Pit Bull Attacks and Dogfighting in Illinois

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

Rest in Peace Ryan Maxwell

Illinois pit bull fatality map
Click here to go to the actual map created by dogsbite.org

Galesburg - A seven year old boy playing in the backyard of a home he was visiting was killed by a pit bull that may have broken its restraint to get to the boy.

The pit bull was still attacking the boy when police arrived who were able to get the pit bull off the boy. The pit bull then began attacking the police and was shot.

The boy died at Cottage hospital.

The sole Illinois news outlet that has covered this story is local and has not disclosed the type of dog involved. The first outlet to speak to investigators and report the type of dog was KWQC in Iowa.

In the 2011 fatal pit bull mauling in Rockford, AP Illinois never acknowledged that the dogs were pit bulls and this fatality received very little media attention.

UPDATE: Another local outlet, WGIL, reported the story, repeating earlier stories and confirming that the police had not released the identity of the child or the kind of dog involved.

However WHBF-TV out of Rock Island, IL interviewed the owners of the pit bull who said they'd owned the pit bull for one and a half years. and that it not ever shown aggression before. They describe the horror of a vicious pit bull attack that they were unable to stop.

"Family members say they'll never forget the screaming and the brutal scene of their dog mauling a child."

UPDATE: Ryan Maxwell is the name of the seven year old fatal pit bull attack victim. The Peoria Journal Star news report gave us some insights into the little light lost to pit bulls. He was generous and helpful. He touched and engaged everyone at Nielson elementary where he attended second grade. He was popular and liked by students and staff ever helpful and wanting to please. Rest in Peace.

Read more:
WQAD
WHBF
PJSTAR Accessed 2013-03-04. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/6ErvHEOsf)
WHBF-TV Accessed: 2013-03-03. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/6Er4LQ1pU)

KWQC Accessed: 2013-03-03. (Archived by WebCite^® at http://www.webcitation.org/6EqwNFPLM)
KWQC update

Mar 01, 2013 Romeoville cop shoots menacing pit bull mix to avoid attack at school

Romeoville - A police officer believed an attack was imminent when he shot the pit bull/boxer mix that was menacing children and then began growling and snarling at him when he tried to put the catchpole on it. An investigation is underway.

Read more:
Bolingbrook Patch

Feb 28, 2013 Victim of severe pit bull mauling left with expenses

Bloomington - Criminally negligent pit bull owner SHANIE DOSS is being charged with reckless conduct with possibility of causing great bodily harm, a Class 4 felony after she allowed her pit bull to escape her house and attack two people.

In Illinois a class 4 felony calls for incarceration between one and three years and ordinarily provides for fines of up to $25,000. However, only a small proportion of convicts actually do prison time with most receiving suspended prison sentences and probation.

And yet another irresponsible pit bull owner forces the victim to pay for her own horrific mauling in every conceivable way.

There is the life altering injury. After $73,000, and extended hospital stay in December, two surgeries, the first one lasting four hours, with more to come, Connie Ijams still has no feeling in her arms.

Then there's the emotional consequences. She is naturally jumpy after having gone through such a harrowing experience. “I’m just always really nervous,” she said. “I drop things. I shake. I have nightmares. I still cry. I’m in pain constantly..."

And there's the actual monetary expenses. While insurance has paid for some of it, Connie and her husband Scott must do their own fundraising to pay for the mounting medical expenses.

Here are the details:

****************Fundraiser***************

**********What: Benefit for Scott and Connie Ijams*********

When: 1 to 10 p.m. Sunday March 3

Where: The Eagles Aerie No. 527, 313 S. Main St., Bloomington

Highlights: Bands; food; silent auctions and drawings with all proceeds going to cover medical expenses

Feb 23, 2013 Pit bull attacks UPS driver, cop and shot

The paddlewheel sightseeing boat runs out of East Alton

East Alton - An aggressive pit bull caused a melee when it first attacked a UPS driver and then escaped once again to attack when police went to the door of the owner's home. Police had to shoot the pit bull five times to subdue it. It survived and was later euthanized.

Though all of Madison county had a population of 268,459 in 2011, Madison county has seen disproportionately high number of serious pit bulls attacks over the years.

Read more:
The Telegraph

Related posts - the pit bull attacks of Madison county:
The Nature of the Beasts: Illinois pit bull bullies
May 31, 2012 Godfrey pit bull only quarantined after 3 confirmed attacks
Sep 27, 2010 South Roxana Officer Shoots Pit Bull to Death
Mar 11, 2010 Police Fatally Shoot Pit Bull After Attack on Cop
Nov 13, 2009 Pit bull shot during drug raid
Nov 5, 2009 Police shoot 2 pit bulls tazer third
Oct 23, 2009 'Precious' the pit bull bit customer's arm, says suit
Sep 17, 2008 Officer Shoots Pit Bull
Aug 19, 2008 Pit Bulls seriously maul Woman, 19
June 28, 2008 Pit Bulls Stir Loathing, Loyalty
May 13, 2008 Alton pit bull attacks boy, 9, for no reason

Feb 15, 2013 Pit bull attack survivor prevails 10 years later

Angelica Osusky has prevailed since surviving a pit bull attack

Romeoville - Ten years ago, 8 year old Angelica Osusky was horrifically mauled by a pit bull. In an instant, it bit off and consumed her thumb and then took a chunk out of her neck the size of half an apple.

The pit bull was shot by police and taken to the same hospital as Angelica so surgeons could remove the thumb from its stomach, but two sets of surgeons were unable reattach Angelica's thumb.

Despite the loss of her thumb, she is tied as the second-leading scorer for her basketball team, the Spartans, at Romeoville High School this year

She will be going to college next year, and has met the extra challenges she faces now. People say "it's only a thumb" but Osusky knows all to well how much people use their thumbs for just about everything.

She has a cat. She likes some dogs. But she is afraid to be around pit bulls - like so many others who have been attacked.

Angelica's attack took place almost exactly seven months after pit bulls mauled two nurses, one, Anna Cieslewicz, fatally. The nurse who survived, Mary Murphy-Smith, lost her career as a midwife when she lost the use of her arm in a twenty minute battle with the pit bulls. Murphy-Smith was strongly supportive of a pit bull ban, saying "What do you say about the children who are being attacked by these dogs?"

Read more:
Herald News Accessed: 2013-02-15. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/6ESnfKqgO)

Related posts:
Aug 14, 2003 Pit bull launches devastating attack, consumes girl's thumb
Nov 5, 2005 Nick Foley Survives Agony of a Pit Bull Rampaging Attack

Feb 08, 2013 Man siccs pit bull on police officer

Champaign - While police were attempting to arrest LISA G. EHLER, for driving under the influence, her boyfriend JOHN P. CARGO sicced his pit bull on police who then shot and killed the pit.

Read more:
News-Gazette

Jan 30, 2013 Lake County defines "animal aggressive" as new category of dangerous dogs

Lake County - After a pit bull attacked a Lake County Board member's dog, the board has implemented a new county ordinance that creates the category of "animal-aggressive" which describes a dog that without justification causes serious injury or death to another owned animal and it gives county animal care and control the authority to impound the dog while an investigation is being conducted in all parts of unincorporated Lake County and in all but 12 communities.

Cindy, the Bichon Maltese savaged by a pit bull in her own yard

Based on the severity of the attack and/or previous history, the dog could be euthanized.

County board member Diane Hewitt lives in Waukegan, so the new ordinance unfortunately will not protect her own community from animal aggressive dogs, however Waukegan's ordinance does allow animal control to impound the dog during the investigation. Luckily, the pit bull's owner voluntarily gave up his dog to be euthanized.

The county will share the language in the new ordinance with the 12 communities that do not contract with the county for animal services, such as Waukegn, and hopes those communities will adopt the same "animal-aggressive" designation.

Hewitt said of dog-on-dog attacks, “It’s something that is happening more and more.”

Last year there were 500 reported dog-on-dog attacks, thirty percent of the 2,000 reported bites in Lake county. About 16 were fatal, and 50 resulted in serious injuries. Four percent of the bites were wild animals biting domestic animals and the other 66% were animal bites to humans.

Hewitt's twelve pound bichon maltese named Cindy was savaged while on a leash in her own yard. The pit bull had jumped out of its fenced yard to get to Cindy to attack her. Hewitt was told Cindy died, but luckily, she survived after $2,000 worth of medical bills. Cindy is not the same innocent soul she used to be.

Hewitt found that the pit bull that attacked Cindy had previous attack incidents that neighbors had not reported.

Hewitt wants people to know that they should always file a complaint for all attacks and incidences of aggression for the community's sake. If all incidents are reported, neighbors stand a better chance of being able to rid their neighborhood of very real menace dogs like this animal-aggressive pit bull represent.

Savage, unprovoked, off property attacks by pit bulls on other pets have been a catalyst to prompt strengthened dangerous dog laws all over the state of Illinois. Many communities want to ban pit bulls but they can't because lobbyists wrote Illinois state dangerous dog legislation, known as Anna's Law, to protect pit bulls at the expense of people and pets.

This "animal aggressive" designation is a great idea and a huge step forward, and hopefully many more communities will adopt an "animal aggressive" designation to combat pit bulls. But, really, state legislators need to remove the ban on BSL so pit bulls can be regulated directly before they have a chance to savage a pet. Pit bulls are the main inspiration for dangerous dog legislation propposed in Illinois in recent years. You can find some of those communities that are trying to keep their residents safe despite being hamstrung by Anna's law in the "related posts" section below.

Read more:
Mundelein Suntimes
Daily Herald
Chicago Tribune

Related posts:
Jul 13, 2012 Talk of the County Waukegan outlaw pit bulls
Jul 10, 2012 Waukegan woman’s canine companion killed by pit bull
Jun 23, 2012 Cary will look into dog bites
May 25, 2012 Carmi citizens want pit bull ban
May 21, 2012 Skokie considers stricter law after 3 pit bull-on-dog attacks
May 16, 2012 Bloomington may review pet registration law after pit bull attack
May 09, 2012 Waukegan approves pet ordinance
Feb 07, 2012 Family’s pet mauled by pit-bull type dog
December 20, 2011 Arlington Hgts. toughens penalties for dangerous animals following pit bull attack
Aug 08, 2011 Police want more teeth to proposed dangerous dog ordinance
Nov 16, 2010 Pit bull that inspired Machesney Park law faces euthanasia