The wounds from a canine chew Krysten Kelly suffered over the summer season are scarred over, serving as a painful reminder.
On a late August night, a lady and a person with two children and two dogs, on-leash, have been walking previous her at Sunnyside Avenue and Clark Street in Uptown. Kelly had her canine, a Chihuahua, in a bag slung over her shoulder.
The girl walked by and the canine jumped up. Kelly thought it was pleasant till it bit her left breast. The canine jumped up once more towards her face, which she blocked together with her left arm, getting bitten once more.
Then, Kelly stated, the house owners turned and walked away, leaving her in “complete shock” and bleeding on the sidewalk.
“I honestly thought the dog was going to be a friendly, put its arms on your shoulder type of a dog because there was no growl … There was nothing, no warning at all.”
Krysten Kelly, who was bitten by a canine within the Uptown neighborhood in August, sits on the Ohio Place Dog park earlier this month.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Citywide, there have been a complete 5,952 canine chew complaints fielded by the town since 2019, according to a WBEZ analysis of 311 data. Complaints had dropped throughout the pandemic however have lately gone again up; there have been 1,054 complaints in 2023 via mid-October.
In Uptown, the place Kelly was bitten, 127 complaints have been filed up to now 4 years, the next quantity than all however a dozen of the town’s 77 group areas.
Still, whereas canine bites over the previous few years have taken place all throughout the town, together with in communities reminiscent of Uptown the place there are a number of canine parks, the communities with the best variety of complaints are largely on the South and West sides, which provide fewer such assets for dogs and their house owners.
Through mid-October, the Lower West Side, which incorporates most of Pilsen, noticed the best variety of complaints with 260. Austin, on the West Side, was second highest with 252 complaints. Those two communities don’t have any public areas the place dogs can run free and unleashed.
Austin “has been historically underserved by the city of Chicago,” stated Armando Tejeda, a spokesperson with the town’s Animal Care and Control.
“When you compare it to places like Lake View, there’s almost a pet store on every other corner, there’s vets all over the area, but everyone that lives in Austin, they’re secluded from all these pet resources that other neighborhoods do have,” he stated.
Toya Reed (from left) and Alionna Murphy watch as Susan Cappello, performing government director Chicago Animal Care and Control, shows canine collars on the POPCourts! Community Plaza in Austin late final month.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Addressing inequity in Austin
To present extra assets for pet house owners in Austin, Roseland and West Lawn, ACC partnered with Rescue Chicago to launch the Leash and Collar Campaign lately.
Lashawna Britton, 23, who introduced her 6-month-old canine, Prince, to a recent Leash and Collar occasion to get him treats, stated she wished there was a canine park or communal canine walking group within the space.
“These dogs don’t know each other,” she stated.
Often when she’s walking her canine, there’s no alternative for the dogs to cease and greet one another. Sometimes, she stated, dogs will growl and bark at her canine on a walk. She stated a communal canine house would assist dogs within the neighborhood familiarize themselves with one another.
Jonathan Polich, a canine coach at K9 University Chicago, stated canine bites typically stem from concern of stimuli or the surroundings the canine is in, however coaching and socialization will help forestall dangerous habits.
Another challenge is stray dogs.
“If there’s an area you’re getting the majority of strays from and then bites are happening, I mean, something definitely needs to be addressed on our part,” Tejeda stated.
The variety of strays within the thirty seventh Ward, the place Austin is positioned, elevated by the lots of in 2023, in response to Ald. Emma Mitts’ workplace. As of October, Austin had 454 stray animal complaints.
Other communities that noticed the next variety of strays included Roseland, which had 396, and Chicago Lawn, which had 368 in 2023, in response to knowledge from ACC. In phrases of canine bites, Roseland and Chicago Lawn had 144 and 142 reported complaints, respectively, in response to WBEZ’s evaluation.
Mitts’ staff stated a number of residents have complained in regards to the variety of strays, an issue exacerbated by flooding this summer season, the alderperson stated.
“The tragic, once-in-a-lifetime, disastrous flooding which occurred in late June and early July this summer also impacted the number of dogs which became suddenly unhoused due to flooded basements and houses,” Mitts stated in a press release.
ACC is hoping that providing free leashes and collars, in addition to different pet assets, in areas that lack fast access to pet shops will assist carry the variety of strays down.
ACC began with outreach in Austin, with workers going door-to-door and asking pet house owners what assets they want to see within the space. Staff additionally went to CTA bus and practice stops to speak to group members, Tejeda stated.
Austin residents talked about that essentially the most useful issues can be access to collars and leashes, vaccine and microchip clinics, pet shops and communal areas the place canine house owners might meet one another.
ACC is working with Mitts to coordinate the opening of Austin’s first canine park — one request ACC workers has heard again and again from group members.
Opening a canine park wouldn’t solely give the group an area to get to know one another, however would additionally assist dogs within the neighborhood familiarize themselves with one another, stated A.L. Smith, Mitts’ spokesperson.
“We want to be able to provide to the 37th Ward residents some of the civic advantages that can help make their lives more peaceful and more enjoyable,” Smith stated.
Alionna Murphy holds Galaxy as he’s fitted for a canine collar throughout the Leash and Collar occasion in Austin, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.
Anthony Vazquez, Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
In the Southwest Side communities of Wentworth Park and West Lawn, organizers efficiently advocated for canine parks of their communities.
Ald. Marty Quinn (thirteenth), who helped coordinate the opening of two canine parks, at 4233 W. sixty fifth St. and 5625 S. Mobile Ave., in his ward this yr, stated he began the method when constituents talked about wanting extra dog-friendly areas on the South Side.
Quinn shaped committees for the 2 parks — Woof Lawn and Wentwoof — and began knocking door-to-door to get public enter. It was essential for him to “work collaboratively” with the communities, he stated. Both petitions garnered greater than 1,000 signatures.
Quinn stated he believes there are various extra alternatives to make pet assets extra equitable on the South Side.
“I believe we’re just touching the surface on the opportunities for collaboration with local veterinarians and with businesses … like pet shops that sell dog food or dog toys,” he stated.
Contributing: Alden Loury and Amy Qin, WBEZ
