"I want the officer to know that what he did was wrong," Haley Pekala, 20, of Roselle said Tuesday. "There was no need to taser the dog."
Pekala's 50-pound dog, named Chooch, died May 8 after officers responding to a report of a dog bite said they were forced to use a Taser on the animal to subdue it. Police then transported the 2-year-old dog to a Schaumburg animal hospital, where it died.
About 9 p.m. that night, the mother of Pekala's boyfriend, Michael Kotas, was attacked by the dog. She had tried to break up a fight between Chooch and another pit bull in the home.
Kotas' mother was taken to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, police said, where she required emergency surgery and remained hospitalized Monday.
On the night of the incident, paramedics were treating Kotas' mother in the front yard. She told paramedics and police that her husband was still inside the home with the pit bulls.
Officers found the man in the kitchen, holding the dog at bay with a broom and a stick.
[Pekala apparently didn't believe this was a dangeorus situation]
"When you are walking into a house, and you're in uniform and everything, what is the dog supposed to do?" Pekala said.
Tarchala said officers were aware that Chooch had bitten someone previously.
"They (authorities) didn't take away the dog or anything," Pekala said. "They did nothing last time."
Nevertheless, Tarchala said officers decided to take added precautions while trying to take the dog. When they saw Kotas' father struggling with Chooch, the officers stunned and noosed the dog "to get it under control," Tarchala said.
Although Pekala said she owned Chooch, the dog had been living with Kotas and his family for about a year without incident.
Pekala didn't witness the attack on the relative. She and Kotas were down the street visiting friends, but she said she believes that Kotas' father had her dog under control following the bite incident.
She said Chooch and a dog belonging to her boyfriend's family became agitated when a takeout delivery person rang the doorbell. Chooch might have inadvertently bitten the woman when she got between the two distressed dogs, Pekala said.
"It was a dog dominance thing," said Pekala, a college student who plans on becoming a veterinarian.
How many times the stun gun was used is under investigation. But Kotas says he believes the device was used at least twice because of marks on the dog's body.
"Personally, I think they used excessive force," Kotas said. "I don't think the dog needed to be Tasered in the first place, considering the fact that my dad had him cornered in our kitchen and was calming him down."
Pekala and Kotas drove the dog to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to have a necropsy performed. She is awaiting results of that examination, and the chance to have Chooch cremated.
"The incident is under investigation," said Detective Sgt. John Lawson. "The officer has not been
disciplined, but any time we use a Taser — whether on human or animal — we conduct an investigation.
"We don't know for sure why the dog died," said Lawson. "Part of our training is to learn how to properly use a Taser on an animal."
(Chicago Tribune - May 15, 2012)
Update to story: Pakala has started a petition to "stop police officers from killing family pets". In her petition she says:
A few days ago on May 8,2012, a Roselle police officer took it upon himself to end a life. Chooch, a 2 year old pit bull born on January 25, 2012, was killed because of a poor judgment call made by the police officer.
Food had been ordered for dinner, when the doorbell rang it startled the dogs in the house. Two of the pit bulls started to get rough with one another. The fight actually got pretty heated. It was broken up by a family member. In the process that family member was bit by Chooch who had been startled. Not intentionally, on accident! Stepping in the middle of a fight between two dogs, no matter the breed, is dangerous. The paramedics were called to the scene and the Roselle police tagged along. When they arrived, the dogs were separated in order to calm them both. Having strangers come into a home can excite the dogs, which is exactly what happened. Chooch was in the kitchen with one of his owners. He was being kept down in an attempt to calm him and stop him from barking. He was just barking, nothing more, just as any dog does when the door bell rings or strangers come into their home. Chooch made no advance to attack the officers nor did he pose any sort of threat. He simply barked. One of the officers said he was "out of control". Following that, Chooch was then tasered 3 times....
Something needs to be done. Justice has to served!
They are great dogs! Amazing! This was the dog that was in the movie the little rascals. This was the dog that was once, the face of the military! Don't judge what you don't know. Research & Ask before!
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