Residents of Harvey are curious as to why they were not informed that one of the dogs was still on the loose after a mother from a suburban area was savagely mauled by two canines in the city.
In April, Donna Hale, who was 58 years old, was attacked by two rottweilers that weighed 80 pounds each. She has endured a total of seven surgeries since the incident, including one on Wednesday, before she was able to meet with Regina Waldroup. A portion of her foot had to be amputated, and she has completed all of these procedures.
Now, the mayor of Harvey has stated that discussions regarding animal management in the neighbourhood have continued both before and after the attack; however, citizens are requesting more action to prevent incidents that are like to the one that occurred.
During the assault, the two dogs were seen on film mauling Hale, pulling off her clothing and dragging her up and down a street in the suburban subdivision. The abuse was captured on tape.
“They dragged me up and down the street, and I’m yelling, and how strong they were,” she added. “They were able to do this.”
One of the dogs was shot by a witness to the attack, and it was subsequently put down by Cook County Animal Care and Control. However, the other dog was not located following the event.
It was a terrifying scene for a woman who was 58 years old as she was being carried up and down a suburban street in Harvey while being mauled by a pair of dogs.
As of right now, people are demanding explanations as to why they were not informed of the attack and why one of the dogs had not been found.
Someone said, “These are city streets, and if you are walking around, it is their responsibility,” and they have the right to do so.
I was first made aware of it by the news this morning. An additional person stated, “I believe that the city ought to have issued a warning.”
Officials from Cook County have stated that it is up to the individual municipalities to decide whether or not to send community notifications in the event that incidents take place inside their jurisdiction. At this point, we have not received a response from the office of Harvey’s mayor that we attempted to contact in order to obtain a statement regarding the matter.
Concerns regarding the management of animals in the community were the primary topic of discussion at a recent forum, which was also attended by the Anti-Cruelty Society and other organisations that advocate for animal rights.
“There were some people who were aware that the dogs had been out and about for quite some time, but there was no action taken, and we didn’t find out about it until, of course, it was too late,” said Mayor Christopher Clark. “There was no action taken.”
The information that was presented at the community meeting revealed that there was a single complaint about a dog attack that had been received during the month of January, but that there had been a total of 78 calls for animals that had become loose in the community.
In the month of February, there were a total of 38 complaints lodged regarding animals that were loose, and in the months of March and April, there were 95 complaints lodged.
According to the officials, the city has recently employed two cops to particularly address animal control concerns in order to get the situation under control. The training of the cops is being provided by Cook County at no cost, and it is anticipated that they will be on active duty by the month of July.
Although those cops will be of assistance, Clark emphasised that the community must also play a role in the situation.
In order to prevent something like this from occurring, he stated, “That is the reason why we want the dogs to be registered, and why we want the microchip, and the reason why we want people to be more responsible or to own this.”
