One thing is clear. Stewart is now at the center of a lawsuit filed by an Animal Protective League volunteer who says that the pit bull mix bit him for no reason.
“I want no money,” says John Sanders, who suffered bites on his right arm last May after taking Stewart for a walk. “I’m not vindictive toward Stewart. I’m doing what I can do to try and keep the dog from attacking me or anybody else.”
According to a bite report taken by Sangamon County animal control after Sanders’ physician alerted the county, Sanders suffered “moderate, multiple punctures” that ranked three on a scale of one to six, with one being a minor scratch and six being fatal wounds. Sanders, who is acting as his own lawyer, wants a judge to order Stewart put to sleep.
The APL, on the other hand, wants someone to adopt Stewart, who is advertised on the agency’s website as a 49-pound pit bull mix .
“I am a friendly, happy-go-lucky guy,” reads the text of the ad that appears beneath a picture of the white-and-tan dog. “I would benefit from some training because I have some puppy habits like being mouthy when I play. But I am eager to please so you can teach me not to do that.”
Sanders, however, says that Stewart is more than mouthy. He says that he had walked Stewart two or three weeks before he was bitten and had concerns.
“He jumped at me, so I didn’t take him for (a walk) for a long time,” recalls Sanders, who had been an APL volunteer for a year. “I thought, ‘I’m going to try you again, boy.’”
Sanders said that Stewart had a special chain collar designed to tighten around the dog’s neck to help control the animal during walks. After walking Stewart, Sanders says that he took the dog to a secure pen, removed the collar and began tossing a ball for Stewart to retrieve.
After finishing with the game, Sanders said that he reached for Stewart’s collar to put it back on the dog before leaving the pen.
“I went to grab it…and he got me and just attacked the hell out of me,” Sanders says.
A dog that bites without provocation should be euthanized, Sanders says.
“I don’t know how you would train a dog not to bite someone again,” Sanders says.
APL officials did not respond to a request for comment.
Sanders went home before filling out a report. In an email to Sanders sent the day that he was bitten, Anne Sobala, APL volunteer coordinator, said that the agency needed the paperwork as a matter of protocol.
“Stewart is not in trouble, it is just APL policy,” Sobala wrote. “(U)ntil you fill out and sign the incident report, we won’t be able to allow you to volunteer at APL. You are a valued and longtime APL volunteer, but there are no exceptions to this rule.”
Sanders responded via email, saying that he was willing to fill out a report for APL and asking that the form be mailed to him. He also wrote that Stewart is dangerous and should be put to sleep.
According to county records, Stewart was put into quarantine at APL two days after Sanders was bitten. Dogs that bite are supposed to be quarantined until it can be determined that they don’t have rabies. Sanders wonders why the dog wasn’t quarantined at the county’s animal control shelter instead of APL facilities.
“That dog should have been taken to the county and detained, don’t you think?” Sanders says.
Jim Stone, director of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health that runs the animal control center, said that he’s not familiar with the Sanders case, but the county doesn’t always take custody of a dog that has bitten.
The county, depending on circumstances, will allow a dog that has bitten to be quarantined at an animal shelter or an owner’s home if authorities believe the owner is a responsible person and especially if the dog has been vaccinated against rabies and has no previous history of biting or running loose, he said.
Stone said dog bite cases involve due process. And he said the county likely would not require the APL to relinquish a dog to the county.
“We don’t just take somebody’s complaint and say ‘This dog’s dangerous’ and say it’s going to be euthanized,” Stone said. “They (APL) know the circumstances, they’re an established, well-known, reputable facility. They understand this process, they understand the nature of dogs.”
Sanders says that he doesn’t like his chances in court, but will nonetheless take the case as far as he can.
“It’s hard to go up against the APL – you know the reputation they have, it’s such a great place and all this,” Sanders said. “And you know what? I never had a problem out there until the day that dog bit me.”
(Illinois Times - July 23, 2015)
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