Bob Agostinelli was walking his dog near Eastside Park at Pearl and York streets, when people at the park called to him, asking if he knew who was the owner of a pit bull that was loose in the park.
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| Shanny the Sheltie mix is lucky to be alive after being mauled by the pit bull |
As he was being asked this, Agostinelli said the pit bull charged his dog — "Shanny," a 28-pound Shetland Sheepdog - mix.
"I stepped in front of my dog, but I might as well of been the Bears defensive line. He went around me and latched onto my dog's tail end," Agostinelli recalled.
Agostinelli went to the ground and punched the pit bull several times, then stood and started kicking the attacking animal, but to no avail. He yelled for help and several neighbors quickly came over with sticks and other items to use as weapons.
"I whacked the dog, breaking two sticks over his back, but without any response," Agostinelli noted.
Shanny broke from the pit bull, but the pit bull caught the dog again at its throat.
A man then brought Agostinelli a pitchfork, which he drove into the pit bull's head. The pit bull continued holding onto the other dog, but its attack soon stopped. A police officer arrived and shot to death the wounded, if not dying, pit bull.
"If it wasn't for the good fortune of the man bringing me a pitchfork, my dog would have been dead," Agostinelli pointed out. "I'm thankful for everyone who helped and the police, but I get no glee from the pit bull having to be killed. It had to be put down."
La Salle County Animal Control personnel took the pit bull's body for tests to be done for diseases.
Agostinelli said he suffered minor puncture wounds and had to have a tetanus shot, but he doesn't expect he will need any more treatment.
Shanny spent several hours at Novak-Brainard Veterinary Clinic in Ottawa for treatment of wounds to the back, side and neck. Agostinelli said his dog should be fine.
“The pit bull really aggressively went after her,” he said.
The pit bull belonged to Jeffrey Lambert, according to police. Lambert, who lives two doors east of the park, went to the police station — not knowing of the attack and his dog's death — to report his dog had dug out of his fenced-in yard and was missing. A "Beware of Dog" sign is posted on a gate to the backyard.
Lambert could not be reached for comment. A citation is possible.
Regardless whether legal action is taken, Agostinelli said the incident could have been worse.
"The Eastside Park is populated with kids. They're always there. You had the horrible possibility of a child being injured."
(The Times - Oct 13, 2011)
