Dec 13, 1988 Rockford Pit Bull Used by Drug Dealers to Booby Trap Drug House

Rockford - Narcotics Officers were forced to shoot a pit bull after they busted down the door to a booby trapped drug house.

The Winnegago county Metro narcotics unit  officers shot the pit bull more than nine times as it continued to charge at the officers.

"It came flying out the door," said Sgt. Richard McMahon, head of the narcotics unit.  "We shot it nine times, and still it didn't even faze the dog."

The Rockford Register Star, Rockford IL, December 13, 1988, p. 3A

Nov 16, 1988 Pit Bull Restrictions Weighed In De Kalb

De Kalb Proposal Follows Fatal Mauling Of Student

De Kalb - The City of De Kalb may restrict ownership of pit bull terriers after last week`s fatal mauling of a Northern Illinois University student by pit bulls in Kane County.

City Manager Mark Stevens told the City Council Monday that he has asked City Attorney Ron Matakaitis to research the legalities of the issue after De Kalb residents called his office voicing fears about the breed of dog.

There are 23 pit bulls registered in De Kalb County, seven in the City of De Kalb, according to Karen Grush, a De Kalb County Health Department administrator.

Last Thursday, a pit bull mauled to death Kevin Cull, 25, of 120 Gurler St., De Kalb, a master`s degree candidate in chemistry who was to graduate from NIU in December. The mauling took place in front of a house in unincorporated Geneva Township that Cull apparently was visiting.

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Chicago Tribune
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Nov 12, 1988 Dekalb Pit Bull Kills NIU Student Kevin Cull



"He was covered in blood," said Hatchel.  "He said he was in pain and wanted to die."

Cull was pronounced dead at 7:30 p.m. at Central DuPage Hospital where he was taken by Geneva Fire Department paramedics.

Cull bled to death after an artery was severed in his arm, Randall said.  He had been bitten numerous times.

Two dogs, Sergeant and Colonel, one weighing about 90 pounds and the other about 75 pounds, were taken from the home by Rodger Stutz, Kane County animal control warden, after the attack.  They are being held at a veterinary clinic in Oswego.

John Carnahan, Cull's chemistry adviser, said Cull was an excellent student with a promising future.

He already had published three articles in professional journals and had a job offer when he graduated in December, Carnahan said.

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Chicago Tribune 
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Nov 04, 1988 Chicago Pit Bull Attacks Narcotics Officer, Shot 4 Times

Chicago — Police officers shot an attacking pit bull four times during a drug raid Thursday in which two West Side men were arrested for cocaine possession. The dog escaped.

Terrell Harris, 20, and Michael Reed, 17, were charged withsessing $1,900 worth of cocaine and weapons violations after a raid on their home at 942 N. Hamlin St., police said.

A pit bull in the apartment attacked officer John Kotlarz, one of seven narcotics officers participating in the raid. After Kotlarz shot the dog twice, officer Joseph Cannon shot the dog twice, police said.

Though wounded, the dog escaped through the front door and ran south on Hamlin Street.

``We`ve seen them coming with six (bullets) in them,`` one police officer said.

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Chicago Tribune
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Sep 29, 1988 City of Wyoming Passes BSL Pit Bulls Presumed Vicious

Wyoming - Pit bulls declared inherently vicious and must be contained in a 6 sided structure.

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May 03, 1988 City of Rock Falls Outlaws New Pit Bulldogs

Rock Falls - An ordinance that requires pit bulldogs to be licensed and outlaws new ones in the city was approved by a wide margin Monday.

Rock Falls Ald. Lee Folsom, chairman of the ordinance committee, said he differentiates pit bulldogs from others because of their nature.

"My feeling is we're playing with a very serious problem," Folsom said.  "A pit bulldog is more violent.  I feel we're doing something the community needs."

The national Association of Letter carriers Local 1830 was instrumental in promoting the ordinance because of concerns about pit bull attacks.  Local 1830 President Mike Spain thanked the council for passing the ordinance.

Rockford Register Star, Rockford, IL, May 3, 1988, p. 3A

May 01, 1988 Rockford Aunt's Pit Bull Mix Attack Boy, 3

Machesney Park — A 3 year-old boy was injured when he was attacked Saturday afternoon by his aunt's dog, a pit bull mix, a Winnebago County sheriff's deputy said.

Ryan O'Connor, 7402 Scott Lane, was playing in the backyard of his aunt, Jackie Davis, 31 Liberty Blvd., when the dog attacked him, said Deputy Rocco Wagner.  The boy suffered "puncture wounds on the face and back and severe lacerations on the back of the head," Wagner said.

The boy was released Saturday evening after treatment at Swedish American Hospital.

The dog, half pit bull and half British bulldog, was chained at the time of the attack, Wagner said.  He said the dog was released, at the owner's request, to Winnebago County Animal Control and will be destroyed after an observation period.

Wagner said the same dog attacked a young girl last July.

Officials at Animal Control said they will hold the dog for a 10 day quarantine period before they destroy it.  They said the dog had received its proper rabies shots.  The observation period is additional protection. 

William Taylor, 28 Wilshire Blvd., who lives across from Davis' yard, said he was gardening at the time of the attack and heard the dog "growling viciously."

"I looked up and saw the kid was underneath the dog," Taylor said.  "I saw the dog taking vicious bites, so I started screaming and yelling at the dog.  The dog just looked at me for a second, and the boy managed to pull himself out from underneath the dog.

"The dog was taking serious, vicious bites which really shook me," he said.

Taylor said he did not notice the boy playing in the yard before the attack.  He did not know if something provoked the attack.

The Rockford Register Star, Rockford IL, May 01, 1988, p. 3A