Saturday, January 14, 2012

Did You Witness A Pit Bull Attack Last Saturday?

Last Saturday, around 4:30pm, on Leland between Magnolia and Malden, a Chow puppy was attacked by a large dark gray pit bull or pit bull mix.  Both animals were on leashes; the woman walking the pit bull could not control her dog and was dragged across the street as it went after the six-month-old puppy.

The puppy's owner's main concern was getting away from the pit, so he or she is now hoping to make contact with the owner of the pit bull.  If you are that person, or know her contact information, please send it to uptownupdate@hotmail.com and we will send it to the owner of the attacked pup.  Nothing identifying the woman will be put into the comments.

The puppy suffered some serious injuries, but will be okay, thanks to the talented veterinarians at Chicago Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center on Clybourn:

"Lily’s rear leg was covered in bite marks and was broken and the bone was protruding through the skin. The great doctors at the clinic, especially Dr. Vinayak, the orthopedic surgeon, were able to save Lily’s leg by placing 7 screws in the leg.  Lily spent 4 days at the clinic and will be in a cast and on 3 medications for the next 6 weeks.  I am very grateful, as I know this could have been much worse."

The puppy's owner asked that we publish this as a warning for other dog owners who may encounter this pit bull, and "as my only concern was for the well being of my dogs, I left the scene without getting any information about the owner of the dog that attacked Lily.  Also, the owner of the dog who attacked Lily has no way of knowing how to contact me.  I called the police to file a report, but they said I do not have enough information to file a report and no one has called in about a dog attack.  So, if anyone knows a woman who owns such a dog please let her know of this article so, if she chooses, she can take responsibility for what her dog did to my nephew’s puppy.  She can contact Uptown Update and leave her contact information and they will know how to get her information to me."

10 comments:

  1. "... the woman walking the pit bull could not control her dog ..."

    In the USA, this is right up there with "The driver of the vehicle that caused the fatal accident had a BAC of (BIG number)."

    In other words, dangerous dogs and drunk drivers aren't taken seriously in this country. (Sorry to all the high-functioning alcoholics out there ... I just needed a comparison. Nothing personal!)

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  2. Hum. I read about animals alot, but it really is not about the pit bulls. Pit bulls are totally docile. It isa bout the humans.

    Wow. I sound like a liberal but it is true. Agin, sorry about the pooch getting hurt.

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  3. as a pit bull owner, it really bugs me that you have labeled this a "pit bull attack." if the aggressive dog had been a poodle, would you call it a "poodle attack" or just a dog attack? it's NOT the breed, it's the people. good dogs (and responsible pittie parents such as myself) suffer when stereotypes are reinforced and incendiary headlines like this are part of the problem.

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  4. Maisie's Mom, I'm a dog lover myself, and having trained many dogs over the years, yes--it's the human's ability to train and control his/her dog that matters the most. But let's be realistic here: how many times have you heard of or actually seen a dog attacking another dog--resulting in major injuries like what was described here--when the attacking dog was something OTHER than a pit bull? The more common breeds with a predisposition for aggression aren't big or powerful enough to break bones; the more common breeds with enough power in their jaws to break bones aren't normally aggressive; and the breeds that can be aggressive and powerful--besides pit bulls--aren't very common. Look, the man who was jogging in South Shore a couple of weeks ago was put in the hospital in CRITICAL CONDITION by attacks from...two pit bulls.

    I personally know more than a few wonderful pit bulls that are well-adjusted and well-trained--maybe even yours--but let's not get wrapped up with being P.C. over dog breeds. Cheer on your own good dog, take to task dog owners who don't properly train and control their dogs, and be real about the damage that unsocialized, untrained, uncontrolled pit bulls can and have done.

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  5. Well in this case it appears it was a Pit Bull that was involved.

    There may be Pit Bulls out there that are unlikely to act in the manner that was described. However, I don't think I am alone in having some bad experiences with Pit Bulls and choose to avoid them at all costs. Sorry if posts like this or the articles that are written over and over again in the papers offend you. But my dog has been bitten once and it was by another Pit Bull owner who went on and on "How gentle my Pit Bull is" when I asked them to leave the dog park. Then the women could not deal with him when he soon went after my dog. I had to rip him away and remove him from the park for her. Ridiculous. So I am glad in your opinion your dog is wonderful but don't think for a second I will let it come anywhere close to my dog or family.

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  6. I filed a police report about my neighbor's Pomeranien (sp?) which attacked and bit my PIT BULL. Yes, I repeat, a ten pound dog bit my Pit on her nose, and what did she do? Yelped and ran to me. BECAUSE I TRAIN HER.

    I am starting to think we need to have pet licenses, because some people are just to dumb, or too busy, to own and properly care for an animal. With proper care and training, pits are harmless. Without that, they are dangerous and possibly deadly, just like an automobile.

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  7. Maisie's Mom... sorry that you are feeling attacked by the headline. But the point of running the post was to get people to read it by supplying as much information as we can, so that the owner of this particular pit bull can come forward and contact the owner of the puppy who was attacked. (And it *was* a pit bull that did the attacking in this case.) So we stand behind the headline, which was intended to convey information, not be "incendiary." Just descriptive.

    In answer to your question, had the pup been attacked by a beagle, poodle attack or coyote, the headline would have conveyed that information.

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  8. I live right around Montrose and Clarendon and have seen this woman a few times. She has no control over her dog. She lost the leash once when her dog started sprinting after my dog when I was walking her. Luckily we had just gotten inside our gate because the woman told me the dog was abused and would have attacked my dog if not for the gate. I really hope people find out who this woman is because she is putting other dogs in danger. I feel bad because she is obviously trying to do a good thing by adopting an abused dog, but if she can't control it it should be taken away before it hurts more dogs or worse, their owners.

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  9. Is there a description of the lady? Because on Withrop, between Leland and Kenmore, we have three friends (one a female) that are always walking an aggressive pit bull. They really mistreat this dog, which can explain why it is aggressive.

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