Health department concurs with candidate's dog complaint

The Lake County Health Department has concurred with the complaint of 8th Congressional District Green Party candidate Bill Scheurer of Lindenhurst in declaring his neighbor's dog dangerous.

Scheurer said he and his wife were walking their two small dogs past the neighbor's house on May 22 when the English Springer spaniel that lived there came bounding out of the yard and bit the dog Scheurer was controlling, named Lotus.

Scheurer said this was the fifth time the dog had attacked either his family or his dogs, but said they had been assured the threat had passed.

Mark Pfister, director of Population Health Services for the Lake County Health Department, recently told Patrick and Jane Hilliard of Lindenhurst by letter their dog, Snickers, had been declared dangerous.

Pfister added there was at least one previous occasion in which Snickers threatened but did not bite Scheurer's Lhasa apso-Havanese mix.

As a result, Pfister said the Hilliards must pay a $50 fine within two weeks, have Snickers microchipped by Aug. 27 and never permit the dog off their property without being leashed or controlled.

An appeal process was also outlined in Pfister's letter. The Hilliards could not be reached Tuesday.

Patrick Hilliard previously disputed Scheurer's complaint, claiming the wound on Lotus that was being cited as evidence was an old wound that didn't look like a dog bite in the first place.

Scheurer said Tuesday that he was satisfied with the outcome, even though he had not yet received payment for his dog's $203 medical bill.

"That was never the point," Scheurer said of the monetary compensation. "All we wanted them to do was take control of their dog. We're not out to get the dog."

Scheurer is running against Democratic Congresswoman Melissa Bean of Barrington and Republican challenger Joe Walsh of McHenry on Nov. 2. The 8th District includes parts of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties.