Sep 05, 2015 Chicago Man charged with running dogfighting ring in Fuller Park neighborhood

Chicago - “A 43-year-old Fuller Park man was ordered held in Cook County Jail after he was charged with 10 felonies in connection with a dogfighting ring he's accused of running, according to police.
Chicago Man Accused of Dogfighting 
Clifford McNeil, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, felony dogfighting, misdemeanor animal owner duty violations and eight misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals.

Police obtained "credible intelligence of animal cruelty and dog fighting activity" and gained entry to the yard and garage of a home in the 4800 block of South Shields about 10 a.m. Friday.”

“Police found 16 pit bulls on the property, including seven pit bulls connected to heavy chains in the yard, one pit bull in a cage filled with feces and a pit bull in a cage inside the garage, which was with seven two-week old pit bull puppies with no access to food or water, prosecutors said.
One of the fighting dogs confiscated
The yard and the dog houses in the yard were littered with feces, prosecutors said. No people lived in the garage.

Inside the garage, Police also discovered a modified treadmill with a chain and wooden boards designed to narrow the dog’s path, a modification “commonly indicative of training dogs to fight,” prosecutors said.”

“Neighbors raised questions about the charges against McNeil Saturday, and several agreed that McNeil had a “heart of gold.”

They said McNeil was simply a dog lover, and someone who anchored the neighborhood with his generosity. He cut neighbors’ lawns, worked on landscaping and allowed the neighbors to park their cars at the garage he maintained as an alternative to street parking.”

Read more:
Chicago Tribune

Related posts:
Jun 09, 2015 Juan Zamora Faces 21 Felony Charges for Dog Fighting and Cruelty
Apr 18, 2015 Chicago South Side Woman Accused of Dogfighting and Animal Abuse
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2015 Elgin's Pit Bulls Still Attacking; Media Not Covering Them

Elgin has had documented problems with pit bulls and dangerous dogs attacking since at least 2002.  There were at least three attempts to pass a pit bull ban to solve this problem.  But each attempt was thwarted, the last by interference and intimidation by Best Friends Animal Society in 2010.

Instead, Elgin passed breed neutral ordinances that relied on extremely high fines and restrictions of dogs labeled dangerous or vicious.  In an attempt to make their ordinance pro-active, officials have the power to deem dogs that exhibit menacing behaviors as dangerous.  But, the result of not directly addressing the problem and not banning pit bulls and instead deeming dogs that bark and growl at people dangerous has created the usual absurd results.
Dakota attacked a neighbor's dog and was declared
dangerous.  His owner takes him to see the elderly
as a therapy dog.

Elgin is home to a chihuahua that never bit anyone that has been put on the dangerous dog list for life.  Among the requirements for keeping the chihuahua is a 6 foot fence to contain it.  Elgin is also home to a supposed “therapy” pit bull that is also on the dangerous dog list.  The pit bull attacked another dog, but the owner believes it has been rehabilitated and is safe and appropriate to bring around the elderly.  Neither of these absurd results would have come about if Elgin had recognized breed differences, banned pit bulls, and acknowledged that an aggressive chihuahua might require different restrictions than an aggressive pit bull.

The dangerous therapy pit bull’s owner wanted to change the ordinance so that dogs could be removed from the dangerous dog list after a number of years of good behavior.  Thankfully, though Elgin did modify the ordinance, only dogs that have never attacked or bitten are eligible for removal from the dangerous dog list.  Now the chihuahua is off the dangerous dog list and in a year a German Shepherd that never bit or attacked can be take off if it behaves.  The dangerous therapy pit bull will remain on the list.  The dangerous therapy pit bull’s owner claims the therapy dog certification organization and the organization that allows her pit bull to hang out with the elderly know that the pit bull is dangerous.
Another pit bull will be added to the dangerous dog list
after attacking these dogs and their owner
Since 2012, after an excellent, in depth look at Elgin's dog bite problem by Mike Danahey, someone evidently had a little talk with news agencies because they no longer report on pit bull attacks in Elgin.  Though there have been virtually no dog attacks reported in news outlets, pit bulls haven’t stopped attacking.  In August of this year the Tribune reported a sampling of the 83 dangerous and 13 vicious dogs listed in Elgin.  Six of the 8 dogs they sampled were pits or pit mixes including a pit bull that attacked a chihuahua while the chi was playing with two little girls, another pit bull that burst through a window screen to kill a poodle and another that busted through a fence and attacked two people.  In addition, a 7th dog was called a “boxer mix.”
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Aug 31, 2015 Leland Grove mayor removed from volunteer position at Sangamon County Animal Control Center



Leland Grove - Leland grove is a tiny town of 1,500 incorporated in the 1950s on the outskirts of Springfield. The town has the highest per capita income of any city outside of the Chicago metropolitan area. Leland Grove’s mayor, Jill Egizii, also volunteers at the Sangamon County Animal Control Center. Egizii has been suspended from her volunteer job for two months.

An incident with a kennel card occurred when a new volunteer, a 16-year-old girl, attempted to take a dog named Alpha for a walk. This occurred Aug. 24, a Monday, after the dog had been inside his kennel for a day-and-a-half and was excited to finally get outside.
In his excitement, Alpha scratched the girl, and the girl told staff members. Staff members then wrote on the kennel card that Alpha had scratched his walker.
“I told them that if you are going to put that on his kennel card, you might as well put him to sleep because nobody is going to look at this dog with that on there… I get scratched all the time because these dogs are excited,” Egizii said.

County officials said Egizii removed the kennel card that mentioned the scratching incident and replaced it with one that did not mention the scratching.

The new card had Alpha’s name and a note that said, “Good Boy.” In the section for “energy level,” the box for “high” was marked. “It’s a different way to say the same thing, really, but in a more positive light. It allows the dog to be pulled out so that somebody could look at him for a potential forever home,” Egizii said.

Read more:
State Journal-Register
Alpha




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Aug 17, 2015 Lincolnwood Owner of Killer Pit Bull Appeals Euthanasia

Lincolnwood - Fifi, a ten-year-old Yorkshire terrier was killed by a pit bull named Capone, and the pit bull was ordered put down, and of course the owner, JEFFREY GOBY, is going to appeal so that he can keep the killer.

Read more:
Lincolnwood Review

Related posts:
Feb 09, 2016 Not One Lincolnwood Resident Opposed Removing BSL After Pit Bull Attacks
Aug 01, 2015 Lincolnwood Pit Bull Kills Yorkie in Front of Children Walking Their Pet

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Aug 12, 2015 Park Ridge Pit Bull Attacks Three Dogs, Killing One

Park Ridge - A pit bull owned by SEAN C. ZULEY has been loose and has attacked dogs and their owners three times.

ZULEY’s pit bull bit a leashed dog on April 16.  On April 25 ZULEY’s pit bull attacked another leashed dog on the neck while being walked by two women.  One of the women walked ZULEY’s pit bull to the police station. 

ZULEY was given three citations and ZULEY’s pit bull was impounded for a 10 day quarantine.

ZULEY failed to appear at two case review Animal Commission meetings in May and June.  The owners of the victim dogs were upset that the owner had not shown up, and had not paid the veterinary bills for their dogs.  The city replied that the police are not bill collectors.  They added that there would be an adjudication process for the city to attempt to claim the unpaid fines, but that they wouldn’t help at all with getting the vet bills paid.

After attacking two leashed dogs unprovoked and off property causing damage that required veterinary aid, the city decided deem ZULEY’s pit bull “at-risk.”  The victims did not believe that was strict enough.  They also did not think that ZULEY would comply.  The city said they thought maybe they could throw some more fines at ZULEY if he did not comply, but they weren’t sure.

The victims all stated that the dog was dangerous and that the Commission’s finding was not strong enough and questioned whether pit bulls were trainable.

The victims were right on all counts and ZULEY’s pit bull was at large again on August 6th and this time when it attacked a leashed dog, it ripped off the dog’s ear and then punctured his skull, killing him.  The owner needed to go to the hospital for puncture wounds she received trying to save her dog.  

It took two male passersby to beat the ZULEY’s pit bull until it let go.  Then the men held the pit bull down until police came.

And still ZULEY gets to keep his dog.  There are more restrictions that he will not comply with; ZULEY hasn’t even gotten his pit bull licensed yet.

Read more:
Journal Topics
JUNE 15, 2015 ANIMAL COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES

Related post:
Feb 25, 2016 Another Joliet Pit Bull Attack Reveals Weakness in Law
Feb 09, 2016 Not One Lincolnwood Resident Opposed Removing BSL After Pit Bull Attacks
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Aug 06, 2015 Elgin Pit Bull Attacked a Leashed Dachshund

Elgin - "On Monday, August 3 my miniature dachshund, Bella, got attacked by a Pit Bull that was off of its property and not on a leash at 766 Wing street in Elgin around 1:30 pm in the afternoon.  The dog rushed us on the sidewalk as we were walking toward it, with both of mine on leashes.

I reached to scoop up both my dogs and I could only get to one of them, Dori, before the pit went for Bella.  I tried blocking with my body and wrestling the dog to keep it away.  The pit bull grabbed Bella by the lower torso and had her in its jaws, up in the air.



I screamed for help.  the dog owner was no where in sight. A woman stopped her car in the middle of Wing street to help.  She is the real hero here and I am so thankful for her bravery in punching this animal down until it released my Bel.

Bella was treated at the ER for extensive bruising, puncture wounds, and pain.  Thankfully no broken bones or internal damage.  She is recovering and getting better by the day.  I pressed criminal charges against the dog owner residing at 766 Wing St.

If anyone witnessed this or if the brave woman who helped me wishes to offer testimony, I would surely appreciate it and like to thank her again.  Either way, I'm seeking justice to protect this from happening again to another animal or child.
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Aug 01, 2015 Lincolnwood Pit Bull Kills Yorkie in Front of Children Walking Their Pet

Lincolnwood - NBC news reported on a pit bull attack on air and got right to the point.  However, their online story has careful wording the headline and calls the pit bull "a large breed dog" until the very end of the article to placate pit bull advocates who control media in Illinois.  Watch the video.

An owned pit bull launched a "vicious" and "horrifying" attack on a beloved yorkshire terrier named Fifi.  Fifi was being walked by her 11 year-old owner and her friends in a park at the time.  The pit bull came out of nowhere to launch an unprovoked, off property, predatory attack on Fifi.  Eleven year old Klaudia Zarebski heroically tried to save Fifi when she saw the pit bull coming for her, but the pit bull literally ripped Fifi out of Klaudia's arms to shake Fifi as if she were nothing but a toy.
Fifi at the vet, paralyzed by the pit bull
The owner got nothing but a slap on the wrist - a ticket for having a dog off a leash.  Nothing for allowing his dog to kill.

Fifi was paralyzed and had to be put down at the vet.  No word on how much the vet made off of this pit bull's attack.  We hope that if the veterinarian is pro-pit bull and anti-BSL that s/he has a strict policy to only receive compensation for her work by the pit bull owner and do this pro bono if the victims have to pay so it doesn't seem as if s/he's taking a position that will benefit her/him financially at the expense of many victims and their families.
Family says good bye to Fifi before she is put to sleep
The family should dig into the past of the dog and not count on authorities to find past attacks by this pit bull and owner.  If there are past attacks, more can be done to get rid of the menace to the neighborhood if the owner is unwilling to do the right thing.
This 11 year old girl and her friends also watched a pit bull attack
her beloved Daisy in Villa Park exactly 3 years ago.
See related posts for other attacks on yorkies and attacks that children  are forced to witness fighting dogs killing their pets and on forcing authorities to do their job.

Read more:
NBC Chicago

Related posts:
6 other fatal attacks on Illinois Yorkshire terriers
Villa Park Pit bull kills small beloved dog in front of her 11 year old owner and her friends
Pit bull attack victim's owner does her own research and sets precedent in getting pit bull owner convicted.








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