Articles Posted in Dog Bites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSyQtApFlP8

A little dog became a victim of a dog attack. Witnesses say they saw a pitbull that belonged to an off-duty police officer, attack a two-and-a-half year old Pomeranian Papillon mix, when the little dog was playing with a ball at Montrose beach. The little dog’s name was Willy and he died three days after the attack.

Audrey Fisher, who was Willy’s owner, said in an interview that the officer refused to give any kind of information to her once the attack occurred. “I wanted him to stop and talk to us… and he just wouldn’t,” Fisher said. Also, the owner tells to WGN-TV that she owes near to $6,000 in veterinary bills.

This week a pit bull was shot by police officers in Elgin after it attacked a neighbor’s dog, another pit bull. Fortunately no one was seriously hurt but the pit bulls life could have been spared if the owners were more responsible and ensured the pit bull was restrained. It was reported that around 6:30 p.m. Monday night the pit bull got loose and attacked a neighbor’s dog causing residents to call police. Jose Diaz arrived when police arrived on the scene and said the pit-bull, Rocco, belongs to his 19 year old son, Christian Diaz. The dog was taken to his girlfriend’s house which was why he was not in his kennel at the time. Diaz said he is unsure how the dog got out but somehow it managed to go into the neighbor’s yard with another pit-bull. Diaz made an attempt to keep the dogs apart with a folding chair however he was not successful. In the process the neighbor’s pit-bull bit Diaz’s hand, Diaz said “after Rocco saw I got bit…he went after the dog. That’s when he decided to go all out on him.” At that point no one could get the two dogs apart so police shot Rocco who police say was killed instantly. Diaz said there was nothing they could do.

The other pit bull was taken to an animal hospital for treatment, his injuries were not life threatening. Animal control officers are still investigating and police said charges are pending. Christian Diaz has seven previous citations from the past two months relating to Rocco including leaving Rocco off the leash, and Rocco charging other people and dogs, police said. Incidents such as these can be prevented if dog owners take measures to stop their dogs from attacking others such as not leaving them unrestrained or unsupervised. Calling for a ban on the breed would be unfair to responsible pit bull owners everywhere. Chicago injury attorneys Zneimer & Zneimer specialize in dog bit cases. Often dog bites are attributed to unrestrained dogs. If you or someone you know have been involved in a dog bite incident, it is important that you know your rights. Contact Zneimer & Zneimer p.c. for a free personal injury consultation.

Yet again, pit bull attacks are in the news in Chicago. Thankfully this time, the attacks were not on a human. According to the Chicago Tribune, last Friday, January 6, Chicago Police Officer Kevin Keel took his police dog, Vvorra, out for training near South Loop. As they walked by a make shift shelter around 4 in the afternoon, two unleashed pit bulls darted out and attacked the 3 year old Belgian Malinois police dog. While two pit bulls darted out of the structure, only one of them managed to bite the police dog. The dog owner was nowhere in site. Vvorra was rushed to the emergency room after being bit on the thigh and nose. Her nose bled profusely. Officer Kevin broke the dogs up just in time. His police canine did not bite the pit bulls back. She had never been in a fight with other canines before.

When the pit bulls owner, Latina Griffin (27), finally came out, she was issued two citations. One citation was for failing to restrain an animal, and the other for failing to exercise her responsibilities as an animal owner. Luckily, Vvorra is fine now and back on duty after two days.

There you have it; another irresponsible pet owner leaves her pit bulls unrestrained. What if it had been a small child walking by the make shift shelter? Would Latin Griffin had been able to run out in time and stop her dogs from attacking a child? Irresponsible owners like Latina are giving pit bulls a worse reputation than they already have. Banning this breed of dog definitely isn’t the answer either. But perhaps, requiring pit bull owners to obtain certain licenses or take certain classes in order to qualify to own one is the solution. Pit bulls aren’t a particularly vicious breed; they just require a lot of extra attention and socialization training from their owners. Chicago injury attorneys Zneimer and Zneimer specialize in dog bite cases, many of which are cause by unrestrained animals like Latinas dogs. If you have been the victim of a dog bite, contact Zneimer and Zneimer for a free personal injury consultation.

Let’s continue with last weeks dog related theme seeing how there has been alot of dog and animal related discussions in the news lately. In the last post I explained a little about Chicago’s leash ordinance,which again, basically means dogs must be kept on a leash or confined when outside their owners property and in the public sphere. Today let’s focus on the dangerous animal ordinance and what defines a dangerous animal.

According to the Chicago Red Eye, Chicago defines a dangerous animal as “any animal that bites, inflicts injury on, kills, or otherwise attacks a human being or domestic animal without provocation on any public or private property.” This definition includes animals that are trained to chase and have an attitude of attack, such as dogs trained for fighting. This ordinance also covers dogs used in the commercial venture to guard public or private property. However, Chicago does not include govermental or law enforcement canines in this definition.

When it comes down to it, an animal control officer has the last word as to whether or not an animal is deemed too dangerous. Penalites depend on the animals offense. The city can order the animal to be destroyed humanly if it hurts a human severly. On other less severe occasions, the city can order the owner to obtain a dangerous animal license, have a microchip installed, have it sterilized, secure liability insurance, have the animal muzzled, have the animal spayed or neutered, and have owner put up appropriate signage on their property. If the owner violates these rules, they can be fined up to 1000 dollars, and have their animal taken away from them and impounded.

A horrible start to the New Year for a 62-year old Chicago jogger left in critical condition after being attacked by two pit bulls while jogging along the lakefront near Rainbow Bridge Park early Monday morning. According to the Chicago Tribune, the dogs bit the jogger all over his entire body, including his face, arms, and especially legs. An eye witness, Stanley Lee, overheard the joggers screams for help from his nearby apartment and attempted to stop the dogs. He hit them repeatedly with a baseball bat, but the dogs would not let go. Their jaws were locked in place. Luckily the police arrived soon after and shot both dogs.

Authorities have stated that the dogs’ owner has been ticketed for failing to restrain them and for not having city dog licenses. He could be facing fines of up to $2000 dollars. In addition, under the Illinois Animal Control Act, dog owners are strictly liable for injuries caused by their animals. The owner claims the dogs got loose when somebody left his gate open. The owner should have been responsible enough to ensure that this gate was closed considering such large dogs where being housed. While the dogs did have collars on, they did not have identification tags on the collars, or microchips embedded underneath their skin. The owner came forward as the owner of the dogs in good faith.

The dogs were both unneutered adult males, weighing in at over 70lbs each, pretty large considering the average pit bull weighs between 55-65 lbs. It should be noted that any dog can be dangerous, not just pit bulls. They tend to have a bad reputation, but in reality, any dog unproperly socialized can be dangerous.

Pit bull terriers and rottweilers dog breeds account for 71% of fatal dog attacks according to a study conducted by DogsBite.org during a 6-year period from 2005 to 2010. Chicago dog bite attorneys, Zneimer & Zneimer have noted that the majority of the dog bite cases that they handle involve pit bulls. DogBites.org notes that pit bulls are especially dangerous because bit bulls will often not communicate their intention to attack prior to an attack to achieve a surprise attack. They also use a bite technique that is especially deadly which is to lock on to the victim with its powerful jaw and then shake the victim.

DogBites.org notes that one common scenario for fatal dog attacks is when a child is visiting in the home of a pit bull or rottweiler owner for the first time. The new situation of a visiting child in the house have shown to trigger attacks by dangerous breeds when the same dog has not shown any dangerous tendencies before the attack.

A Chicago alderman wants to toughen the city’s dangerous dog ordinance after an incident that endangered residents in his Northwest Side ward. A Pit Bull that had been declared dangerous after attacking three people, escaped from a fenced yard and was found wandering near a home where several small children live.

The proposed changes to the dangerous dog ordinance include a five-year ban on dog ownership for any owner found guilty of not obeying the dangerous dog requirements. Dangerous dog owners with multiple violations of ordinance requirements over a five-year period would face a lifetime ban on dog ownership in Chicago.

A four year old boy was attacked and mauled by the family’s Rottweiler on the Southwest Side of Chicago on Sunday. The boy was identified as Alex Angulo. The boy was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A neighbor on the 3800 block of West 61st Street said he feared the dog because it appeared aggressive and sometimes got free from the backyard where it was confined.

A Chicago jury awarded a mailman $75,224.00 for injuries he suffered after being bitten by a dog. The mailman plaintiff was delivering mail to 501 S. Willie in Mt. Prospect when the home owner’s twenty pound schnauzer got loose and bit the mailman on the back of his knee. The mailman plaintiff required surgery and incurred $58,435 in medical expenses. State Farm had offered $25,000. before the trial to settle the case but the offer was rejected by the plaintiff for being too low.