Juan Ruiz, 66, died after breaking up a dog fight at his home in Kewanee, Illinois.
Victim, Dog Breed Identified
UPDATE 05/02/22: One week after a man died after breaking up a dog fight, the victim has been identified, as has the breed of dog involved. Kewanee Police Chief Nicholas Welgat confirmed Henry County Coroner's office information that the victim was Juan Ruiz, 66 of 819 North Vine Street. The breed of the attacking dog was a pit bull. County Coroner Melissa Watkins said that no autopsy was performed because it was clear the man died from wounds sustained in the attack.
In the nearly 15 year history of this nonprofit, we have only heard a coroner make a similar reference one other time. That was after the death of 40-year old Edward Cahill of Indiana, who was killed by his pet pit bull on Christmas Day in 2014. Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris listed his cause of death as exsanguination, massive blood loss. "This is so clear cut," Harris explained. "There’s no reason for me to spend $2,500 of the taxpayers’ money on something so obvious."
04/30/22: Man Dies After Dog Bites
Kewanee, IL - On April 25, at approximately 12:30 am, Kewanee police and fire were dispatched to the 800 block of North Vine Street after receiving a 911 call of an unresponsive male. "Upon arrival, emergency personnel located a 66-year old male in the residence not breathing and suffering from multiple bite wounds," states a release from Kewanee Police. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The release was issued five days after the man's dog bite death.
Investigators say that earlier that day -- April 24 at about 6:00 pm -- the man tried to break up a fight between two dogs in the home. One the dogs attacked him, inflicting severe injuries. The man called family members, who were out of town, and advised what happened. They told him to "call for an ambulance or go to the hospital" for treatment. Instead, he self-treated by bandaging his wounds. When family members returned to the home that night, they found him unresponsive.
Both dogs were taken into custody by police and impounded at the Kewanee Animal Control facility. "The aggressive dog that caused the fatal wounds was surrendered to the City of Kewanee," states the release. "The dog was then euthanized as it was deemed too vicious and a danger to the community." Kewanee police did not identify the breed of the aggressive dog. The second dog is currently being treated for "multiple injuries" inflicted by the aggressive dog.
The cause and manner of death from a medical examiner's office was not released in the statement by Police Chief Nicholas Welgat, but the nature of the victim's injuries were. One of the dogs "bit the victim multiple times causing severe injuries," states the release. Police did not identify the male victim. Emergency medical treatment is exceptionally expensive in the United States. But the risk of "self-treating" damaging dog bite injuries can come at a very high cost too.
View the DogsBite.org Google Map: Illinois Fatal Pit Bull Maulings.Related articles:
03/12/21: Peer-Reviewed Study Examines Dog-on-Dog Attacks in the UK by Analyzing News...
09/20/18: 2018 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bull Kills Owner in Baker City Who Tried to Stop a Dog Fight
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.
Shades of the Michael Cook case here in Tucson. Happened back in 2011. He tried to break up a dog fight at his house and he paid for that attempt with his life.
This website covered that mauling. Do a search.
I am trying to figure out the psychology here. Not only do pitbulls have zero survival instincts, it appears their owners don’t have any, either.
Did this fellow have health insurance? Was he afraid he’d have to get rid of his dogs or put them down? Did he have enough money for the victim dog’s injuries to be treated?
Part of me wonders if pitbull owners are trauma-bonded to these abusive animals (as in Tiger King) and that’s why they seem incapable of understanding the severity of the bloodshed and mayhem happening right in front of them and sometimes, TO them.
Is it just me or has there been a huge uptick in these events this spring?
An ambulance ride is extremely expensive and you will be billed for it. You can work out deals with hospitals to slowly pay off large bills, but it will wreck your financial life. At 66, he may have had experience with this. Or maybe he just wasn’t thinking clearly due to the shock of being mauled. I’m surprised his family members didn’t call for help on his behalf, from their location.
re: the abuse relationship – I think a lot of people drawn to pit bulls are drawn to the abuse narrative. Many of them are simply nice people who would respond to any dog in distress, and pit bulls are just the largest, most easily accessed group of dogs in distress now. 50 years ago, these nice people would be connecting to beagles and collies in shelters. Today, all they have are pit bulls because rescue groups easily snatch the few non-pits out of shelters and away from euthanasia. These nice people do what humans are hard-wired to do, and connect emotionally with the dogs. And then, when there are problems, they find it difficult to accept that the dogs are uniquely risky.
Of course, there are other people who like the abuse narrative for unhealthy reasons. Women who identify with aggressive and dangerous animals that are also anxious and misunderstood. Men who identify with powerful and dominating animals that are also held blameless when they hurt someone.
I bet the family member is kicking themselves now for not pressing the issue of going to the hospital, or sending a local friend to at least drive over to check on their relative. Too late now.
Since he’s dead, we just have the family members’/pit owners’ word for what they told him. I find it much more likely that he called his family saying the dogs really hurt him and that they should come home because he was going to call an ambulance, and they told him to stop exaggerating and he was making too big of a deal of it, it would be expensive and it would get their beloved Maulie killed. But that’s just my cynical guess based on years of reading these kinds of stories.
Choosing to own the few types of dogs that inflict severe, life threatening injuries can be exceptionally expensive too. This risk is a poor choice that can exact a high price.
If they would release more information on the dogs maybe a few people would make better choices. We can probably assume he wasn’t breaking up a fight between a King Charles Spaniels or pugs.
No one knows if the victim would have survived with medical care. The injuries were so severe that they killed him.
Why people keep vicious dogs is weird to me.
I keep a ninety pound
GSD and totally trust him. He could kill me if he wanted to do so.
Many of the dogs that kill people are smaller than he is. He flunked an evaluation for a police dog.
People who use dogs for protection don’t need killers.
If the dogs were pitbulls why would his family members leave an elderly man to take care of the alleged Pitbulls.same stories over and over pitbull kills someone. But the pitbull defenders sings the same lyrics its not a real pitbull its not the breed is the owner the owner abused the pitbull.after all pitbull killed the most people but they denied every time there’s a fatal pitbull mauling.
People are emerging from cocooning during the pandemic. I have seen more dog walkers than usual in the last 2 months. I was sickened to see pitbulls for the first time in my town six months ago. Now I have seen a half dozen here and the next town over.
New pitbull owners have been coerced w much support from pitbull channel posters like at the extinct b*rd.
Re the bitten man not seeking emergency medical treatment, many medical centers help financially w charitable care afterwards. Sometimes the entire amount is written off. You have to apply for it. Best to get the wounds treated first due to the high probability of infection.
What is it with these darn municipal authorities NOT releasing breed description?!?! What, they think pit bulls no more dangerous than a poodle? Municipal fail.
The Kewanee Police Department confirmed to the Star Courier that the breed was a pit bull.
Why are they treating the other dog?
No one witnessed the attack. No one knows if both dogs attacked him. If it is another pit they have been known to gang up on the person trying to break up the fight.
Even if it is a “normal” breed it could have turned on him. 2 dogs is enough for the pack mentality to kick in. If it is a Chihuahua or somthing they are pretty sure didn’t help kill him, the man’s estate should be paying to patch the dog up, not taxpayers.
Sorry for being off topic, but would anyone here be surprised that I saw a “service dog” come off a Delta flight last week, that was obviously a pit bull?
I would call it “suicide by flying pit bull.” You have to wonder about the lost revenue for airlines like Delta with these “rules” that harm the public. DOT doesn’t factor that in?
Sheer madness! I will never fly again now that I am pit bull aware.
What incredibly selfish citizens these are who bring pitbulls into aircraft cabins!