Dog Fight: Pet Dispute Ends In Punch, Police Say

EVANSTON, IL — A Glencoe man has been charged with battery after allegedly punching a man and pushing a woman as he was returning a lost dog. Police said a married Evanston couple who own a pet service explained they had been walking a client's dog when it broke free and ran away near Dawes Park on Aug. 8.

Todd A. Wade, 56, of the 300 block of Adams Avenue in Glencoe, allegedly found the dog and called the phone number on its tags. The couple, a 50-year-old man and a 56-year-old woman, said they met with Wade, but he began to be verbally abusive and refused to return the dog.

The woman tried to grab the dog to retrieve it, but Wade pushed her in the shoulders, police were told. When the man told Wade not to touch his wife, Wade allegedly punched him in the left side of his body before running away, leaving the dog behind. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news for Evanston — or your community. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

Police said the case was assigned to detectives who decided to charge Wade with two counts of battery. He was arrested Aug. 19 and was assigned a Sept. 27 court date, according to Evanston police.

_{Top photo: Todd A. Wade booking photograph | Evanston PD}