2 Pit Bills To Be Euthanized Following Recent Attacks
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two dogs will be euthanized after police say they viciously attacked two children in two different cities within several weeks of each other. The families involved are continuing to question if the second attack could have been prevented.
CBS 2's Audrina Bigos reports Park Forest Police say the two dogs have continued to act aggressively while they have been quarantined.
Police said their aggressive behavior combined with the severity of the attacks over such a short period of time is why they have decided the dogs will be euthanized.
The first attack happened last month in Munster, Indiana.
"Out of nowhere these two dogs showed up. My mom was pulling them back like a tug of war," recalled Sacha, a victim attacked by the dogs in Munster. 15 miles away from the first attack, the dogs mauled a little girl, Nadia.
"She wasn't just bitten, she was mauled," Nadia's mother, Ravyn Esco stated.
Police say the same two pit bulls involved in both attacks escaped both of their owners.
"You knew those dogs attacked another little boy and almost took his life. Why would you put them back knowing what they could do?" questioned Esco.
After the first attack, Munster Police said the two pit bulls were quarantined for ten days at the Coyne Veterinary Center. The center said they were tested for rabies and then released back to their owner, which is what Indiana law requires after a bite: ten days of observation. Munster's principal code requires the same.
Jenny Webber with the Hobart Humane Society is not involved with the case, but knows the laws well.
"In the state of Indiana, the responsibility of the pet falls on the pet owner," Webber stated.
The first owner refused to talk to CBS 2, but gave the dogs away to someone in Nadia's neighborhood in Park Forest where the second attack occurred.
"Some cities and towns do have the ability within ordinances to deem a dog dangerous and therefore request that it be destroyed or euthanized," said Webber.
Munster Police, however, tell CBS 2 they do not have the power to make that decision. Across the state line, Park Forest Police deemed the dogs dangerous and made the decision to euthanize them.
Both dog owners have been cited. A question remains if the first owner told the second owner if the dogs have attacked before. Park Forest police say there are conflicting stories regarding the communication between the dogs' owners.
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