According to Arlington Heights resident Karen Ibach, her 3-year-old schnauzer-poodle mix, Cody, was attacked on July 28 by a golden pit bull mix wearing a greenish-blue collar. Other dogs sided with the pit bull, leaving Cody with severe cuts, Ibach said.
She rushed her dog to a nearby animal hospital for treatment.
Ibach said the encounter may have been as hard on her as it was on Cody.
“I have problems getting to sleep, because I relive the whole thing over and over,” she said. “To see your dog being attacked by a group of dogs is horrific.”
Happy Tails is the Buffalo Grove Park District’s dog park, located immediately south of the Buffalo Grove Metra station on the south side of Deerfield Parkway. Parks spokesman Mike Terson said use of the park is restricted — owners must first purchase a yearlong pass, which dogs wear like a collar, or buy a one-day receipt, which owners keep with them — but the park is also unstaffed.
Ibach said she and Cody are frequent Happy Tails visitors.
“He’s like a little sheriff over there at the park, he’ll bark at others when they’re misbehaving,” she said.
But she admits that most users, herself included, never bring their usage permits.
Around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, July 28, Cody tried to regulate the wrong dog.
Happy Tails has a section reserved for small dogs, but Ibach said she and other visitors rarely use it; around noon on Sunday, she let Cody run with the group in the general-admission section. That group included a much larger pitbull, whose owner she did not know.
Ibach said the larger dog was not aggressive at first, merely playing a little too close for Cody’s comfort. Cody barked at the pitbull, presumably trying to move it away, she added; Ibach said the pit seemed to take Cody’s complaint as aggression and attacked him.
Other dogs followed, she alleged.
“Everybody’s screaming,” she said.
Owners got their animals back under control, and Cody, now bleeding from his neck and jaw, ran to a corner. When Ibach tried to collect him, the terrified dog bit his owner.
Believing she had no time to find the owner of the pit bull, Ibach rushed Cody to the closest veterinarian she knew of, Care Animal Hospital of Arlington Heights. Doctors there repaired bite wounds to Cody’s neck and jaw. The hospital could not be reached to clarify the severity of the wounds.
Three days later, Ibach said her dog’s recovery has been “miraculous.” He appears to be back to his old self, including barking at the landscapers his owner hired to work around their home.
“He’s still bossy, from what I can see,” Ibach said. “He’s very proud of himself, that he yelled at the landscapers. I didn’t think he’d be like this for a couple of weeks.”
Ibach said she would like to see the park district secure Happy Tails more closely, including taking a picture of each dog when an owner buys a permit, then having a staff member there to ensure that users brought their permits — including her.
Terson said that the district has never banned any breeds from the park, only aggressive behavior; he said it is for permit-holders to decide if the mix of pets present when they arrive is something they want to send their dog into.
Ibach said she expected to have Cody back at Happy Tails when he heals completely.
“They are doing a big favor for dog owners by having that park,” she said.
(Chicago Sun Times - Aug 1, 2013)
