ILLINOIS -- A Forreston woman said her dog is lucky to be alive after it was attacked May 28 by a neighbor's pit bull.
"The vet said if the bite had been an eighth of an inch deeper, it would have killed him," said Nickole Jones, 28.
Her dog Baxter, a 9-year-old Pomeranian, is recovering from a gash that goes down his back, plus two more bites.
Jones and her fiance Justin Butler, 3-year-old daughter, and their two dogs, Baxter and Oakley, an 8-month-old Weimaraner, were going for a walk when the attack took place.
"We were about a block from our house when a large white and tan pit bull charged out of a garage," Jones said. "He grabbed my Pomeranian. He instantly began whipping him around. It was terrifying. My dog was screaming and I was screaming."
Jones, who is 8 months pregnant, said she was knocked down in the attack and began to have contractions.
"I was hyperventilating. I couldn't breathe," she said.
A teenage boy driving by came to their rescue when he jumped out of his car and pulled the pit bull off Baxter.
A neighbor brought a towel to wrap Baxter in, and Jones and Butler dropped off the little dog at New Hope Veterinary Clinic, German Valley, before heading to the emergency room at the FHN Hospital, Freeport.
Jones and her unborn baby checked out fine, but she remains shaken.
"This has been a high risk pregnancy from the beginning," she said.
Jones also believes local officials should done more. She said it was several days until Forreston Police Chief Mike Boomgarden contacted her to take a report.
She said she was told little could be done as long as the dog did not bite a human.
"We're right across from the grade school, and they (the dog's owner) is kitty-cornered from the grade school," Jones said.
She said she is considering filing lawsuits against the owner of the dog and the village.
Boomgarden said Monday afternoon that the pit bull's owner Ronald Bandy has been issued a citation for allowing a dog to run at large.
He declined to comment further because of the possible legal action.
Ogle County Animal Warden Bonnie Baxter said Tuesday as far as she could determine the pit bull does not pose a threat to humans.
"This dog has not shown any signs of aggression toward people, just other dogs," she said.
However, she said the pit bull has been declared a "dangerous dog" under state and county statutes.
Under the statute, she said, dogs declared dangerous must be neutered or spayed, as well as micro-chipped, if they aren't already.
This pit bull, she said, was already neutered.
The owner must also pay a $50 public safety fine once the dog is declared dangerous.
The statute also requires "dangerous dogs" to be under the direct physical control and supervision of an adult 18 or older at all times when they are on public premises, and must be muzzled when on public premises.
Baxter said it is also illegal for anyone to knowingly or recklessly permit a "dangerous dog" to leave the owner's premises when not under the control of a leash or other control device.
If the owner fails to comply with the law, she said, the dog can be impounded and the owner will be required to pay all fees.
Bandy has a time limit to comply with the dangerous dog requirements, Baxter said. He can also appeal the declaration.
Baxter said the pit bull's required registration and shots were overdue because Bandy had moved.
"We had no forwarding address to send the notification to," she said.
Both the shots and registration have been brought up to date she said.
(Ogle County News - June 7, 2012)
