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?


*see THIS POST to read about the influence Safe Humane Chicago, Best Friends Animal Society, and Animal Farm Foundation have had on Chicago Animal Care and Control since 2007.

Read more:
Chicago Tribune
Insurance News Net

Related posts:
Nov 02, 2013 Chicago Animal Control Worker Seriously Injured In Pit Bull Attack
Oct 18 2013 Chicago pit bulls severely maul woman and kill her chihuahua 
Aug 31, 2013 Chicago pit bulls critically injure man

Aug 02, 2013 Pit bull attacks in Little Village

Jun 03, 2013 Two Chicago pit bulls maul 3 year old boy

May 15, 2013 Pit bull attacks two in Englewood

Feb 15, 2013 Pit bull attack survivor prevails 10 years later
Jan 2, 2013 Chicago Jogger who lost leg wants pit bull regulation

Mar 21, 2012 When animals attack - Chicago Pit bulls lead Chicago Bite counts

Mar 2, 2008 Pit bull attacks on the rise, Ledy VanKavage thwarts all attempts to protect people and pets

Nov 5, 2005 Nick Foley Survives Agony of a Pit Bull Rampaging Attack

May 23, 2013 Illinois dog bite statistics

For dog bite prevention week, State Farm Insurance and the US postal service release dog bite statistics and each year, Illinois and Chicago are at the top of those lists.

According to the postal service, Chicago ranks third on the list of worst cities for postal service dog attacks.  Last year, Chicago ranked 13th.

Illinois ranks second to California on State Farm's top ten states for dog bite insurance payouts, a place it held last year as well.

However, with a population that is roughly a third of California's, Illinois' payout is 37% larger than California's when adjusted for population, putting Illinois solidly in the number one payout position.  On top of that, Illinois is among the bottom 10 states on the AVMA's list of state dog ownership rates with just 32.4% of Illinois households owning dogs.

Why has Illinois been at the very top of the worst places for dog bites with such a low dog ownership rate?

Could it be because a pit bull advocate wrote Illinois dangerous and vicious animal control laws which includes a ban on BSL and makes it easy for owners of dangerous, biting, and vicious dogs to keep them?

It turns out that pit bull and dangerous dog advocates participated in crafting, to varying extents, the dangerous dog laws in all five of the top five worst states for dog bite insurance payouts and 7 of the top 10.  Of the top five, all states except Ohio have a ban on BSL.  In Ohio, there is no ban on BSL, but pit bull advocates wrote a complicated system for designating a dog dangerous or vicious that is very similar to Illinois' laws and which essentially works to make it easier for owners to keep their dangerous dogs.  The laws in both Ohio and Illinois include an elaborate appeals process for the owners of dangerous and vicious dogs to revoke that designation including a stipulation that the burden of proof falls on the city and calls for "expert" testimony that the dog is dangerous or vicious.

After an attack or series of attacks, several Illinois towns have claimed, sometimes incorrectly, that their hands are tied and they cannot remove a dangerous dog because of the complexity of the animal control legislation.  Still other towns have been prompted to craft their own dangerous and vicious dog legislation to buttress the state laws after an attack or series of attacks.  In every instance, the attacks that prompt new ordinances in Illinois are all or in large part pit bull attacks, but the only tool communities have available to them are breed neutral ordinances and communities are forced to effectively use a screwdriver to pound a nail.  Cities all over Illinois are attempting to enact legislation that can prevent pit bull attacks and are hampered by being prohibited from regulating pit bulls in any way.

May, 2013 Peoria is discussing ways to make the streets safe again from pit bulls and other stray and dangerous dogs.  Last year 102 of the 332 reported dog bites in Peoria county were caused by pit bulls. The police chief states the obvious when he says that pit bulls pose more of a threat than other dogs.

May, 2013 Bloomington is trying to require liability insurance for dogs designated dangerous after a serious attack on two people by a pit bull breeder's pit bull.

May, 2013 Macomb city leaders are trying to create new dog ordinances after they have had 5 dog attacks on people and pets in the last 6 months including a horrid attack by a neighbor's pit bull that broke through a fence and killed a woman's beloved yorkie.  Macomb's mayor says they do not want to wait until there is a fatality to do something.

January, 2013 Lake county defined "animal aggressive" as a new category of dangerous dogs after a pit bull mauled a small dog owned by a county board member.

June, 2012 The village of Cary will look into dog ordinances after residents were attacked by an unleashed pit bull.

May, 2012 Carmi citizens want pit bull ban.  They are afraid to go outdoors because of an ongoing problem with loose pit bulls.

May, 2012 Skokie considers stricter law after 3 separate pit bull attacks killed three dogs.

May, 2012 Waukegan approves pit ordinance.  ACO Nicole Garza says, "We deal with dangerous dogs.  Waukegan is known for them.  Unfortunately, we are a town for pit bulls."

December, 2011 Arlington Hgts. toughens penalties for dangerous animals following pit bull attack The attack that inspired this new dangerous dog legislation involved two unleashed pit bulls that attacked a leashed poodle/labrador retreiver mix off property and unprovoked.

Aug, 2011 Police want more teeth to proposed dangerous dog ordinance after a pit bull chased and attacked a resident and his dog

May, 2011 Wilmington eyes stronger animal control ordinance after repeated attacks by a pit bull mix.

Nov, 2010 Pit bull that inspired Machesney Park law faces euthanasia after it killed two dogs and attacked two people

Apr, 2010 Reaction to Ban on BSL in Streator, IL: This is Asinine

read more:
Daily Herald AVMA statistics
State Farm
May 16, 2012 Illinois Ranks #2 in State Farm Dog Bite Report numbers and payouts
US Post Office

Mar 21, 2012 When animals attack - Pit bulls lead Chicago Bite counts

Chicago - Last year, the category that accounted for the largest percentage of bite reports was the pit bull, or mixes of that animal, at 26 percent, according to the city's designations for classifying dogs. Types that couldn't be identified made up the second-largest group, at about 19 percent. American pit bull terriers rounded out the top three at 13 percent.

Pit bull type dogs are responsible for 39% of the total 1830 reported animal bites, or 717 bites.

Read more:

RedEye  Accessed: 2012-03-30. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/66YiAzfPQ)

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