FLORIDA -- A man was jailed on an animal cruelty charge after he tore the tail off of a kitten he was carrying at a soup kitchen on Monday, police said.
Timothy Lee Jenk, 42, was arrested after a witness told police Jenk was holding a bloody kitten at the First Lutheran Church. Jenk was confronted by a police officer when he returned to the soup kitchen, apparently after changing his shirt, police said.
Jenk lied and told the officer a veterinarian had removed the kitten's tail the day before. Police said the black 12-week-old kitten appeared to be in severe pain and the injury was fresh.
When the officer told Jenk he was going to call Broward Animal Control, Jenk fled, police said. After a short chase, the officer caught Jenk and found a blood-soaked shirt.
Jenk was jailed in lieu of $100 bail, which was raised to $5,100 on Tuesday. The cat was turned over to Animal Control and underwent an operation for its injury on Tuesday.
(Sun Sentinel - January 9, 1991)
Wednesday, January 9, 1991
Saturday, January 5, 1991
Florida: Girl, 9, bitten by John Trucks' Pit bull. Police officer who responded also attacked by the same Pit Bull
FLORIDA -- A police officer and a girl were bitten by a Pit Bull mix that attacked children who were walking home from Flamingo Elementary School, police said on Friday.
Officer Jay Seiler was bitten twice on Thursday on the right leg, one puncturing the skin and the other failing to penetrate his leather boot, police spokeswoman Christine Murray said.
The dog also bit Jessica McClung, 9, on the hand but did not puncture the skin, Murray said.
The pit bull's owner released the dog to authorities, and the animal is expected to be euthanized and tested for rabies, police said. The dog has never had a rabies shot, Murray said.
A second police officer, Scott Kiso, saw two pit bulls run up to a group of children, and then go after a second group of youngsters. He did not know whether anyone was bitten during those incidents, Murray said.
Jessica told her mother that children near her who were walking home from school had yelled at one of the dogs and stomped their feet at it before it ran over to her and bit her, said Jessica`s mother, Ella Burdick.
Police were called to the 700 block of Southwest 133rd Terrace when a passer- by reported that two dogs were attacking children.
The officers saw the dogs run under a trailer and into a yard. Officer Seiler was walking to the front door of the trailer looking for the owner when he was bitten by the dog that bit Jessica, Murray said.
No charges had been filed against the dogs' owner, John Trucks, Murray said. An investigation is continuing.
The second dog, also owned by Trucks, a female who had puppies recently, will be quarantined for 10 days to determine whether she has rabies. Murray said the dog`s rabies shots were not up to date.
(Sun Sentinel - January 5, 1991)
Officer Jay Seiler was bitten twice on Thursday on the right leg, one puncturing the skin and the other failing to penetrate his leather boot, police spokeswoman Christine Murray said.
The dog also bit Jessica McClung, 9, on the hand but did not puncture the skin, Murray said.
The pit bull's owner released the dog to authorities, and the animal is expected to be euthanized and tested for rabies, police said. The dog has never had a rabies shot, Murray said.
A second police officer, Scott Kiso, saw two pit bulls run up to a group of children, and then go after a second group of youngsters. He did not know whether anyone was bitten during those incidents, Murray said.
Jessica told her mother that children near her who were walking home from school had yelled at one of the dogs and stomped their feet at it before it ran over to her and bit her, said Jessica`s mother, Ella Burdick.
Police were called to the 700 block of Southwest 133rd Terrace when a passer- by reported that two dogs were attacking children.
The officers saw the dogs run under a trailer and into a yard. Officer Seiler was walking to the front door of the trailer looking for the owner when he was bitten by the dog that bit Jessica, Murray said.
No charges had been filed against the dogs' owner, John Trucks, Murray said. An investigation is continuing.
The second dog, also owned by Trucks, a female who had puppies recently, will be quarantined for 10 days to determine whether she has rabies. Murray said the dog`s rabies shots were not up to date.
(Sun Sentinel - January 5, 1991)
Saturday, July 21, 1990
Illinois: Notorious Pit Bull Kills Sleeping Baby
ILLINOIS -- Nearly everyone on the street knew the mean, doe-colored pit bull who growled crazily from his owner's back porch and tugged wildly on his leash more like a bronco than a 55-pound dog.
In February he bit a neighbor's foot, and before that he mauled a cat in one of the yards, neighbors said.
"If he was on the porch, you`d just go back downstairs," said Yolanda Applewhite, who was visiting her mother at 1339 W. 112th St. on Wednesday night when the dog lashed out with its final and most tragic attack.
About 9 p.m., Applewhite laid her sleeping 6-month-old daughter, Tionna, onto a couch in the apartment of Tyrone and Deanna Harding, who lived in an upstairs apartment.
The dog, owned by the Hardings, was on the back porch.
Applewhite said Thursday that before the attack, she and Deanna Harding went to the store.
"We were gone 15 or 20 minutes,"` she said. "Tyrone was supposed to be watching her. The dog was locked up.
"When we came back, my baby was almost dead."
The dog repeatedly bit the girl`s head, face and chest, police said, and she died that night at Cook County Hospital.
"We heard the noise, but when you live in a house and hear it all the time you think, `That`s probably Tyrone playing with the dog,'" said Renee Applewhite, the victim`s grandmother, who was still trying to put her thoughts together Thursday morning.
"Then he came down and said, `Renee, Renee, come quick. The dog just bit the baby.`
"A couple of friends ran upstairs," she said. "They wouldn't let me go inside.
"When they brought her down, all I could see was the back of the baby`s shirt, and it was all covered with blood."
"She was a beautiful baby," Applewhite added. "She was really cheerful, somebody you`d like to be around when you`re in a bad mood."
Police said no charges are expected to be filed against Harding, who, following the attack, was quoted by relatives of the victim as saying, "I'm sorry, I`m sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Investigators said they were uncertain how the dog got into the apartment from the porch, and Harding could not be reached for comment by the Tribune Thursday night.
The fatal attack on the Applewhite baby, and other recent incidents involving dogs that were at least part pit bull, have rekindled the debate over pit bulls.
On June 29, a 2-month-old Lansing girl died after she was attacked by a mixed-breed dog.
And Wednesday in Crest Hill, a suburb of Joliet, police killed two dogs they described as pit bulls after the animals attacked and slightly injured a newspaper delivery boy and two other dogs, according to a police spokeswoman. On 112th Street, there were only angry words for the breed.
"A pit bull is a killer, a fighting dog," said Wanda Eggelston, a neighbor. "It`s not supposed to be around human beings."
Renee Applewhite said after she and her family moved into the tiny, two-story frame house in March, "The Hardings were OK. We got along fine as long as they kept the dog upstairs."
By one neighbor`s count, the animal bit three people on the block before it killed Tionna.
After the fatal attack, the Hardings' dog was taken to the David R. Lee Animal Care Facility, 2741 S. Western Ave., where it remained "tremendously aggressive," according to Peter Poholik, executive director of the City Commission for Animal Care and Control.
It was photographed by a police evidence technician, tranquilized and given a fatal dose of phenobarbital just before noon Thursday.
The pit bull was gone.
So was a 6-month-old girl.
(Chicago Tribune - July 20, 1990)
In February he bit a neighbor's foot, and before that he mauled a cat in one of the yards, neighbors said.
"If he was on the porch, you`d just go back downstairs," said Yolanda Applewhite, who was visiting her mother at 1339 W. 112th St. on Wednesday night when the dog lashed out with its final and most tragic attack.
About 9 p.m., Applewhite laid her sleeping 6-month-old daughter, Tionna, onto a couch in the apartment of Tyrone and Deanna Harding, who lived in an upstairs apartment.
The dog, owned by the Hardings, was on the back porch.
Applewhite said Thursday that before the attack, she and Deanna Harding went to the store.
"We were gone 15 or 20 minutes,"` she said. "Tyrone was supposed to be watching her. The dog was locked up.
"When we came back, my baby was almost dead."
The dog repeatedly bit the girl`s head, face and chest, police said, and she died that night at Cook County Hospital.
"We heard the noise, but when you live in a house and hear it all the time you think, `That`s probably Tyrone playing with the dog,'" said Renee Applewhite, the victim`s grandmother, who was still trying to put her thoughts together Thursday morning.
"Then he came down and said, `Renee, Renee, come quick. The dog just bit the baby.`
"A couple of friends ran upstairs," she said. "They wouldn't let me go inside.
"When they brought her down, all I could see was the back of the baby`s shirt, and it was all covered with blood."
"She was a beautiful baby," Applewhite added. "She was really cheerful, somebody you`d like to be around when you`re in a bad mood."
Police said no charges are expected to be filed against Harding, who, following the attack, was quoted by relatives of the victim as saying, "I'm sorry, I`m sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."
Investigators said they were uncertain how the dog got into the apartment from the porch, and Harding could not be reached for comment by the Tribune Thursday night.
The fatal attack on the Applewhite baby, and other recent incidents involving dogs that were at least part pit bull, have rekindled the debate over pit bulls.
On June 29, a 2-month-old Lansing girl died after she was attacked by a mixed-breed dog.
And Wednesday in Crest Hill, a suburb of Joliet, police killed two dogs they described as pit bulls after the animals attacked and slightly injured a newspaper delivery boy and two other dogs, according to a police spokeswoman. On 112th Street, there were only angry words for the breed.
"A pit bull is a killer, a fighting dog," said Wanda Eggelston, a neighbor. "It`s not supposed to be around human beings."
Renee Applewhite said after she and her family moved into the tiny, two-story frame house in March, "The Hardings were OK. We got along fine as long as they kept the dog upstairs."
By one neighbor`s count, the animal bit three people on the block before it killed Tionna.
After the fatal attack, the Hardings' dog was taken to the David R. Lee Animal Care Facility, 2741 S. Western Ave., where it remained "tremendously aggressive," according to Peter Poholik, executive director of the City Commission for Animal Care and Control.
It was photographed by a police evidence technician, tranquilized and given a fatal dose of phenobarbital just before noon Thursday.
The pit bull was gone.
So was a 6-month-old girl.
(Chicago Tribune - July 20, 1990)
Thursday, April 19, 1990
Florida: Pit bull chases down boy, 15, and attacks him. Sheriff's Office gives the pit bull right back to its owners
FLORIDA -- A teenager was injured on Wednesday when he was attacked by a pit bull terrier at a mobile home park near Davie, the Broward Sheriff's Office said.
Justin Wilson, 15, was treated by paramedics for puncture wounds to his back and referred to his family doctor, Sheriff's Office spokesman Al Gordon said.
Justin and his brother Chris, 16, who live in the 3500 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, went to another home at the Silver Oaks Mobile Home Park to visit a girl, Gordon said.
When they knocked on the front door, the dog threw itself against the door and opened it. Justin ran, and the dog attacked him, Gordon said.
The dog was taken into the custody of Broward County Animal Control. If it is properly vaccinated, it will be returned to owners Eugene Saunders and Linda Saunders, Gordon said.
The dog was running loose and attacked a child! No vicious dog ticket?
(Sun Sentinel - April 19, 1990)
Justin Wilson, 15, was treated by paramedics for puncture wounds to his back and referred to his family doctor, Sheriff's Office spokesman Al Gordon said.
Justin and his brother Chris, 16, who live in the 3500 block of Southwest 57th Avenue, went to another home at the Silver Oaks Mobile Home Park to visit a girl, Gordon said.
When they knocked on the front door, the dog threw itself against the door and opened it. Justin ran, and the dog attacked him, Gordon said.
The dog was taken into the custody of Broward County Animal Control. If it is properly vaccinated, it will be returned to owners Eugene Saunders and Linda Saunders, Gordon said.
The dog was running loose and attacked a child! No vicious dog ticket?
(Sun Sentinel - April 19, 1990)
Thursday, January 25, 1990
Florida: Former Beauty Queen Tells Jury About Pit Bull Attack
FLORIDA -- Strangers usually do not see the wounds. But when Dawn Alberti looks in the mirror, the former beauty queen says she sees scars and a nose wider than it was before Jan. 9, 1987 when a pit bull named Ginger mauled her face.
Alberti, 24, of Boca Raton, will not pursue the acting and modeling career she dreamed about before the attack -- not because she does not have the good looks, but because she thinks she does not, she told a Palm Beach County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday.
Alberti is suing the dog's owners, her family's former neighbors, Victor Rosner, Janet Rosner and Doug Rosner.
"I used to look a lot better, a lot better," she testified. "Now my nose bothers me, the mark under my lip bothers me, the mark near my eye bothers me -- all because of that dog."
The Rosners do not dispute that their dog attacked Alberti, but they do contest having to pay for something like the "loss of enjoyment of life" she claims it caused, said Mark Klingensmith, the Rosners' attorney.
Alberti is not asking that the Rosners pay for medical bills of about $5,000, nor the cost of additional cosmetic surgery, nor for the difference in what she might have earned as a model or actress and what she makes now as a nail technician.
She concedes that it is her own idea that she does not look good enough, rather than something someone told her, that keeps her from following her dreams.
Winner of a beauty pageant in her native Long Island, N.Y., and runner-up in a pageant for teenagers sponsored by a nightclub there, Alberti had contacted a talent agency in Boca Raton before her family`s planned move in January 1987.
She had plans with the agency to screen test for the movie, Revenge of the Nerds, she testified. The part called for "a bathing suit on the beach," Alberti said.
But 20 minutes after the Albertis moved into their new townhouse in Boca Raton, she went outside to get a tool for her father and met Doug Rosner as he was walking the dog. That was when the dog jumped up and bit her in the face, Alberti testified.
What did she remember about the attack? asked her attorney, Geri Sue Straus.
"The inside of his mouth ... pink, dark," Alberti responded. "I remember feeling cold on my face ... blood on my face, my nose, my eye."
What was she feeling?
"I was in pain. I was in shock," she said. "I was afraid. I was afraid to look in the mirror."
(Sun Sentinel - January 25, 1990)
Alberti, 24, of Boca Raton, will not pursue the acting and modeling career she dreamed about before the attack -- not because she does not have the good looks, but because she thinks she does not, she told a Palm Beach County Circuit Court jury on Wednesday.
Alberti is suing the dog's owners, her family's former neighbors, Victor Rosner, Janet Rosner and Doug Rosner.
The Rosners do not dispute that their dog attacked Alberti, but they do contest having to pay for something like the "loss of enjoyment of life" she claims it caused, said Mark Klingensmith, the Rosners' attorney.
Alberti is not asking that the Rosners pay for medical bills of about $5,000, nor the cost of additional cosmetic surgery, nor for the difference in what she might have earned as a model or actress and what she makes now as a nail technician.
She concedes that it is her own idea that she does not look good enough, rather than something someone told her, that keeps her from following her dreams.
Winner of a beauty pageant in her native Long Island, N.Y., and runner-up in a pageant for teenagers sponsored by a nightclub there, Alberti had contacted a talent agency in Boca Raton before her family`s planned move in January 1987.
She had plans with the agency to screen test for the movie, Revenge of the Nerds, she testified. The part called for "a bathing suit on the beach," Alberti said.
But 20 minutes after the Albertis moved into their new townhouse in Boca Raton, she went outside to get a tool for her father and met Doug Rosner as he was walking the dog. That was when the dog jumped up and bit her in the face, Alberti testified.
What did she remember about the attack? asked her attorney, Geri Sue Straus.
"The inside of his mouth ... pink, dark," Alberti responded. "I remember feeling cold on my face ... blood on my face, my nose, my eye."
What was she feeling?
"I was in pain. I was in shock," she said. "I was afraid. I was afraid to look in the mirror."
(Sun Sentinel - January 25, 1990)
Saturday, January 13, 1990
Florida: Allen Holmes, 25, arrested after he broke into the animal shelter and stole his pit bull, which had been seized after mauling a cat to death
FLORIDA -- A vicious pit bull, illegally stolen from an animal control shelter in October, was recaptured and euthanized on Friday. The owner of the dog was arrested, the Broward Sheriff`s Office said.
Deputies saw Allen Richard Holmes, 25, and his pit bull, Alvin, sitting in Holmes` car at a service station in the 3600 block of Davie Road on Thursday night, Sheriff`s Office spokesman George Crolius said.
When deputies approached Holmes, he gave them a false name card and began to kick the windows after they put him inside the patrol car, Crolius said.
On Oct. 12, an employee at the shelter discovered the dog was missing when he found a gate cut at the shelter at 1871 SW 40th St. The dog was put there on Aug. 29 after it killed a cat and was declared vicious.
Holmes was charged with possession of stolen property, providing false information, resisting arrest with violence, criminal damage to property and loitering.
(Sun Sentinel - January 13, 1990)
Deputies saw Allen Richard Holmes, 25, and his pit bull, Alvin, sitting in Holmes` car at a service station in the 3600 block of Davie Road on Thursday night, Sheriff`s Office spokesman George Crolius said.
When deputies approached Holmes, he gave them a false name card and began to kick the windows after they put him inside the patrol car, Crolius said.
On Oct. 12, an employee at the shelter discovered the dog was missing when he found a gate cut at the shelter at 1871 SW 40th St. The dog was put there on Aug. 29 after it killed a cat and was declared vicious.
Holmes was charged with possession of stolen property, providing false information, resisting arrest with violence, criminal damage to property and loitering.
(Sun Sentinel - January 13, 1990)
Friday, January 12, 1990
Florida: George Bonner and boy, 14, charged after making pit bulls fight
FLORIDA -- A man and a 14-year-old boy were charged with cruelty to animals after they started a fight between two pit bulls and stood by while the dogs mauled each other, police said.
Both dogs were confiscated, along with three other pit bulls that were badly malnourished, reports released on Thursday show.
"The guys weren't fighting the dogs for money, they were just doing it to watch," police officer John Evans said.
The teenager was arrested in the back yard of a home in the first block of Southwest Fifth Avenue, where the fight occurred and where the second suspect, George Bonner, 20, lives.
Bonner ran when police arrived but later turned himself. Both face misdemeanor charges.
One dog suffered puncture wounds on its head and face, particularly around its eyes. One dog was limping and its left front leg was bleeding when police arrived, officers said.
Two pit bull puppies and an adult female were in a nearby cage.
"Their ribs were showing and their hip bones were visible," Evans said. "They looked really bad."
(Sun Sentinel - January 12, 1990)
Both dogs were confiscated, along with three other pit bulls that were badly malnourished, reports released on Thursday show.
"The guys weren't fighting the dogs for money, they were just doing it to watch," police officer John Evans said.
The teenager was arrested in the back yard of a home in the first block of Southwest Fifth Avenue, where the fight occurred and where the second suspect, George Bonner, 20, lives.
Bonner ran when police arrived but later turned himself. Both face misdemeanor charges.
One dog suffered puncture wounds on its head and face, particularly around its eyes. One dog was limping and its left front leg was bleeding when police arrived, officers said.
Two pit bull puppies and an adult female were in a nearby cage.
"Their ribs were showing and their hip bones were visible," Evans said. "They looked really bad."
(Sun Sentinel - January 12, 1990)
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