Drug tests done on pit bulls (Cary, Illinois)
anneinchicago
Dogs that attacked 6 checked for marijuana
By Carolyn Starks
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 16, 2005
Toxicology tests are being done on the bodies of three pit bulls shot
after they mauled two children and four adults to determine if the dogs
ingested marijuana found inside their owner's home, authorities said
Tuesday.
The dogs' owner, Scott Sword, 41, of the 6600 block of Hawthorne Drive
near Cary, has been charged with felony possession of marijuana and
misdemeanor production of marijuana plants, said McHenry County Sheriff
Keith Nygren.
On Nov. 5 police handling the dog attack found five harvested marijuana
plants growing in Sword's back-yard garden and more than 30 grams of
marijuana in his home, Nygren said.
The dogs, which were killed by police, were sent to a veterinary
laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they are being
tested for drugs, specifically marijuana, said Edin Mehanovic, the
county's animal control administrator.
If the dogs ate marijuana, police want to know if it may have
contributed to their vicious behavior.
"Dogs usually don't show aggression if they ingest marijuana, but this
is a substance that could potentially have that effect," said
Mehanovic, a veterinarian. "I personally think the dogs' behavior has
nothing to do with marijuana. In a toxicology lab we will eliminate
that."
The children, Nick Foley and Jourdan Lamarre, both 10, were going
door-to-door for a Girl Scout fundraiser when the pit bulls got out of
Sword's home and attacked them.
Sword had his front door propped open, which allowed the dogs to
escape, Nygren said. Four adults, including Sword, were attacked when
they tried to help the children.
Nick remains at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where
his condition was upgraded Tuesday from critical to serious, according
to a hospital spokeswoman. Jourdan was released from the hospital
Thursday.
Sword, who lost a thumb in the attack, remains hospitalized, according
to police, who declined to say where. He will be arrested on the drug
charges when he is released, police said.
Sword has not been charged in the pit bull attacks, officials said.
Meanwhile, the county's new Dangerous and Vicious Dog Task Force is
scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to discuss strengthening state and
local laws in the attack's aftermath.
"Some people are saying pit bulls should be banned, but in a practical
way that is hard to do," said McHenry County Board Chairman Ken
Koehler. "Others will say go after the owners, but the laws just aren't
tough enough to really do anything."
Silvia Simmons, owner of A and S Rescue, a pit bull rescue organization
near Cary, said she hopes county leaders will realize that children
need to be protected from all dogs, not just a specific breed.
"We are not against people who are saying we need to make ourselves
safe from pit bulls," she said. "Our children need to be safe
regardless of what the next scary dog is."
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is
working with Illinois legislators to amend a 2003 law that enabled
prosecutors to charge dog owners with felonies if their dogs attacked
after previously being identified as dangerous.
The law was passed after Ryan Armstrong, then 7, was attacked by a
neighbor's Rottweiler near his home in unincorporated Cook County in
2001. The boy recovered, but his father, Jeff, continues to fight for
tougher laws to prevent dog attacks.
"The thing is, people have to report vicious behavior in animals,"
Armstrong said. "Forget about trying to be the nice neighbor."
The ASPCA hopes the law can be amended so an owner could face felony
charges even if the dog did not have a history of aggression, said Ledy
VanKavage, an attorney with the organization.
The three dogs involved in the Cary-area attack had no history of
biting.
VanKavage said 70 percent of dog-bite cases nationwide come from dogs
that have not been spayed or neutered.
"We're proposing that any time an unaltered dog is allowed to run at
large knowingly and it causes serious physical injury, it would be a
felony," VanKavage said.
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tiny dancer
"anneinchicago" <annein...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1132206007.7...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Now tell me this guy didn't have three pit bulls to guard his pot
growing/selling operation.
td
>
flick
news:1132206007.7...@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Thanks for posting this. Drug testing the dogs is interesting.
I've heard of people drugging pit bulls before fighting them - inner city
dog fights where nobody's going to drug test to ensure the dogs are "clean."
I'm waiting for Bo's post. The jokes write themselves with this one. Hope
he doesn't get real macabre.
flick 100785
>
> ----------
>
> cst...@tribune.com
>
hamburger helper
"flick" <fl...@starband.net> wrote in message
news:44d87$437c82a3$94402b1b$13...@STARBAND.NET...
Yes, because here in the suburbs we test the dogs for drugs before all of
our dogfights.
XOXO
Carrie, smartass
flick
news:dli3e...@news3.newsguy.com...
>
> Yes, because here in the suburbs we test the dogs for drugs before all of
> our dogfights.
Heh. Seriously, there's a heck of a lot of money involved in dogfighting.
I was sure I'd read somewhere that the high-dollar fights, they'd test the
dogs. There are some blood tests that can pretty much be done at home.
So I looked around but couldn't find the reference. I found, instead, lists
of drugs that have been seized at dog fights, which sometimes includes
steroids.
I think my brain short-circuited "steroids" to "drug testing" wrt human
athletes, and therefore my error. Thanks :-).
flick 100785
> XOXO
> Carrie, smartass
>
>