Owner of Dog That Bit Toddler Is Ticketed
www.belleville.com
June 08, 2005, NEW ATHENS, ILLINOIS - The owner of a pit bull that bit a toddler was issued three city ordinance violations by police on Tuesday.
The court date has been set for Justin Hock for July.
New Athens Police Chief Larry Kirk said if found guilty, Hock would most likely receive a fine for violations on the restraint and tagging of the dog. The ordinance violations are considered misdemeanors, Kirk said.
Hock could not be reached for comment.
Hock's pit bull, Zena, bit 22-month-old Mike "Mikey" Kilgore on May 18, tearing the toddler's lip and mouth open and puncturing his head.
Hock was not home during the dog attack. Mikey went to pet Zena, who was chained outside in the parking lot of the boy's apartment complex, when the dog snapped.
According to Mikey's father, Mike Kilgore, the boy had to have cosmetic surgery and stitches to repair his face, eye, mouth and head.
The dog was quarantined for 10 days and released to the owner, said Jim Jacquot, director of animal services in St. Clair County.
Jacquot said he contacted the state attorney's office to see whether he could hold the dog until the investigation into the attack was complete, but was told there were not any grounds to hold Zena.
Since the dog has been released, it has not been at the complex and is being held somewhere outside New Athens, Kirk said.
The owner of the complex at 501 Chester St., Mike Loezing, said since the attack, he has asked for the removal of all dogs. He has given residents until the end of this week to comply.
Jacquot said the dog could be declared a vicious animal.
To declare a dog vicious, the state's attorney would have to take the case and present it to the court.
A judge could declare Zena a vicious animal if she meets the following requirements: She has been recorded in three separate dangerous instances or on the severity of a recorded act, said Jacquot.
"If a judge determines a dog is vicious, the owner can keep it, but they must put it in an enclosure," Jacquot said. "If the dog is found outside of that enclosure, then the pet will be put down and the owner charged with a felony."
He also said once an animal is declared vicious, it can't be sold to someone else, and the owner must report the dog's history to the city where he moves.
