City reviews dog laws

The story of a 4-year-old girl who was severely injured after a dog attack in Carbondale could change regulations on pets and their owners in the city.

Rosie Gordon, who celebrated her fourth birthday Wednesday in a transitional care unit in St. Louis, is recovering from surgery to replace portions of her face taken by an American bulldog in an attack June 19, according to a blog maintained by her mother. The incident has prompted the City Council to discuss changes to city code that deal with treatment of animals.

Seventeen doctors worked to replace Rosie's lacerated chin and lower lip with tissue from her arm, according to the blog. It said Tuesday was the first time since the attack that she was able to eat, drink and speak, and that she is preparing for more reconstructive surgery.

Mayor Brad Cole said the story inspired review of the code because of the severity of the attack, which took place while Rosie, a Murphysboro resident, was visiting the home of a family friend in Carbondale. The owner of the bulldog voluntarily had the pet euthanized after the incident.

City officials have tried to balance the rights of pet owners with safety concerns posed by potentially dangerous animals, Cole said. In the code, a dangerous dog is defined as one that "poses an imminent threat of serious physical injury or death to a reasonable person" when not leashed, muzzled or under the owner's watch.

Three dogs in Carbondale have been deemed dangerous since the city adopted code revisions to define the term in March 2007, said City Attorney Michael Kimmel. In each case, he said, the animal was either moved out of the city or euthanized voluntarily by its owner.

The current policy also allows the city attorney to file action with the court to make a dog classified as vicious, which is defined as one that either bites a person or another animal, attacks a human or domestic animal without justification, or has been deemed "dangerous" three times.

When a dog is classified as vicious, its owner can come under felony charges for any incidents under state law, something Cole said the city should pursue.

Though breeders and operators of pet shelters try to find tendencies that would make a dog threatening, there is no defined rule of thumb for predicting dangerous behavior, said Amy Hecht, manager of Wright-Way Rescue, a no-kill shelter in Murphysboro for dogs and cats.

In trying to find animals a safe home, Hecht screens local shelters for dogs that could be a good fit for families in search of a pet. She said she initially observes the dogs to catch aggressive tendencies.

"Most of our animals do get adopted by families with small children and other pets and we want to make sure it's a well-rounded animal with good temperament and a nice disposition," Hecht said. "Our goal is to place pets in lifelong homes. We don't want to get them back."

But after a dog gets comfortable in a home, its temperament can often change, she said.

It is important for people looking to adopt a dog to find out the length of time the dog has been held, the reason why it was sent there and its bite history, which shelters are required by state law to provide, Hecht said.

She said it is also important to have animals spayed and neutered, another aspect of the code that may come under review. Any animal coming through the shelter must be altered if it is six months or older, Hecht said.

This prevention is especially important in southern Illinois, where the amount of animals without homes has become a problem, she said.

"There is such an overwhelming pet-owner population issue here," Hecht said. "There's so many unwanted pets running around and reproducing at a rate that we just can't accommodate by any means whatsoever."

City staff will review the code to vote on any changes as early as the next City Council meeting Aug. 5, Cole said.

Sean McGahan can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274 or mcgahan@siu.edu.