Dog Euthanized After Biting Animal Control Director
(WBBM Newsradio) -- The head of Chicago Animal Care and Control was bitten twice by a dog at the city pound a few days before Christmas and then taken to a hospital by ambulance.
Animal Control Director Susan Russell says it was a mixed-breed dog that bit her almost two weeks ago.
"I'm fine. I did get a bite to the hand and a bite to the leg, but I'm absolutely fine," she tells WBBM Newsradio's Steve Miller.
Russell had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, but she says that is standard policy.
"That's pretty much standard fare. You will do that when you have a bite. You'll go get it checked out. That's important," Russell says.
She says she was bitten as a result of a "redirect."
"A redirect is when an animal is barking at another animal, and unfortunately then you subsequently become the object of the aggression," Russell says.
The dog was euthanized.
The Chicago Sun-Times quotes a frequent critic of Russell – Ward 15 Ald. Ray Lopez -- as saying "generally speaking - dogs are not immediately euthanized when they bite someone ... There are protocols that have to be followed."
Russell responds:
"Well, you know something? When a dog bites a human being and we do know the circumstances it's not often that we're going to keep the dog alive, anyway."
