ILLINOIS -- The alert actions of a gym teacher and teacher’s aide helped two firstgraders escape serious injury last week after at least one dog attacked the youths at Southeast Elementary School in Evergreen Park.
The students were at recess just before noon on Dec. 13 when the attack occurred at the school, 9800 Francisco Ave. An American Staffordshire terrier-mix and a Pekingese that had gotten loose from a home about two miles away wandered into the school yard, police said.
The terrier, the larger of the two dogs, grabbed the jacketed arm of a 6-year-old boy, according to Evergreen Park police Deputy Chief Wayne Gutkowski. The boy sustained a cut and a bruise to his right arm, and was treated by a family physician, Gutkowski added.
The pit bullthen grabbed the pant leg of a 7-year-old girl, and at that point Southeast School physical education teacher Joe Santor arrived and kicked the large dog away from the girl, Gutkowski said. Teacher’s aide Melanie Senerchra then reportedly lifted the child off the ground to safety.
The pit bull also attacked Santor, biting him on the left side of his chest, according to police. Santor held both dogs at bay until police arrived. He was treated for the dog bite at Little Company of Mary Hospital, police said.
Cook County Animal Control officer Megan Ivers took both dogs to the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, Gutkowski said. The dogs will be observed for any signs or symptoms of rabies for 10 days, he added.
While the Pekingese pup was present at the time of the attack, the dog was not implicated in biting either child or Santor. Both dogs were reportedly in the care of a foster owner who told police he only had them a couple weeks. The man reportedly told police his son left a gate open, enabling the dogs to escape. Police issued the man two $60 village citations for having dogs at large, Gutkowski said.
Kim Leonard, the mother of the girl who was attacked, is thankful the incident did not turn out worse and praised the efforts of the school’s staff. Leonard brought her daughter back to the school later the day of the attack, just to show here there was nothing to fear. Leonard teaches at St. Ethelreda School in Chicago and is member of the Evergreen Park School District 124 board of education.
“[Santoro and Senerchra] were just wonderful,” Leonard said. “Their instincts kicked in and they just wanted to get our kids out of harm’s way.
“Thank God the teachers reacted the way they did, they truly are the heroes in this whole episode.”
Leonard also credited school Southeast School Principal Shaton Wolverton for calming parents and students after the attack.
(The Reporter - Dec 22, 2011)
