National Canine Research Council

Over the past 45 years (1965 – present) there have been 27 fatal dog attacks in Illinois or an average of one (1) fatal attack every 1 to 2 years.

At least 16  different breeds/types of dogs have been identified in connection with these incidents.

The victims were 6 adults, 2 teenagers, 19 children.

One third of the children (n=6) were killed after a parent left them unattended at a relative’s home (grandparent, uncle/aunt) or at an acquaintance’s home.

In 1990, a 6-month-old girl was left alone on the couch of a home her mother was visiting. A young male resident of the home owned a very aggressive intact male dog that he kept on the porch. The dog entered into the house and attacked the unsupervised infant.  (Morgan Park)

In 1994, an elderly Chicago woman was the victim of a relative’s dogs. A 75-year-old Alzheimer’s sufferer was attacked and killed after she wandered into the backyard where her daughter and son-in-law kept two large guard dogs.

In 2005, a 14-year-old girl left her home on a cold winter night. She had not gone one block before loose neighborhood dogs attacked her.  Although the official cause of death was listed as hypothermia, dog bites were listed as a contributing factor.  This unfortunate girl is classified as a dog bite-related fatality since, had she not been attacked by dogs, it is very unlikely she would have otherwise  died from hypothermia.  (Erie)

In 2009, a Johnston City boy was attacked and killed by three dogs after he climbed out  of a bedroom window and entered into the yard where the dogs were kept.  The Williamson County Sheriff’s Department’s investigation into the death of 3-year-old Gabrial Mandrell-Sauerhage found no fault with the adults in the house at the time the child was mauled by family dogs.

The Sheriff said the investigation could not determine which dog started the incident or which dog first bit the child, but apparently more than one dog was involved in the incident.

In 2009, Rosie L. Humphreys was walking her two small dogs when a neighbor’s loose dog attacked one of her small dogs and then knocked her to the ground and mauled her. One of Humphreys’ dogs also died in the attack. An autopsy revealed Humphreys bled to death.

Officials with the Flora Police Department said that a metal “D” ring that attached the dog’s leather collar to a log chain apparently failed, allowing the dog to escape a short time before the attack.  No charges were filed against the dog owner.

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In spite of the negligent, reckless and dangerous practices of some, dogs still pose an incredibly low risk for causing a fatality in Illinois:

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

In 2005,  68 Illinois children died as result of maltreatment (abuse / neglect).

In a single year, 2005, more than three times as many Illinois children died from maltreatment than the total of all children killed by dogs in the state over the past 44 years.

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Fact is, people in Illinois routinely accept far greater risks from ATVs, bicycles and swimming pools than any that are associated with companion animals.

National Canine Research Council