Attack Fuels Mom's Fight for Tough Dog-Control Laws
By Mike Wiser, Rockford Register Star
April 24, 2003 ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS — Mary Washington's tired eyes look up from the table she's sitting at in the lobby of Rockford Memorial Hospital and she promises: "Somebody's going to pay for what that dog did to my boy." Mary's son, 19-year-old Marco, has been in the hospital since April 11, when he ran into the side of a moving van while trying to escape a pit bull mauling his leg.
Marco's story has recharged debate at City Hall over what to do about dangerous dogs after other attacks in Rockford. Mary's been telling Marco's story to anyone who will listen. If Marco becomes a poster child for a crackdown on vicious dogs, so be it. If not, she plans to pester those in power until they find a way to stop these problems.
But City Hall can move slowly, and even with aldermanic support to rewrite the existing dog ordinance, it's unlikely anything will get done before summer's in full swing.
"If we try to increase the fines, we have to go to Springfield to do it because we're not home rule," says Ald. Dick Goral, who put himself at the front of the council's latest effort to clamp down on dangerous dogs. Home rule allows city government more leeway in imposing fines and taxes. Without home rule, a municipality cannot raise taxes without a referendum.
Goral's working with the city legal department, Winnebago County Animal Services and Winnebago County Board Chairman Kris Cohn to see if they could draft a law that requires dogs to be fenced in whenever they're outside. "If we could get something by the end of May, before summer starts, that would be great," Goral says.
Marco's story
Marco and his cousin, Maurice Wilson, were on their way to the Auburn Street Walgreens store, a few blocks from Marco's home in the 800 block of Central Avenue, to pick up some batteries and headphones a little before 5 p.m.
A pit bull terrier chained in front of a house in the 900 block of Central barked, growled and wheezed as it strained against its leash while the two boys walked past.The dog pulled so hard, it broke its leash and charged. The chase was on.
"That dog, it just jumped off the porch it was on," says Maurice, 13. "I ran back up the block, he ran out the other way and the dog got him." Marco blindly ran into the street and into the side of a 1989 GMC Vandura that was traveling north on Central.
He broke his jaw in three places on the van's passenger side mirror, his head cracked against the asphalt and the dog was killed by the van. "Right now, he's in and out a lot," Mary says during this visit Tuesday. "His speech is all rumbling, but he was able to take a few steps."
If something isn't done, she says, more mothers will be stuck next to hospital beds waiting for their sons and daughters to recover. It's not good enough for her that the dog is dead; she wants the pit bull owner to pay too. That part of the story is still in limbo.
"All I can say is the case is still under investigation and no one has been charged," Winnebago County Assistant State's Attorney Michelle Rock said. Interim director of county animal services Gary Longanecker would not release the dog owner's name until charges have been filed.
Also under investigation are other recent dog attacks, although Washington's seems the most serious in terms of injuries. On April 12, a 70-year-old man suffered a broken arm and puncture wounds when he was attacked by a Rottweiler. On April 14, a stray pit bull attacked a woman in her 70s. She suffered no major injuries.
Other cases
Rock is involved in the case of 14-year-old Tiffany Mesch, who was 14 when she was attacked by a pit bull named Killer last November in the 1200 block of Larch Street.Killer's owner, Victor Marquez, faces up to three years in prison and a fine up to $25,000 for allegedly not keeping Killer locked up after the dog was deemed vicious in 1999. Lawyers with the firm Sreenan and Cain are defending Marquez. His next court date is June 13. Mesch's family could not be reached.
Mayor Doug Scott says the problem does not necessarily stem from a specific breed, but with people who train dogs to fight and attack. Plus, animal control is a function of the county."We are working with our city legal department to see if there is anything else we can do," Scott says.
Mary just hopes Marco will recover."He can say 'Momma,' but I don't want to hear that. I want to hear him say it like he said it before this happened," Mary says. "I want to see him walk the way he walked before this happened."
