Dog Mauls Little Boy in New Athens
www.belleville.com
May 20, 2005, NEW ATHENS, ILLINOIS - A 22-month-old boy was mauled by a pit bull Wednesday afternoon on the parking lot of an apartment complex.
Mike "Mikey" Kilgore was petting the 40-pound pit bull when the dog snapped, tearing the toddler's lip and mouth open and puncturing his head. Mikey's dad, Mike Kilgore, said his son had to have cosmetic surgery and stitches to repair his face, eye, mouth and head.
New Athens Police Chief Larry Kirk said police were investigating. Kirk said the same dog attacked a woman two to three weeks ago, but didn't break her skin.
Kilgore, a Millstadt resident, said he was at the apartment complex working on a car he bought with a friend. "Mikey and his sister, Paige, and several other kids were running around playing. Zena, the pit bull, was chained at the opposite end from where I was working," Kilgore said.
Mikey was petting the dog as he usually does.
"The guy who owns the dog wasn't there. The dog was on a chain outside. I had no reason to believe the dog was vicious. I turned my back five seconds and stepped inside an apartment to get a drink. I was just in there five seconds. I heard the girl upstairs say, 'That dog bit that kid.' I ran outside, heard Mikey screaming and crying. He was terrified," Kilgore said.
As Kilgore rushed toward the dog, it started backing away, with Mikey trying to hit the dog with his hands. "I was able to snatch Mikey away from the dog. I pressed his face, that was all covered with blood, against my shirt. A friend drove us to the hospital," Kilgore said.
The owner of the dog could not be reached for comment Thursday.
At his aunt's home Thursday, Mikey was running around and playing. His face was still swollen and the right eye was almost shut.
Kilgore said: "I want that animal put down. He was aggressive."
A St. Clair County Animal Control officer went to the owner's home to get the dog, but the owner said the dog wasn't there. Jim Jacquot, director of animal services, said the owner has 24 hours to bring the dog into the pound or to a veterinarian.
He said the dog, whose rabies shots expired in March, would be quarantined for 10 days to be observed for rabies.
Jacquot said an animal is considered dangerous after three bites. It takes a court order to have the dog destroyed.
