Dog attack kills man in home
Daughter was raising animals in their Far South Side home, police say
By Deanese Williams-Harris and Angie Leventis Lourgos, Tribune reporters
January 18, 2010
A Far South Side woman came home to find her father covered in blood, apparently killed by a pack of dogs she was raising in their home, police said.After evaluating the pets on Monday, animal control officials said four adult dogs found at the scene would most likely be euthanized. But they were uncertain what would happen to two puppies that were also there."Dogs don't normally attack people in their own homes, so there's a lot to investigate," said Cherie Travis, animal care and control commissioner.
Johnny Wilson, 56, was found late Sunday with numerous bite marks on his body in the living room of his home in the 10200 block of South Aberdeen Street, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. Other sources said he suffered extensive head, chest and upper body injuries.The medical examiner's office on Monday ruled that Wilson died of hemorrhaging from injuries from a dog attack. The examiner concluded that Wilson's death was accidental.
Police said the dogs were pit bulls. Travis said they're mixed-breed, but she couldn't name the breeds until further evaluation. Animal behaviorist Suzanne Hetts said fatal dog attacks are typically caused by factors such as the personality of each dog involved, how they interact with one another, whether the dogs were spayed or neutered, and their relationship with people in the home.
Dogs in a group can act differently than each would individually. When one dog acts, the others tend to "jump in and do the same thing," said Hetts, an expert with Animal Behavior Associates Inc. in Littleton, Colo.She added that a dog's breed isn't the most important factor."Usually it's a perfect-storm situation, with a lot of things that lead up to the attack," Hetts said.Avantis Smith, 31, a neighbor, said he found it hard to believe that the dogs had attacked Wilson."She had them under control," said Smith, who has lived next door for 20 years. He said the daughter and her family stayed in his home Sunday night. Smith said she was stunned and couldn't explain what had happened.
Smith added that he had seen Wilson walking the dogs in the past."They always obeyed him. I don't see any reason for them to attack him," said Ruffin Davis, 62, another neighbor.A niece of Wilson's said he worked for the post office and his wife died within about the past year.Tracy Wilson, 38, who lives in Virginia, said she came to visit Chicago relatives around Christmas but couldn't see her uncle because he was working too much."And I never gave him a hug. I'm just heartbroken right now," Wilson said.She described him as caring and generous. "He'd give the shirt off his back, that's just how he was," she said.
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