A 4-year old boy was fatally injured by a dog in rural Monroe Center, Illinois.
Child Killed by Dog
Ogle County, IL - A 4-year old boy is dead after being mauled by a dog, according to the Ogle County Sheriff's Office. The attack occurred on February 29, 2024. At approximately 4:40 pm, the Ogle County 911 Dispatch Center received a 911 call about a child mauled by a dog in rural Monroe Center, which is located 16 miles away from Rockford, and that CPR was in progress. The child was transported to a hospital in Rockford, where he died of his injuries. The investigation into his death is ongoing.
According to audio dispatch log files from Ogle County Fire on Broadcastify.com, at 4:42 pm the agency was dispatched to a home in the 8900 block of North Limestone Road. CPR was immediately underway. The attack occurred in the backyard. The dispatcher states, "The boy is not responsive. He's in the backyard on the side." Moments later, she states, "CPR is in progress. They are in the backyard. The dog is kenneled." The dog, of an unknown breed, was secured prior to EMS arrival.
Earlier today, Limestone Sphynx and LFD Great Danes, located in Monroe Center, published on their Facebook page, "Due to a loss in our immediate family we've decided that we will no longer be raising great danes. Anyone with deposits in will be refunded. We are also going to be rehoming a number of our adults." One commenter stated, "Just saw the news that is so heartbreaking." The local school published a post, "The Meridian CUSD 223 mourns the unexpected loss of one of our students."
Ogle County Sheriff Brian VanVickle told Shaw Media the dog involved was a "mixed breed." It was euthanized Friday afternoon. That seems unusual, given the family breeds AKC registered great danes -- purebred dogs -- but there may have been other dogs on the property. Shaw Media also quoted Ogle County Animal Control administrator Dr. Thomas Champley. “This is the first time we’ve had a fatality,” he said. This is breaking news. As the news unfolds, more clarity will become available.
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Law enforcement departments across the United States should release consistent "baseline" information to the media and the public after each fatal dog mauling, including these items.
When does this stop? Little boys should be playing games and having fun. They shouldn’t
die from dog bites.
This was terrible. We could barely listen to the audio dispatch log files (the same response we had in the Alabama case). This community is going to be affected by this boy’s death for a long time.
Sadly many communities are switching to encrypted communications.
Without Broadcastify we would have never known the real story about the husky in Connecticut.
I miss being able to listen to what police and fire were up to in my area.
Turns out there is WAY more crime than what gets covered on the local news.
the facebook page speaks to the fact they thought the dogs ‘loved’ kids because they were raised with kids , theres one video from 2022 stating a family with small kids needs this girl ,,,,,,just the size differential alone makes them inherently dangerous. https://www.facebook.com/reel/5251669611585830
if I had to guess the older child is the victim ,https://www.facebook.com/limestonefarmdanesandsphynx/videos/1212010939596542
they have videos of infants on the floor with puppies and sitting on the couch with dogs , the parents got lax and forgot they were dogs ,,,,,,,,,,,,,
It’s a “thing” right now to breed massive pits by mixing with Great Danes.
Dunno if that played a part in it, but I’ll wait to hear–since apparently it’s a “mix”.
Could also be they got the “mix” from somewhere and thought they were rescuing it or whatever along with their breeding kennels. If that dog is related to the others they’re giving away–welp, that’s about the stupidest thing I’ve heard.
I know it sounds cruel but for thousands of years, aggressive dog lines were culled out.
How many child deaths is that, this week? How many broken families and communities?
What is going on with “man’s best friend”?
From what I understand Great Danes were bred to HUNT bears, boar, and deer. A dog this size could kill a child just playing around. The words of Ken Phillips were wise- kids should only be around SMALL and GENTLE dogs.
Heartbreaking. I would be very interested in knowing what color the Dane was. When I was photographing shelter dogs, a Harlequin Dane came in for quarantine after attacking a family friend. Harlequins were known for unstable temperaments even 40 years ago.
I think the problem with Harlequin Danes was due to the bloodlines rather than the color.
Fawns and brindles are bred together. Breeding
those colors to merles or Harlequins results in mismarks. Breeding Harlequins or merles together will result in some white Danes. About 90% of white Danes are deaf. Eye problems in whites are also common, but most can see.
Harlequins and merles are probably best bred to solid blacks but
won’t necessarily produce gorgeous Harlequins. Many breed Harlequin to Harlequin. They then euthanize the white puppies or give them away. Harlequin breeders may keep the prettiest marked puppies. All puppies from fawn or brindle breedings should have acceptable markings.
Note that one always gets merle puppies in Harlequin breedings.
Any time breeders are making breedings for color only, other qualities may suffer. If folks breed only for Harlequins, temperament may be affected. Why? There is no selection for temperament
We see this in other breeds. Where did blue merle pitbulls come from? No doubt another breed was crossed with pitties in order to get merle pitties.
The merle in pit bulls came from the catahoulas. The American bully breeders, XL primarily, — who typically breed for unique colors (and tri-colors) along with the large size — actually advertise merle as unique! Merle seems to be a “fashion statement” in the UK XL bullies too.
Yes, as a dane lover I have been shocked by the news lately. This should not be happening. To add to Rachel, these dogs have seen a rise in popularity especially for the harlequins and non approved colors. Combine that with the backyard “euro” trend and we have what we have now. Dogs bred for color and a hyper body type with temperament and health an afterthought.
We recently lost our 11 year old black dane. It is darn near impossible to find a decent breeder. They are trying to make these dogs something else these days and it is sickening. We ended up spending more than we wanted to on a new dog.
Lastly, with the increase in popularity comes the increase of these dogs going to the pound. They should be put down immediately and not rehomed. They suffer emotional trauma that they often don’t recover from.
The problem with purebred dogs was always profit motive for “pretty” dogs. At least though–psychologically and physically defective dogs used to get culled out to some degree as breeders were breeding for show or work lines and not interested so much in what the general public would pay top dollar, for.
Now that the profit motive (which used to be a small margin for breeders) has increased exponentially. As the cost of purebred dogs skyrocketted into the thousands so did the costs for mutts/shelter dogs.
Along with breeding for all the wrong reasons.
Remember when Bouviers were supposed to have short, working coats? Fluffy coats were a major flaw because nobody wants a walking burr magnet as a protection or cattle dog. Now they look like over-fluffified black Olde English Sheepdogs at Krupps. That’s the kind of nonsense that’s permeated the dog world.
Dogs are supposed to be “camera bait” not “fit for purpose” thus the weird colours, horrific breeding practises and total lack of respect for their working and companionship propensities. When was the last time you heard of a breeder of any kind–breeding for intelligence or good-naturedness?
there are pics on their website , they look poorly bred
I agree. That is almost all you see today with great danes. The breed is sufferings.
I still really think most breeds are not a problem, but based on what I know from following this site for a few years now, I’d never allow my toddler around a pit, husky, GSD, Malinois, Great Dane or bully breed of any size!
My first dog was a Great Dane. He was sweet and gentle, and came from a very well-known show breeder. He was fawn if curious, as were both his parents and all 8 in the litter. His temperament was wonderful, I trusted him completely. I’ve been out of Danes and into Frenchies for a long time now, because I wanted to go down to a smaller breed. I’m not sure of the current ‘temperature’ of the Dane community and what’s being produced. The Dane I had was a top show prospect (that I never showed, lol). He was king of my couch for many years. BUT would I have left a small child unsupervised with him, or ANY dog for that matter? NO, of course not. I also wouldn’t have dogs with questionable temperaments in such a shoddy pen anyone could just wandered into, either.
So incredibly sad to read about these children.
Just wanted to comment on that weird photograph they used for advertising their Great Danes. Usually Great Danes are photographed to showcase their “majestic” physical characteristics. Their heads are usually uplifted in a regal way. Or they are standing or sitting upright to show how tall they are. The dog in that photograph looks predatory, walking with its head down. It reminds me of a stalking bear.
Great Danes are certainly not some of the friendliest dogs I have encountered.
That is why we used it. This photo is more aligned with an XL bully breeder.
The cropped ears also make it appear more predatory.
I went on their website, clicked “Available sphynx” and scrolled down to the photos. The blond haired boy in the background of the 1st photo, is he possibly the victim?
there are pics of young kids with dogs in the backyard, on their website I see no other dogs aside from poorly bred looking Danes
I found other dogs in their Facebook page photos. Unsure if they’re relevant.
Can you send them to us? This mixed-breed issue?
I just looked at their “past puppies,” and there is one young puppy laying in bed with another that appears to be fawn but with spots like a Dalmatian almost? Is that some kind of fawn/harl cross? I’ve never seen this before, though, and hope I never see it again.
It’s interesting that the photo they use for their Great Danes is a dog looking predatory.
The little boy’s obituary has been published (He had a sensitive side and was always delicate while petting the “small animal babies”.) https://www.farrellhollandgale.com/obituaries/duke-whittington
All the messages on little Duke’s obituary are so touching. Absolutely terrible case.
Found this on their webpage:
EAR CROPPING IS ALSO AVAILABLE FOR AN ADDITIONAL FEE. IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR PUPPY TO BE CROPPED PLEASE NOTIFY US WHEN PUPPY IS CHOOSEN AT 2/3 WEEKS OF AGE. THE COST FOR EAR CROPPING WILL BE DUE AT THIS TIME.
Is it common for purebreds to have their ears cropped?
I thought that was something backyard breeders did. I am not a dog enthusiast so my perception may be incorrect.
Once again the obit mentions nothing of his manner of death. He “passed away”. Makes it sound like he went peacefully in his sleep.
To the family’s credit I have seen no evidence of a GoFundMe.
I wonder if they still think the pic of a little girl cuddled up with a dog that is at least her size is “cute”?
Show breeders still crop ears of breeds that require it.
Kelly Blackwell, the videos you posted above are shocking to me. Parents shouldn’t let dogs that close to their infants. But more and more people set a bad example by posting these sorts of things on the internet and other people copy the dangerous behavior. We need more public service announcements.