Waukegan woman injured in attack by pit bulls

A 19-year-old woman was severely injured Thursday after being attacked by two pit bulls as she walked along a Waukegan street.

Police said the unidentified woman was on the 2100 block of Waverly Place about 12:30 p.m. when she passed a yard where three pit bulls were chained to the porch. Two of them broke loose.

"While attempting to pull away from the porch, their collars broke," said Waukegan police Cmdr. Wayne Walles.

The owner, whom police did not identify, heard the attack and was able to remove the dogs from the woman, Walles said.

She suffered serious injuries to her scalp and ear and several bite marks to her body, police said. She was taken to Vista East Medical Center in Waukegan. Information about her condition was not available Thursday evening.

The dogs were removed by the city's animal control authorities and held for observation, as is standard practice with a dog bite, Walles said. A determination will be made with what to do with them, he added.

The dog owner was taken to the police department.

"He was spoken to by the detectives," Walles said. "No charges have been filed at this time."

Police had not spoken to the victim as of Thursday evening. Walles did not have further detail regarding the dogs or the circumstances of the incident but said such attacks are rare in Waukegan.

Waukegan has ordinances regarding dangerous dogs, which are defined as a dog that has "aggressively bitten, attacked or endangered or has inflicted severe injury on a human being without provocation on public or private property."

A violation of ordinance is a civil offense punishable by a maximum penalty of $500.