2010 LaSalle Pit bulls kill 7 year old Jason Walter

Jan 18, 2010 Cops: Chicago Man Mauled to Death by Daughter's Pit Bulls

Dec 01, 2009 Flora, Illinois Woman Killed in American Pit Bull Terrier Attack

Jun 27, 2009 Pit Bulls Fatally Maul 3 year old Boy Johnston City

Jan 27, 2005 Police believe dog attack, hypothermia killed Erie girl, 14

Jan 12, 2003 Pit bull mixes attack two joggers, killing one and seriously injuring the other

Jul 19, 1990 Chicago Pit Bull Killed 6 Month Old Tionna Kenny

Jun 29, 1990 Dolton Pit Bull Kills Baby

Nov 12, 1988 Dekalb Pit Bull Kills NIU Student

May 22, 1951 Fairfield Boy, 3, Killed By A Bulldog

May 27, 1931 Chicago Pet Bulldog's Attack Fatal to Woman

Jun 06, 1912 Chicago infant fatally mauled by bulldog

May 08, 1911 Mount Vernon Bulldog kills 4 year old boy

May 11, 1910 Chicago Bulldogs Fatally Attacked an Old Lady

Jul 08, 1905 Chicago Baby is Killed by a Bulldog

Aug 16 1901 Springfield Sheriff's wife killed by bulldog

Jun 23, 1892 Chicago Family Bulldog Kills Child in Terrible Attack

Mar 11, 1886 Chicago Child Torn to Pieces by Bulldog on Street - Fatal Attack

May 26, 2015 Decatur Police Ask For Help To Find Mauling Pit Bull

Decatur - A jogger was severely mauled in Fairview Park in Decatur over the Memorial Day weekend.

A black pit bull escaped the dog park for the express purpose of attacking Scott McBride who was jogging in the park. Though severely injured, McBride was able to get away.

The pit bull owner performed a Dine and Dash escape in typical pit bull owner fashion. He quickly loaded his mauling pit bull into his car and drove away.

The police are asking that anyone with information to please call Crime Stoppers. You may remain anonymous and may earn a cash reward.

Decatur & Macon County Crime Stoppers
(217) 423 - TIPS
Text: DPD333 + info to CRIMES (274637)(( 423

May 22, 2015 CBS Chicago Investigative Reporter Follows Up on Pit Bull Left in CACC Van

Chicago - WBBM Newsradio investigative reporter Steve Miller gives an important update on a pit bull that was left in a CACC van for 5 days after an adoption event at a Blackhawks game. The pit bull named Monkey wasn't doing well at the event so she was put back in the van. All the other dogs were adopted and the CACC worker dropped off the van forgetting the pit bull.

It was originally said that the pit bull had no food or water for 5 days and now they are saying the pit bull had "hardly any" food or water. Also, CACC gave the pit bull to another rescue that says the pit bull is gaining weight and she's not ready to adopt yet. She needs weeks more training before she is adoptable.

Steve Miller's investigative update ends with other similar incidents at CACC, specifically two other dogs that were killed by CACC.

Great. Now here is a list of all the pit bull attack victims in Chicago we have had no update on:

May 18, 2015 Chicago Pit Bull Kills Two Little Dogs in Lakeview

When asked, CACC refused to give any comment whatsoever and there has been no update on what happened to the pit bull owner, the pit bull or the owners of the victim dogs.

May 06, 2015 Alsip Pit Bull Seriously Mauled Boy
The little boy's attack was not reported at all originally. Only when it looked like the pit bull might be declared vicious (horrors!) did it become newsworthy in Cook county. No update as to whether the pit bull was actually declared vicious or if it was put down. And no update on how the victim and his family are doing.

Apr 03, 2015 Chicago: Leashed Pit Bull Kills Leashed Pekingese

No media bothered to cover this little dog's death by a pit bull.

Mar 16, 2015 Berwyn Shih Tzu Attacked by Pit Bull, Then Hit By Car This dangerous pit bull's attack and the Shih Tzu's death was not covered by the media.

Feb 10, 2015 Lawsuit: Chicago Woman Attacked by Pit Bull, Sees Pet Killed and is Shot in Foot at Jazz Festival
This INSANE attack and the INSANE amount of mayhem that accompanied it was never covered by the media.

Sep 19, 2014 Chicago Pit bulls attack 5 people and kill 1 cat in 5 months and NOTHING is done
An actual investigative reporter followed up on tips and reports on an untenable situation in which CACC did nothing to remove demonstrably dangerous pit bulls. But we have no update about whether CACC actually eventually did its job.

Nov 02, 2013 Chicago Animal Control Worker Seriously Injured In Pit Bull Attack No update on this CACC worker's condition. We don't know if she lost a hand. We don't know if this attack was investigated. We don't know if any charges were brought. We don't know how the victim fared and we don't know if CACC changed its policy about pit bulls at all.

But we do know that Monkey will be adopted by hook or by crook.

Read more:
CBS Chicago

May 21, 2015 WIFR Rockford: Hero Pit Bull Farts Loudly, Awakens Owner, Saves 5 People According to Owner

Rockford - If a pit bull owner calls WIFR about a farting hero pit bull, you bet they will report it!

As it is, WIFR is reporting that a pit bull owner approached them about his pit bull barking when it heard other pit bulls outside fighting. The owner called WIFR to tell them that he thinks his pit bull is a hero and deserves a medal, so naturally WIFR reported on…a pit bull barking at night when it heard something.

Pit Bull Hero For Barking

The hero pit bull owners called 911 and police came.

WIFR reporting emphasizes that the fighting pit bulls were pets and forced to fight to the death. It remains unclear why officers had to physically stop the pit bulls from fighting after the bad men ran away and the pit bulls were free from coercion.

Read more:
WIFR

May 19, 2015 Lake County: Pit Bulls More Important Than People

UPDATE - More detail emerge about the abuse JUAN ROSITAS inflicted on his relative.
Booras said Rositas is charged with armed violence for threatening to "chop up" the family member with the machete while she pleaded for her life during a confrontation from April 5 to April 10.
Booras also said the victim was threatened with physical harm if she went to the hospital and was forced to say she'd been having an affair.
In all, Rositas faces up to 15 counts of armed violence, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated domestic battery and intimidation for the threats made to the family member.

UPDATE - JUAN ROSITAS, already facing felony charges in connection with the alleged physical and psychological abuse of an adult family member and the killing of at least three dogs, has now been indicted on aggravated kidnapping charges.
His charges:
Domestic violence-related charges of aggravated kidnapping and armed violence, both Class X felonies, were included in the indictment. He also is charged with aggravated domestic violence, a Class 2 felony; unlawful restraint, a Class 4 felony; and intimidation and stalking, both Class 3 felonies.

Waukegan - A small group of women protested in front of the Lake County Courthouse before a preliminary hearing for JUAN ROSITAS.

Pit Bull Advocate Priorities

ROSITAS was first arrested after a tip led police to three dead pit bulls buried in his backyard which showed signs of torture and extremely violent deaths. That arrest led to felony animal abuse charges and misdemeanor domestic battery charges in connection with an unnamed relative.

The misdemeanor domestic abuse charges were later dismissed and new felony charges were filed: armed violence, a Class X felony; aggravated domestic violence, a Class 2 felony; unlawful restraint, a Class 4 felony; and intimidation and stalking, both Class 3 felonies.

And what are the fine ladies of Lake County demonstrating about? Outrage for domestic violence? No. These ladies want everyone to know that "Pit Bull Lives Matter." Even though they don't care enough about it to speak up, when asked they do admit they are aware that domestic violence is wrong, too.

Rachel Dratch nails these ladies in this Amy Schumer bit.

May 18, 2015 Chicago Pit Bull Kills Two Little Dogs in Lakeview

Chicago - Two little dogs were massacred by a pit bull around 9 pm Saturday night in upscale Lakeview on the north side of the city.

In typically bizarre Chicago reporting , WGN called this horrific dog attack on small dogs a dogfight which the pit bull SURVIVED. Seriously? Are they that delusional in Chicago that they think the little dogs were fighting with a pit bull and that the pit bull's life was in jeopardy?

Animal Care and Control arrived at the scene and took the pit bull, but, as always, refuses to provide any information about what they're doing with the pit bull.

The grotesque scene - when authorities arrived, the owner of a small dog was weeping over the two little dead dog victims and someone else was caressing the pit bull to "calm it." Chiraq is a pretty grotesque place.

comment from someone who says they are the owner:

AnonymousMay 19, 2015, 8:40:00 AM

They were our dogs. The most ferrying experience of my life. The pitbull killed the Maltese first. She was the most kind dog who loved children. I still can't sleep at night. Her scream haunts me. These dogs were part of our family for 7 years.

May 14, 2015 Freeport Man Arrested After Officers Discover Dog Fight

Freeport - A 26-year-old Freeport man was arrested Wednesday night after police said they discovered him instigating a dog fight.

Kahill Brown is charged with dog fighting and resisting a peace officer after Freeport police saw him encouraging two pit bull dogs to fight in the backyard of a house in the 600 block of East Crocker Street at 11:16 p.m., Freeport Deputy Chief Jeff Mastroianni said. Officers saw Brown cursing at the dogs, encouraging one dog to kill the other, while holding his cellphone as if he were recording video, Mastroianni said.

Read more:
Journal Standard
http://bit.ly/1FkwquF

May 14, 2015 Pits for Patriots Wants to Put Aggressive Pit Bull in Our Communities

Berwyn - Pits for Patriots is has a dog aggressive pit bull it wants to place in one of our neighborhoods. Since there is no such thing as a pet free community, and because so called "dog aggressive" dogs also eventually show aggression to people as well, this pit bull is a danger to any community.

May 08, 2015 Police Blotter: Oakbrook Terrace: Pit Bull Bites Man

Oakbrook Terrace - Jose L. Leon, 44, of the 1S400 block of Leahy Road, Oakbrook Terrace, was charged with keeping a vicious animal at 3:51 p.m. May 4 after his white pit bull bit a 61-year-old man at Leon's residence. The victim refused medical treatment; the dog was place in quarantine in a local veterinary clinic.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune

May 06, 2015 Alsip Pit Bull Seriously Mauled Boy

Alsip - Notice that the headline on the original Tribune story was altered for this blog post to reflect appropriate and normal human values and priorities. (Chicago Tribune's headline: Pit bull could be euthanized after mauling Alsip boy)

Also of note, there was no news coverage of this boy's extremely serious mauling. The mauling did not become news until it was found that a pit bull might be found legally vicious and might be put down after attacking a dog and seriously mauling a boy. That is considered important news - the pit bull's fate, not the fate of the child or the safety of the community.

10-year-old Matthew Dancho after he was seriously mauled
by a pit bull because he knocked on his friend's door

A reading of the Chicago Tribune's news story reveals how ridiculously difficult and rare it is to have a pit bull declared vicious in Illinois.

Illinois' dangerous and vicious dog laws were written by Ledy VanKavage, a lobbyist who is head of the Pit Bull Initiatives at Best Friends Animal Society, who has bragged that the law is purposefully written to make it difficult have a vicious dog declared vicious and safeguard the citizens of Illinois. "Under Illinois law, it is very easy to get a dog declared dangerous. Not vicious. That's a much more involved procedure involving the court system." Note that local officials must involve the State's Attorney with a full blown investigation and file a complaint in circuit court just to have a dog that has viciously attacked be declared vicious. It is no surprise that some municipalities choose not to initiate this process even when they should do so.

The Law:
(510 ILCS 5/15) (from Ch. 8, par. 365)
Sec. 15. (a) In order to have a dog deemed "vicious", the Administrator, Deputy Administrator, or law enforcement officer must give notice of the infraction that is the basis of the investigation to the owner, conduct a thorough investigation, interview any witnesses, including the owner, gather any existing medical records, veterinary medical records or behavioral evidence, and make a detailed report recommending a finding that the dog is a vicious dog and give the report to the States Attorney's Office and the owner. The Administrator, State's Attorney, Director or any citizen of the county in which the dog exists may file a complaint in the circuit court in the name of the People of the State of Illinois to deem a dog to be a vicious dog. Testimony of a certified applied behaviorist, a board certified veterinary behaviorist, or another recognized expert may be relevant to the court's determination of whether the dog's behavior was justified. The petitioner must prove the dog is a vicious dog by clear and convincing evidence. The Administrator shall determine where the animal shall be confined during the pendency of the case

Here is an excerpt from a 2006 article about the 2003 changes to Illinois law:

Lawmakers three years ago changed the standard of proof in vicious-dogcases from preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The difference can be huge. “Preponderance” meant that the doggie cops needed to show it was more likely than not that a dog needed confinement — if 51 percent of the evidence is against a dog, it loses. “‘Clear and convincing’ is 70 percent,” Carey says. The folks who pick up the carcasses and impound the biters and sometimes wield the euthanizing needle say that they don’t have enough discretion or power. Largent and other animal-control officers are asking lawmakers to restore their authority to declare a dog vicious and order it confined. They say that it’s too difficult to get a dog declared vicious in Illinois. “If you look at the Animal Control Act, there’s an almost infinite number of excuses that could be conjured up by an owner to prevent a dog from being declared vicious,” Largent says.
Illinois Times, February 02 2006

May 06, 2015 Wood River Boy Seriously Mauled by Family's Bullmastiff.

UPDATE: Conner, the 8 year-old boy victim was hospitalized for 8 days. When he was found, Conner was unconscious. It was feared that Conner might lose his leg, but he has kept his leg despite losing muscle and veins in his leg. He has gone through extensive physical and occupational therapy.

The dog is now being called an English mastiff and was 18 months old at the time of the attack. The family had only owned the dog for two weeks prior to the attack.

Wood River - A 5-year-old Wood River boy was flown by helicopter to a St. Louis hospital Wednesday afternoon after being mauled by the family’s Bullmastiff.

The boy, a son of a Wood River police officer, according to Wood River Deputy Chief Dan Bunt, was being treated for multiple injuries after the attack, which happened at approximately 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. Wood River Fire Chief Steve Alexander said the child sustained “a number of injuries to the (lower) extremities.”

The boy was air lifted to St. Louis Children's Hospital. The bullmastiff, a family pet, was put down.

Read more:
KSDK
The Telegraph
http://bit.ly/1Kmo0BX

Related posts:
Jul 29, 2013 Zion Teen Receives $1.125 Million After Bullmastiff Attack
Nov 11, 2012 Kane County Health Dept. Confirms That First Responder Dawn Brown Killed by Bullmastiff

May 05, 2015 Looking for Pit Bull Owner of Pit Bull that Bit Jogger

Chicago - I realize this is a long shot, but I was bitten by a dog while running in Humboldt Park a couple of weeks ago (4/19) and have been unsuccessfully trying to locate owner, so I'm posting to see if anyone possibly has any leads.

All I got from the owner is her first name and a phone number. She is of Indian descent, and said her name is Diana. But when i call her, it goes to voicemail (appears to be a google voice #), and the message says her name is something along the lines of Aidan (though the message has changed and it previously appeared to be affiliated with a henna shop or something like that - I could be wrong, but this is based on what my friends and I could understand when it would go to voicemail).

At the time of the attack, she had two medium-sized black dogs attached to her body with ropes/leashes - they appeared to be mixed breeds, either mixed with Cane Corso and/or Staffordshire terrier (based on the fur pattern). She headed off in the direction northwest of the park (I got bit by the pond just south of the beach/field house, behind the baseball field), so I'm guessing she lives either west and/or northwest of Humboldt Park. If anyone possibly has any leads, no matter how small, I would greatly appreciate it. I would really like to track her down and am pretty sure she lives in the area.

Just FYI, the dog was leashed to its owner, and the attack was completely unprovoked as I ran past them on the trail. At first the owner was nice but got defensive and left when I said I would have to report it to the police and animal control (standard protocol for dog bites). It was a deep gash for which I had to go to the ER, and it was a painful, 2 week long recovery. The owner is supposed to take certain steps, but she has not been responsive to me, the police, or animal control. I'm most concerned about the fact that the dog might bite again.Thanks in advance for any help!

Chicago Everyblock

Apr 30, 2015 Illinois Pit Bull Abuse Roundup

These pages don't usually track abuse of pit bulls or pit bull owner/breeder drama, but this past week pit bull owners, breeders, and professional advocates have outdone themselves. It has been said that pit bull owners and "expert" rescuers are a pit bull's worst enemy. These accounts validate that observation.

Chicago - Workers found a pit bull that had been forgotten in a Chicago Animal Care and Control van for a "few" days after an adoption event at a Chicago Wolves game. The pit bull was found Thursday or Friday and the most recent previous Chicago Wolves game was the previous Sunday. She had to be removed from the adoption event because she was "having problems." She was "barely alive" when she was found. But, no charges because it was an accident.
Four Legged Friends and Enemies

Waukegan - A man viciously killed three of his pit bulls with a sledgehammer, a claw hammer, and a plastic bag and then buried the bodies in his backyard.
Chicago Sun Times
http://bit.ly/1JKtmee

Chicago - a backyard breeder claims that armed and masked robbers stole three pit bulls at gunpoint. He contends that his pit bulls are worth $15,000 (or more) a piece. One shot was fired. These masked thieves of backyard bred pit bulls were able to avoid being seen on any of the neighborhood surveillance cameras.
NBC Chicago
http://bit.ly/1EJX7Yd