When Stanley Lee heard the cries of a jogger under attack by two pit bulls near Rainbow Beach Park, he didn’t hesitate: He grabbed a baseball bat, raced outside and tried to scatter the dogs.
He said he hit the dogs repeatedly, but they wouldn’t relent. “They just wouldn’t let the man go,” he said.
The jogger, Joseph Finley, 62, suffered bites over his entire body. On Friday, he was upgraded to stable condition in Stroger Hospital.
We’re awed by Lee’s courageous split-second decision. The dogs could have turned on him. A bat isn’t much of a defense against two ferocious dogs. Lee’s heroics stand as a bright spot in this horrific story.
In the aftermath of Monday’s attack, many residents in Lee’s South Shore neighborhood are shaken. They’re justifiably outraged that these vicious dogs got free. The owner says someone left a gate open.
The consequences for the owner? He was ticketed for failing to restrain the dogs and not having city licenses for them, authorities said. The fine for failing to restrain each dog starts at $300 and goes to $10,000.
A hefty fine here — a fine with real bite — would be a strong deterrent to careless or clueless dog owners. But why isn’t jail an option when a dog causes grievous injury? If your dog gets out and mauls someone, you should pay dearly. Citizens shouldn’t have to carry Mace or a baseball bat to feel safe against a vicious dog attack in a park.
The question comes up again: What to do with pit bulls? These dogs have been bred over the decades to fight. They don’t back down. They’re bred to withstand pain and keep coming. Even seemingly docile pit bulls have suddenly launched vicious attacks. You want that in your house, around your family?
“The problem with the breed is people get them and don’t socialize them and don’t take them for training and they’re strong dogs,” says Cherie Travis, commissioner of Chicago animal care and control. “The reality is we need to hold people responsible that if you get a dog, you are responsible for everything that happens.”
In 2005, 10-year-old Nick Foley, of Cary, was savaged by two dogs that burst from a neighbor’s home. State lawmakers responded by expanding penalties for owners of dogs declared dangerous or vicious. They also lengthened prison sentences for people who use dogs in gang-related activities. They allowed counties to raise fines for owners whose dogs are caught running loose. They hiked penalties for spectators at dogfights.
Ald. Bob Fioretti wants the city to revisit its animal control ordinance. There’s likely to be talk about a ban on pit bulls, as some cities have done. We sympathize, but the little evidence available to so far suggests a ban on a particular breed is difficult to enforce. First question: Do you grandfather in every pit bull now in the city, or declare they have to be moved or euthanized? A ban doesn’t sound like the answer.
What can be enforced are sit-up-and-take-notice penalties against owners of dogs that seriously harm someone. Dog owners can protect themselves from such consequences through their choice of breed, property security and diligence about not letting their dogs run loose.
Let’s make clear that when a dog attacks, the owner will feel the pain.
