The Case of the Caged Pit Bull

NOTE: i wrote this a few days ago and planned to post it later in the week. but yesterday a 5-year-old boy was attacked by a pit bull in Roselle, IL. i’ve included the article from NBC5.com underneath the extended post link at the bottom of this entry. though i don’t deny that pit bulls are capable of killing humans, we don’t often see the other side of the story. this story is for all pit bulls who unwittingly carry a notorious reputation, as a result of cruel owners who exploit them for fun and profit.
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March 2003. around 3am one Monday morning, Brian and i woke up to loud, persistent barking. in the year-and-a-half that we had lived in the bloggo-partment, we never heard dogs barking at night; or if we did, it didn’t bother us, and there are lots of dogs in the neighborhood.

i didn’t have to work on Monday, and decided to spend the time reading by the bedroom window. it offers plenty of light without being directly in the sun. then i saw it.

in the backyard of The Drug Dealer’s House was a pet carrier large enough for a full-grown pit bull. and that’s exactly what it contained–the source of the barking.

two thoughts came to mind: 1) the dog was so vicious that it needed to be caged. the wrought iron gate to the backyard was always open and The Drug Dealer didn’t want the dog to escape. additionally, he had a toddler who often played unsupervised in the enclosed yard; 2) abuse, neglect.

as i listened, it was clear that the barks weren’t out of defiance: they were cries. the dog cried for attention.

for the rest of the day i alternately read and watched the dog, whose face was clearly visible even from my 2nd story window. its face was tan, and a white blaze ran from the tip of its nose up past the top of its head. absolutely gorgeous.

the dog turned in circles inside the carrier, barked, cried, whined. based on its motions, it was obvious that it didn’t have food or water. there wasn’t any of the clattering that normally accompanies bowls being kicked by their 4-legged owners.

it was early evening before the dog was allowed out of the pen. it hadn’t pooped or peed all day, unless it let loose in the carrier, no longer able to hold it in. one of The Drug Dealer’s younger brothers, a boy of about 14, opened the cage door just wide enough to slip his hand inside. he smacked the dog’s head, but waited several minutes before finally letting it out.

with a vigorously wagging tail , the dog happily ran circles around the yard, as if being allowed outside of the cage was the greatest thing in the world. and at that moment, i hope it was. the dog just wanted to play.

however, its freedom was short-lived. the dog was forced back into the carrier where it remained for the rest of the night and most of the next day.

i’m normally reluctant to get involved in others’ business, especially strangers’, and most definitely that of a known drug dealer. however, i couldn’t stand by and let this maltreatment continue.

i called the police department’s non-emergency number and was instructed to call 311. still, i was hesitant to get involved.

as i left for work that afternoon, i saw a policeman at the gas station and parked next to him. i told him what i saw, what i knew about the neighbor, and about the rooster from 2 years before. maybe i watch too many crime dramas, but it was obvious there was illegal activity being conducted 2 doors down.

he asked for the address and then got in his car to check things out. he, too, advised me to call 311 to report the incident, which i did as i drove away. the operator asked if i wanted to leave my name. no thanks.

i returned home around 10pm and went straight to the bedroom window. the carrier was still there, illuminated by the street lamp in the alley, the door wide open, the night still.

accessed 10/25/04

NBC5.com
5-Year-Old Recovering From Pit Bull Attack
Pit Bull Jumps Fence, Attacks Boy In Roselle
POSTED: 6:51 AM CDT October 27, 2004
UPDATED: 11:56 AM CDT October 27, 2004

ROSELLE, Ill. — The owner of a 120-pound pit bull in Roselle, Ill., said he would destroy the dog, after it somehow jumped a 6-foot fence and attacked a 5-year-old boy and a woman on Wednesday afternoon.

Images: Pit Bull Owner Interviewed
Video: Pit Bull Owner Interviewed

NBC5’s Lisa Tutman reported Wednesday morning that Anthony Duffy, 5, was recovering from surgery at Alexian Brothers Hospital, in Hoffman Estates, to repair severe bite wounds to his hands and head.

Anthony’s father, also Anthony Duffy, told NBC5 that his son is “a brave little trooper.”

“They did a great job patching him up,” the father said. “From an aesthetic point of view, anyway, it’s all on the back of his head and areas on his back and arms, so areas that you really won’t be able to see too much later on when he grows up a little bit.”

The boy had just gotten off a school bus Tuesday afternoon when the dog attacked him.

“I’m very sorry for what happened,” dog owner Jason Devincent told NBC5’s Amy Jacobson Tuesday night. “I used to watch the kid in pre-school. I feel really bad.”

A man who happened to be working on a home nearby acted as a Good Samaritan when he saw the attack. He joined the child’s mother to help the boy get away. The boy was bitten in the head and neck.

“The dog reportedly locked on to the child’s head,” Jacobson said. “The little boy had just gotten off the school bus. With the dog attached to the back of his head, the kindergartener ran into the garage.”

Jacobson said the boy’s mother and the garage repairman Scott Kolokowski beat the dog off.

“I ran over there just as his mother had come outside as well,” Kolokowski told Tutman. “We were both just yelling at the dog and swinging our arms, and finally the dog did let go just long enough to get the child out of there.”

“The boy is very lucky that the witness saw what happened and, also, that the mother came out there and helped the boy away from the pit bull,” Roselle police Sgt. John Lawson told Jacobson.

The dog, named Buster, also bit a 56-year-old woman who lives on the street. She was treated at an area hospital for her wounds and released.

Devincent received two citations in connection with the dog attacks, Jacobson said, and he said Buster would be destroyed Thursday.

“The dog is getting put down. It’s a shame do it to a dog like that, but I cannot allow that. He bit two people,” Devincent said. “That’s not right.”

NBC5’s Lisa Tutman said Thursday morning that the dog’s vaccinations were reportedly not up to date, and the child’s parents were anxious to learn the results of rabies tests on the animal.

Tutman said the boy may be released from the hospital sometime Wednesday, adding that his family, in which he is the youngest of five children, is anxious to have him home.