Feb 05, 2016 Illinois Pit Bull Advocates Behaving Badly

Karma is a Bitch for Chicago Animal Care and Control 

Chicago Animal Care and Control is experiencing what some might call a karmic event.  After years of promoting pit bulls, fighting all regulation of pit bulls, pushing more and more pit bulls into neighborhoods and doing nothing to protect people and pets from pit bull attacks and deaths with their pro-pit bull policies, pit bulls are coming back and biting CACC in the rear.

CACC is being raked over the coals by “animal activists” for the alleged poor treatment of animals in its care and for not responding to calls of possible animal cruelty. WBBM Newsradio and the non-profit government watchdog Better Government Association launched investigations.

In a side note, CACC might be overwhelmed with possible animal cruelty calls because some Chicago residents have learned that they have no hope of getting their call answered if they are merely concerned about their own safety, the safety of their children or their pets from stray dogs, mostly pit bulls.  Some have found that their only chance to get a menacing pit bull removed from the neighborhood is to call it in as animal neglect or cruelty when the dangerous dog is left out in a yard or barks non-stop inside of an apartment, for example.  But, it seems that practice may have caught on and CACC can no longer keep up with those calls either.

In addition to not answering calls, their handling of three dogs in particular is being called out as inhumane and unprofessional.  All those dogs are pit bulls and two of them had known behavior problems.

In April 2014, a pit bull named Chance was euthanized after he was first placed on the mandatory 5-day stray hold and then was placed on rescue status where he remained for 4 additional days.  According to CACC, no rescue came forward in those 9 days to put a rescue hold on him.  Rescuers claim that someone with CACC failed to put the pit bull on hold after a rescue said they would take him.

For some reason, CACC, the BGA and the animal activists are all calling this pit bull a “mixed breed dog” and the video of him was taken down from youtube.  Here is a screen grab made by BGA showing that he was indeed a pit bull.

In a second incident, in April 2015, a CACC pit bull named Missy that was up for adoption was behaving badly at a hockey game.  What was a homeless pit bull doing at a hockey game?  It was being offered for adoption to any hockey fan in attendance with money, along with over a dozen other dogs.  In Chicago you can go to a hockey game, pick out a dog before the game and pick it up on your way out.

However, Missy was having behavior problems and was put back in the van while the rest of the dogs were adopted.  After the event, the driver returned to van to CACC.  Missy was forgotten and left in the van for 5 days with little food or water before anyone found her.  CACC turned her over, underweight, to a private rescue who said she would need weeks of behavior training before she could be adopted.

The third incident was revealed by a FOIA request from BGA for security video which CACC refused to make public after a very aggressive pit bull was brought in to CACC on two catch poles.  The pit bull was apparently strangled to unconsciousnes, and then dragged by the neck.  The workers dragging the unconscious pit bull may have believed the pit bull was dead but a veterinary examination revealed the pit bull was still alive.  The dangerously aggressive pit bull was then scheduled for euthanasia, but died 30 minutes before the scheduled appointment with the needle.

CACC created this situation where Chicago is drowning in aggressive and unwanted pit bulls.  And now they’re having to handle the consequences of their creation - and they’re not handling it well.  It is interesting that these dog incidents have prompted media and government watchdog investigations, but the serious mauling of a CACC employee by yet another pit bull got virtually no coverage, zero followup, and no known investigation into CACC safety practices.

And in Elgin - More Pit Bull Advocates Behaving Badly

Elgin animal control officer James Rog was charged with two Class 3 felony counts of theft and two Class 3 felony counts of official misconduct. He is accused of stealing over $6,000 from a police-affiliated youth program called Elgin Law Enforcement Explorer Post 1445.

Elgin officals decided to look into their own Explorer program after the leader of the Fox Lake Explorer program, Lt. “GI Joe” Gliniewicz, killed himself when he realized his theft of Explorer funds was going to be exposed. Gliniewicz staged his own suicide to make it look like he was a hero cop killed in the line of duty.

The Chicago Tribune interviewed Rog about Gliniewicz' illegal activities and Rog is quoted as saying that "...people are going to make mistakes." (!!!) That quote may be what prompted Elgin officials to look into Rog's program.

It turns out that James Rog is also one of Ledy VanKavage’s protogees.  Van Kavage is one of the most influential pit bull advocates in the country.  Rog probably became acquainted with VanKavage as he worked to torpedo several attempts to enact a pit bull ban in Elgin.  He is one of only three people, and the only animal control officer in the state, listed as a resource person for one of Ledy VanKavage’s programs for Illinois Police Officers, “Animal Abuse and Cruelty; Canine Behavior and Police Response.”  The other two resource people are Ledy VanKavage herself, and Cherie Travis, former executive director of CACC.

Wholesome Threesome
Cherie Travis, Ledy VanKavage, James Rog

VanKavage pushed for courses to train Illinois police officers not to shoot dogs.  Her interest in that lies in the fact that most of the dogs shot by police are pit bulls - and they are usually shot with good reason.  She got legislation enacted to require training for Illinois police to reduce dog shootings, co-wrote the book used as reference and developed classes for police officers.  This is her baby and she entrusted only two people in the entire state besides herself to teach these classes.  Rog, charged with 4 felony counts, and Cherie Travis, former executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control.

In 2009, Travis was hired as the executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control and immediately did the bidding of VanKavage and VanKavage's employer, Best Friends Animal Society, by changing CACC policies so that fight bust pit bulls could be adopted to the public. In 2010, as executive director of CACC, Travis famously refused to admit the dogs that killed Johnny Wilson in Chicago were pit bulls even though police, the owners, and neighbors all identified them as pit bulls.  Travis also praised “the character” of the irresponsible pit bull owner who let his known-aggressive pit bulls escape from their yard and maul a jogger named Joseph Finley so badly that he lost his leg in 2012.

CACC under Travis’ direction was the subject of an undercover news investigation that showed overcrowding and animals in poor condition as Travis tried to enact No Kill policies.  When asked by a reporter to define the No Kill philosophy, Travis could not explain it and told the reporter she would need to ask Best Friends Animal Society to define No Kill.

In 2012 Cherie Travis was summarily fired with no reason given other than the city “decided to go in another direction.”  The reason for her firing became apparent a few months later when it was revealed that she was being sued by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office for alleged misuse of funds from her own non-profit animal rescue group.

In 2013 the state settled with Travis.  She agreed to repay with interest the improper loans she made to her mother and friend from her nonprofit. In addition, she is banned for life from running the non-profit she founded and she was banned for three years from serving in a leadership capacity with any other nonprofit organization.

Travis is now the assistant general counsel for the Cook County Sheriff’s Department.  She also works for Ledy VanKavage and gives presentations on the problem of dog shootings by police (mostly pit bulls) in Chicago and trains Illinois police officers to not shoot pit bulls.

These are the people teaching cops to risk their lives by giving pit bulls they encounter the benefit of the doubt when experts have said time and again that pit bulls are notorious for not giving signs or signals before an attack - and worse, pit bulls can give misleading signals.  In the text used for these police training courses, co-written by Ledy VanKavage, police officers are warned that if they shoot a a dog, they could be sued.

I wonder if Rog is still going to lead his upcoming scheduled class on February 16.  He will need the money. Ledy is probably savvy enough to know not to give either of these two access to the budget.

Read more:
NBC Chicago - Chance Killed
ABC 7 Chicago - Pit Bull Left in Van
Better Government  Association (video) - Dangerous Pit Bull
Chicago Tribune - Jame Rog
Chicago Tribune - James Rog
Chicago Tribune - Cherie Travis Fired
Chicago Tribune - Cherie Travis Lawsuit Settlement
Animal Legal Defense Fund
Police Training Course
Police Training Course James Rog

Related posts:
May 22, 2015 CBS Chicago Investigative Reporter Follows Up on Pit Bull Left in CACC Van
Feb 12, 2014 Chicago woman gives up walking her dog because of pit bull and other dangerous dog attacks
Oct 10, 2012 Loose aggressive pit bulls menace Humboldt Park resident and her dog
Cherie Travis helps North Chicago with Animal Law
It Is Time, Elgin
Who runs CACC and why won't Chicago Punish Irresponsible Pit Bull Owners?

Cherie Travis helps North Chicago with Animal Law

In January 2010, Cherie Travis, as head of Chicago Animal Care and Control, gave statements to the media concerning the fatal mauling of Johnny Wilson.  Though police, neighbors, and the owners all identified the dogs that killed him as pit bulls, Cherie Travis claimed they were unidentifiable mixed breed dogs.  Two years later, in a comment about the severe mauling of Joseph Finley by pit bulls in January 2012, she finally acknowledged that Wilson's killers were pit bulls.

In September 2010, she was the subject of an undercover TV news investigation because under her watch and in an attempt to go No Kill, she ended up hoarding animals in deplorable conditions.

Last January, she praised a pit bull owner for his good character after he came forward and admitted that the pit bulls that launched a horrific attack on a jogger were his pit bulls.   The attack resulted in the loss of part of Joseph Finley's leg, and the pit bull owner got off with fines and a pat on the back from Travis for his good character.

Joseph Finley's goal is to be able to jog again

In March 2012, she was fired from the CACC.  The only reason given was, "we decided to go a different direction."

She lost her job as  an adjunct professor of animal law at DePaul University's College of Law at the beginning of September 2012.

In late September 2012 she was hit with a lawsuit filed by the Illinois attorney general's office for book keeping irregularities.  Reportedly she wrote checks totaling $70,000 to her mother and a friend from the accounts of the People and Animals in Community Together Humane Society, an animal shelter she had founded.  Though it had once had nonprofit status, that was revoked for failing to file tax returns.

The preceding might explain why in a few days Cherie Travis is slated to speak to the little city of North Chicago about animal law - she's available.

North Chicago was having problems with their animal control department.  It was run for years by 62 year old Ted McClelland and was underfunded and forgotten.  When McClelland left on vacation last year, a "miscommunication" led to the dogs in the pound getting no care for days.  At first, the problem was viewed as lack of attention and funds.  Volunteers came in to help.  But later McClelland left his post and the City of North Chicago has reportedly filed suit against him.

They hired Dana Deutsch to replace McClelland. Deutsch was a no kill shelter manager in Grayslake until she left to found her own private rescue, Ralphie's Place, that seemed to cater to small dog rescue.  Deutsch has connections with Best Friends Animal Society and has declared that she is going to run the eight kennel facility as a no kill shelter.  She reportedly is a soft touch as an animal control officer, not even wanting to use a catch pole because she feels those are scary for dogs.  That sounds endearing until you see her in action with pit bulls. Let's hope she can manage to not get herself mauled.

Is that Fear on her Face?

That looks like fear on her face and looking at that amazing grip that pit has on her hips and the near miss to her wrist, the fear is justified.  Let's hope she learns how to use a catch pole in the near future.

And though North Chicago has BSL - a $500 dollar fee is required to keep a pit bull - Deutsch is taking a kinder, gentler attitude toward that, as well.  She wants people to be able to keep and evidently breed their illegal pit bulls.  Isn't that sweet.  Deutsch has relied on her reputed super networking skills to move the dogs, seemingly mostly pit bulls, through the shelter as fast as they come in.  However, she hit a snag beginning in 2013, seems 30 pits have come in and she's having trouble moving them.  So, instead of enforcing the ordinance in place which would both reduce the number of pit bulls, presumably mostly intact, and potentially bringing in revenue, Deutsch has taken a kindly view to letting people keep their pit bulls and has engaged Cherie Travis to speak to the North Chicago leadership.  Wonder what she's gonna say…BSL bad…pit bulls good!

And here's what's going to happen, Deutsch is going to dazzle the leaders of North Chicago with her ability to bring in donations in the short term and tell them that the two phrases, "pit bull" and "no kill" are money magnets.  Then she is going to lobby for scarce resources to be put toward a larger and better animal control facility promising that "it will pay for itself."

Soon after the bigger, better facility is built, it will be stuffed to the gills with pit bulls, and the city of North Chicago will hear the phrase "urgent need" a lot.  Oh, and bite statistics will skyrocket.  How do I know?  I looked at what happened in Austin TX.

Austin Animal Services' new No Kill success adopting out "large breed dogs with behavior issues," coincided exactly with a 35% surge in reported dog bites.  Also, predictably, the most infamous "large breed with behavior issue" dog of all time, the pit bull, led the bite count, accounting for 22% of bites even though it represents 10% of the registered dog population.

I urge the leaders of North Chicago to read about what happened in Austin TX, and Elgin IL and to remember that within the last two weeks 2 children were mauled to death by pit bulls within a 200 mile radius of your city.  And I urge North Chicago to keep and require Deutsch to enforce your pit bull regulation, and if anything strengthen it or require spay and neutering as well as the $500 dollar fee.  Your animal control officer should be spending most of her time keeping North Chicago free of potentially dangerous dogs, and less of her time in a futile attempt to network an uncontrolled pit bull population away.

Read more:
News Sun  Accessed: 2013-03-15. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/6F9NXvtLQ)
News Sun
News Sun

Related Posts:
Who runs CACC and why won't Chicago Punish Irresponsible Pit Bull Owners?
Jan 2, 2013 Jogger who lost leg wants pit bull regulation

Who runs CACC and why won't Chicago Punish Irresponsible Pit Bull Owners?

What do a former cult in Kanab, Utah that became Best Friends Animal Society and a wealthy New York republican pit bull advocate that created Animal Farm Foundation have in common? They both obsessively promote pit bulls and they both might as well run Chicago Animal Care and Control.

Sixty two year-old Joe Finley was critically injured when two 70-pound pit bull terriers mauled him while he was jogging along Lake Michigan. The pit bull attack reportedly lasted about 45 minutes. The pit bulls bit Mr. Finley over his entire body causing deep tissue wounds, severe lacerations and massive blood loss. Doctors initially told Mr. Finley's brother that they gave him a 50% chance of surviving. Stanley Lee, the man who saved Finley's life, was alerted to the attack by Finley's bloodcurdling screams and repeated pleas, "Help me! Help me!"

For some of the 45 minute attack, the pit bulls continued mauling while being beaten with Mr. Lee's wooden bat. Lee said watching these two pit bulls gruesomely maul Joe Finley was the worst thing he'd seen in his life.

"They was fighting dogs and that's what they do," he said. "Normal dogs wouldn't do that. Stray dogs would never act like that. They knew what they wanted and their mission was to kill the man."

This comment from loathsome pit bull owner Laura P. of Chicago IL summarizes the problem with pit bulls, their owners and advocates:

"fighting for his life" OMG really? hysterical much? I love how every time a dog bites someone there is never any acknowledgement of the HUMAN's responsibility. Do we really expect DOGS to act RESPONSIBLY? The dogs had gotten out MULTIPLE TIMES. The dogs had BITTEN THE NEIGHBORS. WHY DID THESE OWNERS STILL HAVE THE DOGS? Fines, incarceration and the removal of the dogs from the home of the irresponsible OWNERS should have happened long ago and far away. And now ALL pit bull owners across CHICAGO shall pay the price and be punished because these owners couldn't handle their responsibility and the city failed to act, MULTIPLE times? Please. give me a break!!   - Laura P, Chicago IL, 04/1/2012 19:28

Loathsome Laura P. refuses to acknowledge the horror Joseph Finley was subjected to or to distinguish between a bite and a 45 minute long mauling. She's not alone in this, however. The editorial staff of the Chicago Sun-Times are displaying the same willful ignorance when in their "We love pit bulls more than people!" editorial position statement they bleat,

"In Denver, where pit bulls have been banned since 1989, city officials have yet to prove the ban has made people safer. Instead, Labradors now lead the pack of biters in Denver."

There it is again: refusal to acknowledge that the problem solved by pit bull bans is not dog bites, but severe maulings and killings. Sun-Times do some work, find out if the number of deaths and severe injuries delivered by dogs in Denver is lower per capita than in Chicago. Spoiler Alert: you will find exactly that.

Loathsome Laura P. does make a valid point, though. The owner was irresponsible and should face criminal charges for allowing his dogs to cause unimaginable pain and terror to Joseph Finley in an attack that lasted almost an hour and which will change his life. Before the owner of the dogs that attacked Joseph Finley was known, Cherie Travis, executive director of Chicago Animal Care and Control seemed to agree.

When the irresponsible owner was still unknown, Travis said,

"The reality is we need to hold people responsible that if you get a dog, you are responsible for everything that happens.”

Coming from her, this is not the usual pit bull advocate platitude. Travis is in a position to actually hold the owner responsible or push other agencies to do so. However, when Jimmy Johnson came forward as the owner of the mauling pit bulls, for some crazy reason Travis completely changed her tune. She praised Johnson's character simply because he did what we expect everyone to do - come forward to be accountable for his choices, his property, his dogs.


“The owner and the owner’s family were extraordinary responsive,” said Travis.  “They were hoping that the dogs were not theirs. …The fact that they came forward says a lot of about their character.”

She and the Chicago police decided that Johnson's defense that he didn't know someone had left the gate open was so incredibly strong, they could not prosecute him for allowing his pit bulls to mutilate a man for 45 minutes. Johnson walked away with a pat on the back about his great character and a few tickets.

Neighbors of the attacking dogs say that those specific dogs were demonstrably aggressive and it was known that those dogs were able to escape over the back fence. The pit bull owner, whose character Cherie Travis praised, was probably lying, probably knew his dogs could escape the fence, must have known the dogs were aggressive, and negligently allowed them to maul Joseph Finley.

Travis didn't follow up with an investigation she said she would conduct if the owner were found. The police evidently didn't even bother to interview the neighbors. The message sent was loud and clear, you can cause a gruesome, life-altering mauling, and you will be give exactly the same tickets as the owner of a cocker spaniel that gets out and inflicts a single bite on a hand. And Chicagoans just have to suck it up and take their maulings like good boys and girls.

But not too worry, serious pit bull attacks are uncommon in Chicago, according Travis. Travis' claim is completely unsupportable. If, as the Sun-Times states, Chicago does not keep statistics of bites by breed, Travis has no clue how frequently pit bulls severely maul Chicagoans.

Although the Sun-Times asserts Travis is not doing an adequate job monitoring a pressing public safety problem - pit bull overpopulation and attacks, there is no reason why she can't do her job if she wants to or is compelled to because CACC certainly is able to generate those statistics if they are compliance with Illinois state law which states that after an animal bites " A veterinarian shall report the clinical condition of the animal immediately, with confirmation in writing to the Administrator or, if the Administrator is not a veterinarian, the Deputy Administrator within 24 hours after the animal is presented for examination, giving the owner's name, address, the date of confinement, the breed, description, age, and sex of the animal, and whether the animal has been spayed or neutered, on appropriate forms approved by the Department."

Why would Cherie Travis insist she must compel pit bull owners to be responsible when the owner was unknown, but as soon as the owner came forward, simply praise him? Why would the Chicago Police Department and Chicago Animal Care and Control act so contrary to the interests of the citizens of Chicago and refuse to press charges to demonstrate that Chicago dog owners must be responsible?

It is baffling, but here are some clues:

Travis may be less able to assess what constitutes irresponsibility or abuse to animals considering the problems she's had running CACC as a no kill shelter. As happens time and time again with No Kill proponents, instead of sheltering animals, people begin simply hoarding them. And overwhelmed and over-run with cats and dogs with injuries and illnesses, animals suffer. Notice in Marcella Raymond's WGN undercover, investigative report in the following link that Travis defers to Best Friends when asked to explain the No Kill philosophy of the program she is running. And watch to the end to see an uncredited cameo of Ledy VanKavage, Esq. Senior Legislative Attorney at Best Friends Animal Society affirm that Travis is doing a great job.

The influence of Best Friends No Kill advocacy is so strong that WLS felt compelled do a second, positive piece on CACC and Cherie Travis after being deluged with complaints about this piece.

By being insanely pro-pit bull and protective of any pit bull owner who isn't obviously abusing or fighting pit bulls, the CPD and CACC attract lots and lots of money from the two whales of pit bull rescue and advocacy: Best Friends Animal Society and Animal Farm Foundation.

Here, Cherie Travis is publicly grateful for Animal Farm Foundation money:

The Chicago Police Department, The Chicago Animal Care and Control and the Cook county Sheriff's Departments all have close ties with Safe Humane Chicago which is solely funded by Best Friends Animal Society. Led by Cynthia Bathurst, Safe Humane Chicago was launched in 2008  with a $200,000 donation from BFAS. This money funded SHC's two projects: school programs teaching children how to be safe around and nice to dogs and programs teaching the CPD and CCSD how to conduct dogfighting busts that will stick. That's a good thing, obviously. We want those dogfighters jailed for their heinous, abusive and illegal activities. Right? Well, maybe not as much as we'd like to create new income streams with dogfighters' blood money.

Cynthia Bathurst is a BFAS national director and on

the advisory board of the NCRC which is a property

of Animal Farm Foundation.

Although SHC was heralding its part in an anti-dogfighting initiative as early as 2007 (link 2), SHC doesn't spend any money to prevent or reduce dogfighting in Chicago which is currently exploding into every neighborhood in the Windy City. It is no longer just for the ghetto anymore! Read about this amazingly huge, gang led, 60 dog, international, and presumably lucrative dogfighting operation that flourished behind a police station on the northwest side of chicago for six months before being busted.

Instead, SHC focuses on making sure dogfighting bust dogs can be put into communities across the country even if that means letting dogfighters off with no jail time and then parades pit bulls in front of city and suburban children saying "just say 'no' to dogfighting" (and don't you want a pit bull?). Cherie Travis is credited with implementing the policy changes that made this possible when she was hired as director of CACC in 2009.

SHC and D.A.W.G, it's sister/daughter/mother organization ( whatever, its all BFAS anyway), also works with the courts to encourage judges, lawyers and convicted dog fighters to trade the dogfighters' blood money for no jail time. You see, since dogfighters are often psychopathic gamblers, gang bangers, pimps and drug dealers, they often have surprisingly impressive caches of money and each of those dogfight bust dogs is potentially worth thousands of dollars. The blood money goes to pay for the "rehabilitation" of their fighting bred and trained dogs.

Quite shrewdly, Safe Humane Chicago does not adopt these "rehabilitated" fight bust dogs directly to the public. Instead, they funnel the dogs and most importantly transfer ownership (and liability), to willing rescues. This way, Chicago can transfer its problem with rampant dogfighting and ridiculously predatory pit bulls to communities all across the country.

This is all the rage in fighting dog rescue - transferring ownership to, in this case, another rescue, but this is also the latest fad when pawning the fighting dogs off on new adoptive families. Often, when dealing with a legitimate shelter or rescue, the rescue retains ownership of the dog for a period of time, or forever. This is to ensure that if they find out the adoptive owner is neglecting or abusing the dog, they can get the dog back to safety.

But, it becomes sticky if you're worried about liability associated with adopting out dogs you know full well might do just what Johnson's pits did. If you can stomach it, you can watch this AFF multimedia masterpiece called "Turbocharging Pit Bull Adoptions." It is sweeping the pit bull rescue community right now. In it, you can see them go the last mile and tell the pit nutters themselves THEY are stereotyping and over-generalizing, and committing breed specific atrocities. No one, it seems can say anything about pit bulls in general, not even that they're willing to please, without being a bigot. They tell you that pit bulls should be treated just like all the other dogs, and then they go on to share lots of tricks to get pit bulls adopted that other dogs don't need. .

Look closely and you will see that there are only three points, the rest is window dressing.

1. market pit bulls heavily

2. adopt to anyone

3.TRANSFER OWNERSHIP.

If you're going to take approaches 1 and 2 with pit bulls, especially those from dogfighting busts, 3 is ABSOLUTELY necessary if you don't want to get your butt sued. So, SHC seems to be a pilot program that is experimenting with how to create an infrastructure to get money out of the most dangerous fighting dogs and avoid all liability when dumping fight bust pit bulls into communities across the nation.

This is one of the tactics pit bull advocate take that demonstrates that these are not just well-meaning, yet misguided enthusiasts. The pit bull advocacy leadership is fully cognizant that pit bulls' genetic behavior and temperament make them a serious liability and that liability must be passed on to the next guy down the line.

A large number of these dogs are funneled back into Chicago. Among the many rescues that can apply for dogs, the Anti-Cruelty Society has dedicated 100 spots to receiving dogs from CACC, including spots for dogs with behavior problems and CACC also transfers ownership and liability to "Friends of CACC." Other dogs are transferred to the suburbs, and still others are shunted across the country. Travis transfered 7,000 dogs to who knows where in the last couple years.

If the fighting dogs cannot be "rehabilitated," they've figured out how to squeeze money out of those dogs, too. If the unstable dogs were simply put down, it would be harder to justify high fines on the gang banging dogfighters instead of jailing them. No problem, there are a growing number of "sanctuaries" popping up that are willing to take these unstable dogs and keep them in a cage for life as long as some of that blood money goes along with the dogs.

In theory, the liability transfer stops with the adoptive fighting dog owner. It certainly does when the irresponsible owner is a hypothetical dog abuser/dogfighter. But, Jimmy Johnson threw a monkey wrench into the pit bull liability transfer machinery. I bet Travis nearly fell off her chair when she heard Johnson actually came forward. What? A pit bull owner coming forward to take the blame for their irresponsible actions? Unheard of.

When it turns out that this irresponsible owner simply left the gate open, as literally millions of average dog owners have done, then the CACC can't afford to come down on him. It would place a pall on the pool of potential pit bull adopters, fosters, and rescuers if Chicago sent the message that if you leave your gate open, and your fighting dog gets out, you will be held criminally responsible for the devastating mauling that ensues. That leaves the victim as usual, on his own, to shoulder the burden. Take your maulings and like it Chicagoans!

Lithonia Georgia can hold their pit bull owners accountable, but the City of Big Shoulders has a been muzzled by some Utah cultists and a New York publisher.

Let Chicago and Illinois know that this is unacceptable:

City of Chicago
Cherie Travis, Commissioner of Chicago Animal Care and Control
Anita alvarez, Cook county State's Attorney's Office
Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General

Read more:

Craven Desires - Pit Bull Service Dogs
Chicago Tribune - Lakefront jogger critically injured by pit bulls: 'They wouldn't let the man go'
Accessed: 2012-01-02. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64Oyo4CBn)
CBS News - Chicago jogger critically hurt in pit bull attack
Accessed: 2012-01-02. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64OzHu8db)
NBC Chicago
Accessed: 2012-01-02. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64P0DvDRj)
Chicago Tribune - Pit bulls' owner faces fines after attack on lakefront jogger
Accessed: 2012-01-06. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64TuTfnVF)
State Journal-Register
Accessed: 2012-01-06. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/64TudssNf)
My Fox Chicago

Accessed: 2012-01-11. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/64clsGkmk)

Chicago Sun Times

Accessed: 2012-01-11. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/64crDcPps)

Related Posts:
Jun 29, 2011 Victim Of Dog Attack Speaks Out
Aug 25, 2010 LaSalle Boy Attacked and Killed By Dogs on Farm
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