Steve Cuda and his wife, Annette, allege in the lawsuit, filed in McHenry County Court, that the owner of the dogs and a man who let them out of the house on the night of the attack were negligent.
Local officials have issued citations to the man who let the dogs out for failing to control them and allowing them to get the onto the road. One of the pit bulls was quarantined last week because it was not up to date on its rabies vaccinations, county officials said.
Debra Quackenbush, spokeswoman for the McHenry County Health Department, said the department had received several calls from people "outraged" that the dogs had not been removed from the home sooner. Police had been called to the home in the past for complaints about the dogs, but because the Health Department had never been alerted, officials could take no action, she said.
"It's an ongoing investigation," she said. "Dogs are personal property, so animal control cannot come in and take those dogs. We have to follow through with the legal recourse in this ongoing investigation."
The attack occurred last week when Cuda, a local attorney and McHenry mayor from 1991 to 2003, went out for an after-dinner walk with Addie, the couple's golden retriever. They were walking in the Martin Woods subdivision when one of the pit bulls attacked Addie. As Cuda said he tried to loosen the first dog's grip on Addie, the second pit bull charged.
He said he tried to fight off the dogs but they were relentless.
At the same time, Annette Cuda was leaving home when a neighbor warned her the pit bulls were loose. Then she heard her husband yelling and rushed to his aid.
"I saw the two under attack, and he was trying to save her," she said.
They got their dog free and all jumped into their car, with the pit bulls still jumping at the car, she said.
All were treated for their injuries. Steve Cuda suffered a separated shoulder and a bite on his hand. Annette Cuda also suffered a bite on her hand, while their dog had nearly 30 puncture wounds, they said.
Lara Coler, the owner of the pit bulls, Sawyer, 5, and Molly, 3, said she was at work when her friend Rex Corley, who is staying in her home, let the dogs out. Molly was wearing her shock collar but Sawyer was not.
Corley, 59, said he had gone onto the back deck that evening when the pit bulls ran out, "and within seconds I hear a man screaming." He said he ran out to help and struggled to pull the dogs apart.
"I kneed one dog in the head," but it was nearly impossible to separate the dogs he said.
Coler said the two pit bulls have been "aggressive," running up to people and barking, but they had never attacked anyone before. A teacher at Case High School in Racine, Wis., she insisted her dogs "are good with people."
"I never thought this could ever happen," said Coler, who said she rescued both of the pit bulls from shelters. "A lot of people are taken back because they are pit bulls. I have seen aggressiveness, but never to the point where they hurt anybody.
"This has gotten me very upset."
Steve Cuda said the pit bulls are well-known in the neighborhood for their aggressiveness. The dogs' owner's yard has an electric fence and the dogs usually remain on their property inside the fence, he said, but even inside they snarl as people walk by.
Annette Cuda said she would like the dogs "permanently removed" from the neighborhood.
"The whole neighborhood is concerned," she said. "There are children in the neighborhood."
The Cudas are seeking in excess of $50,000 in the lawsuit.
They are recovering from their injuries but said their dog has become skittish and cowers and puts her tail between her legs at the sound of a barking dog. She wears a protective cone so she doesn't lick at her wounds.
"She has tooth marks all over," Steve Cuda said.
Corley, meantime, said he feels awful about the attack.
"If I could take the pain away from their dog and the anxiety from them ... I would," he said, adding that he has cried often over the situation and takes "100 percent full responsibility."
(Chicago Tribune - Sept 19, 2014)
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