Officers had no choice but to kill dogs

Kane County sheriff's officials say two deputies had no choice but to shoot and kill a pair of aggressive pit bulls last week in an Aurora Township trailer park.

The dogs had threatened one pedestrian, lunged at officers and even tried to jump through the window of a squad car, Lt. Pat Gengler said.

"These were obviously dogs that were extremely aggressive," Gengler said. "Our officers really didn't have a choice in what they had to do. It's not something you want to do."

The shootings happened after deputies responded to a report of stray dogs on the 1100 block of Rural Street on the east side of Aurora, near the Burlington-Santa Fe railroad tracks.

The first deputy on the scene arrived around 10:30 a.m., Gengler said, to find a man standing in the street with one pit bull "standing on his hind legs with its front legs on the guy's chest" and the other barking at him and "showing its teeth."

Gengler said the deputy, a trained K-9 handler, nudged the dog off the man, who jumped into her squad car. Then, a second deputy arrived.

"These dogs were still running around and actually jumping on cars and chasing cars. As soon as the deputies tried stepping out of their cars, the dogs lunged at them," Gengler said.

At one point, police contacted Kane County Animal Control, but were unable to get assistance because the animals were still loose, according to Gengler. He said eventually the deputies followed the dogs into an open area behind a trailer and killed them.

He said the deputy trained to handle K-9s "is somebody who can recognize the dangers here probably quicker than most people would."

Whoever owned the dogs, which were turned over to animal control, hasn't cared enough to inquire about them - and police found no tags, microchips or any other identifying factors.

"People have asked if there was any indication they were involved in dogfights," Gengler said. "I can't say they were and I can't say they weren't. There were no signs (the owners) tried to comply with animal control ordinances."

Speaking of dogs: The sheriff's office picked up a $5,000 donation Thursday from Woodman's Markets and Milk-Bone to put toward the purchase of two police K-9s.

Gengler said the donation would cover a significant portion of the costs for a bomb-detection dog and a narcotics dog.

The funds were presented in a ceremony at Woodman's in North Aurora, and what timing. Gengler said police just had to retire one of its narcotics dogs a couple weeks ago.

"(The donation) was a really good thing," he said. "And it was unsolicited. They reached out to us."

Domestic violence conference: A conference Wednesday in Batavia will focus on the faith community's response to domestic violence in the 16th Judicial Circuit.

The Family Violence Coordinating Council's fifth annual conference is planned for 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Batavia VFW Post 1197, 645 S. River St.

Among the presenters will be singer Marie Barlow, who will share "A Survivor's Story in Song." The event is open to the public.