Dangerous Dog: Western Springs Seeks Declaration

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Western Springs police want Cook County authorities to take action related to a dog that attacked a man and killed his dog last month.

In a Sept. 1 letter, Western Springs Police Chief Brian Budds asked Cook County Animal Control to declare Pierce, a 3½-year-old boxer, to be declared dangerous.

A week later, Budds told Patch in an email that he had not received a response from the county agency.

Patch obtained the letter and police reports through a public records request.

Late the afternoon of Aug. 28, resident Emma Cohen's father was walking the family dog, Moxie, when Pierce attacked them on Lawn Drive in the Ridgewood subdivision, police said.

According to the police report, a Cook County Animal Control officer indicated the agency would make sure Pierce's vaccinations were updated and that the case would then be closed.

The animal control officer said she told Cohen that the offending dog would not be taken or euthanized by the agency without "just cause" – in other words, the documentation of multiple acts of aggression and bites.

The report said Cohen and her husband, Scott Cohen, were upset that more could not be done. They said they did not understand how a vicious dog could be allowed to remain in the neighborhood.

A veterinarian tried to treat Moxie, but was unsuccessful. The veterinarian bills were expected to reach $3,000, an amount that Pierce's owner offered to pay, the report said.

Pierce's owner received citations after the incident. The owner told police he put a wire through the fence gate, so the dog could not accidentally leave the yard. The owner said the fence was too high for the dog to jump over.

A day after the attack, another Ridgewood resident reported to police that the same dog attacked her dog on Lawn Drive in June 2021. She said she did not bring her dog to the veterinarian because the animal suffered only minor injuries. Because of that, she had no documentation on the incident, the report said.

Another dog attack happened in the same neighborhood Aug. 29, a day after the recent attack.

A woman told police she was walking her dog, Joey, on a leash on Oak Lane when a dog ran up and bit her dog repeatedly. The other dog's owner separated the animals.

The other owner said his dog, Sahar, spotted a rabbit and ran after it. The owner lost control of the leash, which is how his dog reached the other one.