Posted on February 9, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

2003 Dog Bite Fatality: Anna Cieslewicz, Killed by Pit Bulls While Jogging

Dan Ryan Woods Attack
River Forest, IL - On January 12, 2003, it was reported that two pit bull-mixes attacked two women joggers in the Dan Ryan Woods forest preserve -- seriously injuring one and killing another. The woman who was killed, 48-year-old Anna Cieslewicz of Evergreen Park, was a marathon runner, but even she was unable to outdistance the pit bulls that savagely killed her. Cieslewicz died of injuries she received on her arms, legs, torso and skull.

Cieslewicz wasn't the only victim in the Chicago area attack. Mary Murphy-Smith, 46-years old, was also attacked and managed to make it to Christ Medical Center where she alerted police. She was then transferred to another hospital and listed in serious condition. Police investigating Murphy-Smith's report went to the forest where they discovered the near lifeless body of Cieslewicz. Officers were soon confronted by a pit bull, which they immediately shot and killed.

Within several hours, a second pit bull was shot and killed. As the investigation continued, officials closed Dan Ryan Woods park and did not reopen it for another two months. Near the site of the two attacks, officials found a plastic, igloo-shaped doghouse and fresh dog food, leading them to believe that someone might have been caring for the dogs, maybe training them for fighting. They later learn that a neighbor had set up the shelter and food to help stray dogs.

The park had a stray and feral dog problem. Yet, according to Dr. Dan Parmer, head of Cook County Animal and Rabies Control, the pit bulls were in "excellent condition and not undernourished." Lacking tags or microchips, however, the dogs were unidentifiable.

Mary Murphy-Smith

In the weeks leading up to the attack, Tom Justik, had reported one of the pit bulls for aggressive behavior to Parmer's department. Mary Murphy-Smith had complained to four Sheriff's Preserve Police about the dogs as well. Subsequently, she filed a suit against the Cook County Forest Preserve District charging negligence because they never took care of the problem. All in all, there were over a dozen complaints about the dogs prior to the deadly attack.

Murphy-Smith believed the January attack could have been prevented. While she was being mauled, she thrust a stick into one dog's mouth and dragged herself through two large tree branches dislodging the dogs. Using another stick as a cane, she made her way to 83rd Street and tried to flag down a car. She eventually fell in the street and a nurse stopped to help her. Murphy-Smith suffered severe nerve damage to her right arm and left leg in the attack.

Cieslewicz's family also filed a suit against the District. DogsBite.org did not discover the results of either lawsuit. We did learn that multiple state laws were passed after the attacks. In August 2003, Ledy Vankavage helped pushed through a statewide anti-BSL law. In August 2005, Anna's Law was enacted, drafted by Vankavage, which created a fund to subsidize the cost of sterilizing pets. Owners of "dangerous" dogs had to throw $50 into the fund and "vicious" dogs $100.

3 months later, in the adjacent county of McHenry, a neutered, family pit bull led the catastrophic assault on Nick Foley and five other individuals.

Anna's Law turned into a "pet population" control law, most notably to reduce the stray pet problem. But the dogs that killed Cieslewicz were reportedly not stray or feral; they instead lacked identification. Mandatory microchipping should have been part of Anna's Law.

Posted on February 6, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

Ecuador Joins International Trend: Bans Pit Bulls and Rottweilers as Pets

Mixed Breeds Included
Ecuador - The country of Ecuador is set to ban rottweilers and pit bull terriers as pets, Quito-based newspaper El Comercio reported, citing the health and agriculture ministries. The new rule, which also includes dogs interbred with the two types, will go into effect in March. Care of dogs used by police and private security companies will also be regulated. The ban was announced after a child in Quito was killed by two pit bulls four months ago.

Ecuador now joins the South American countries of Guyana and Brazil that have instituted breed-specific laws, and likely others.

Many foreign countries have enacted breed-specific laws to protect citizens from dangerous dogs and to stop the importation of fighting dogs (pit bulls). Countries DogsBite.org has gathered include, but are not limited to: Argentina, Bavaria, Bermuda, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Guyana, Ireland, Israel, Liechtenstien, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Lativa, Singapore, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands (territory) the UAE, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela and parts of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Honduras, China and Japan.

The pit bull and dangerous dog problem is a world problem.

View: Estimated list of U.S. cities and countries worldwide with with breed-specific laws

Related articles:
01/24/09: South Africa Struggles with More Violent Pit Bull Attacks

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

Lancaster Passes Mandatory Pit Bull and Rottweiler Sterilization Law

Anti-Gang and Dangerous Dog Law
Lancaster, CA - The City of Lancaster unanimously passed a mandatory sterilization law for pit bulls and rottweilers. The new ordinance is also designed to discourage gangs (and owners of dangerous dogs) by imposing strong penalties on the owners of dogs deemed "potentially dangerous" or "vicious." Under the new law, dogs that act aggressively unprovoked may be considered "potentially dangerous" and required to meet the following conditions:

Chapter 6.04 - Animal Control Regulations
Ownership of Potentially Dangerous Dogs (Section 10.37.130)

Proper licensing, micro-chipping and vaccinations
Secure on-property confinement, which must be inspected and approved
Muzzling and leash restraints when off-property
Completion of approved dog obedience course training
Mandatory spay or neutering
Mandatory liability insurance policy of $300,000
All services performed by the City shall be paid prior to the release of the dog, including the costs of the hearing

A dog may be deemed "vicious" if it has been trained for fighting or inflicts injury or death. If so, the vicious dog could be destroyed if deemed a significant threat to the public health, safety and welfare, according to the new ordinance. If the dog is not destroyed, the owner of the vicious dog would adhere to the same conditions of a potentially dangerous dog with more stringent requirements to secure the owner’s property and confine the vicious dog.

Chapter 6.08 - Mandatory Spay Neuter Program
Statistical Reporting (Section 6.08.100)

The new ordinance also includes a vital element that is often forgotten by municipalities. Section 6.08.100 states that the director (of Animal Control) "shall measure the effects of this chapter by compiling statistical information on dog bites. The information shall, at a minimum identify dog bites by severity, the breed of dog involved, whether the dog was altered, and whether the breed of dog was subject to mandatory spay and neutering requirement of this chapter."

Last year, so many loose pit bulls roamed the streets of Lancaster that Mayor R. Rex Parris ordered Los Angeles County Animal Control to implement a Pit Bull Sweep Operation to pick up the potentially dangerous dogs. Combine this with the fact that Lancaster is situated near 5 fatal pit bull attacks in the past 3 years, and it comes as no surprise that the city enacted a breed-specific sterilization law in combination with a tough dangerous dog law.

Posted on January 28, 2009 by Colleen Lynn

Associated Press Comments on the Many U.S. Cities Proposing Pit Bull Laws

The Pit Bull Problem is National
Washington - A recent Associated Press article states that 86 different U.S. cities introduced pit bull laws in the 2007-08 legislative season. The very fact that the Associated Press wrote the article recognizes that the pit bull problem -- and the constant occurrence of pit bull attacks -- is a national problem that cities across the U.S. are struggling to defeat. The article also points out that the state of Ohio is the only state that has state-level law that addresses pit bulls.

The article quotes Gail Golab, the director of the American Veterinary Medical Association's animal welfare division and co-author of the CDC fatal dog attack study. As recorded in a previous blog post, Golab distorts the truth about pit bulls. In the current piece, she says dobermans were once "a big macho kind of dog." But during the ferocious "doberman years" (1979-1985?), the dogs killed 5 people. In this same period, pit bulls killed 26 people -- 30 if you include their mixes.

The AP article fails to address the real reason why municipalities choose to regulate pit bulls. It's not the frequency of pit bull attacks that matters. It's the tenacity of a pit bull attack that leads a city to regulate them. In the last three years (2006-2008), pit bulls killed more U.S. citizens than all other breeds combined. Though serious injury and maiming data by breed is not tracked nationally, one can presume the same is true regarding these types of injuries and pit bulls.

Video Tribute to Attack Victims

We invite all readers to watch our 5-minute video that documents 127 pit bull attacks on humans that occurred across the U.S. in an 85-day period between July to September 2008. The video includes the name and age of each victim (when it was available) and the city and state of each attack. The video also highlights statistical data gathered from the attacks, including the 6 Americans killed by pit bulls during this period, as well as the 12 cities that passed pit bull laws.

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