Pit Bull Attacked By Toy

Pit bull attacked by 'Toy'

Capone, a 2-year-old pit bull owned by Garry Laffredi of Waukegan, is recovering after being attacked by a Pomeranian.

By Dan Moran
Staff Writer

WAUKEGAN — Animal Warden Tina Fragassi said she was not surprised when her office fielded a report Thursday about a 10-pound Pomeranian attacking an 80-pound pit bull.

"They stand their ground, those little dogs," she said, describing how one of her relatives has a small mixed-breed dog that charges her own pit bull and Labrador every time the three dogs cross paths.

That's basically what happened Thursday afternoon at a Sunset Avenue apartment complex, where Garry Laffredi said he was walking his 2-year-old pit bull Capone when a neighbor's Pomeranian came running at them.

"(Capone's) not a bad guy. He's real friendly. He's people friendly," Laffredi said. "He loves other dogs. (But) this little Pomeranian ran out and starts biting him on the foot."

Pomeranians, which are classified as Toy dogs by the American Kennel Club, can be as small as three pounds and resemble a fox in appearance, generally having a bushy orange coat and pointed ears.

Laffredi said the Pomeranian bit Capone's foot hard enough "to draw blood" also managed to nick Capone on the top of the head as he tried to pull the pit bull away on a leash.

Eventually, Laffredi said, Capone "grabbed the dog and more or less set him off to the side" before the two dogs were separated.

Citations issued

Animal control officers called to the scene reported that Laffredi told them the Pomeranian also bit him on the hand two weeks ago, but he chose not to report it at the time. The owner of the Pomeranian was issued four citations for Thursday's incident — failure to prevent a dog bite, owning a dog running at large, not possessing a dog license and not having updated rabies shots.
Each citation comes with a $25 fine if paid within 30 days. Fragassi said in cases of a first-time animal-to-animal bite with no current rabies shots, the animal is not seized but the owner must have the dog checked by a veterinarian for rabies after 10 days.

The owner of the Pomeranian declined to speak about the incident, describing it as an unfortunate episode that she wanted to put behind her.