Marijuana? Wow man. Never touch the stuff, myself.
Posted on 11/16/2005 5:00:40 PM PST by Cagey
Toxicology tests are being done on the bodies of three pit bulls shot after they mauled two children and four adults to determine if the dogs ingested marijuana found inside their owner's home, authorities said Tuesday.
The dogs' owner, Scott Sword, 41, of the 6600 block of Hawthorne Drive near Cary, has been charged with felony possession of marijuana and misdemeanor production of marijuana plants, said McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren.
On Nov. 5 police handling the dog attack found five harvested marijuana plants growing in Sword's back-yard garden and more than 30 grams of marijuana in his home,Nygren said.
The dogs, which were killed by police, were sent to a veterinary laboratory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they are being tested for drugs, specifically marijuana, said Edin Mehanovic, the county's animal control administrator.
If the dogs ate marijuana, police want to know if it may have contributed to their vicious behavior.
"Dogs usually don't show aggression if they ingest marijuana, but this is a substance that could potentially have that effect," said Mehanovic, a veterinarian. "I personally think the dogs' behavior has nothing to do with marijuana. In a toxicology lab we will eliminate that."
The children, Nick Foley and Jourdan Lamarre, both 10, were going door-to-door for a Girl Scout fundraiser when the pit bulls got out of Sword's home and attacked them.
Sword had his front door propped open, which allowed the dogs to escape, Nygren said. Four adults, including Sword, were attacked when they tried to help the children.
Nick remains at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where his condition was upgraded Tuesday from critical to serious, according to a hospital spokeswoman. Jourdan was released from the hospital Thursday.
Sword, who lost a thumb in the attack, remains hospitalized, according to police, who declined to say where. He will be arrested on the drug charges when he is released, police said.
Sword has not been charged in the pit bull attacks, officials said.
Meanwhile, the county's new Dangerous and Vicious Dog Task Force is scheduled to meet Wednesday morning to discuss strengthening state and local laws in the attack's aftermath.
"Some people are saying pit bulls should be banned, but in a practical way that is hard to do," said McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler. "Others will say go after the owners, but the laws just aren't tough enough to really do anything."
Silvia Simmons, owner of A and S Rescue, a pit bull rescue organization near Cary, said she hopes county leaders will realize that children need to be protected from all dogs, not just a specific breed.
"We are not against people who are saying we need to make ourselves safe from pit bulls," she said. "Our children need to be safe regardless of what the next scary dog is."
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is working with Illinois legislators to amend a 2003 law that enabled prosecutors to charge dog owners with felonies if their dogs attacked after previously being identified as dangerous.
The law was passed after Ryan Armstrong, then 7, was attacked by a neighbor's Rottweiler near his home in unincorporated Cook County in 2001. The boy recovered, but his father, Jeff, continues to fight for tougher laws to prevent dog attacks.
"The thing is, people have to report vicious behavior in animals," Armstrong said. "Forget about trying to be the nice neighbor."
The ASPCA hopes the law can be amended so an owner could face felony charges even if the dog did not have a history of aggression, said Ledy VanKavage, an attorney with the organization.
The three dogs involved in the Cary-area attack had no history of biting.
VanKavage said 70 percent of dog-bite cases nationwide come from dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.
"We're proposing that any time an unaltered dog is allowed to run at large knowingly and it causes serious physical injury, it would be a felony," VanKavage said.
If the dogs ate marijuana, police want to know if it may have contributed to their vicious behavior.
No, they would of been licking instead of biting...
Or sleeping.
Or eating Ring Dings.
or Ho Ho's...
What, they got the munchies?
I've NEVER seen anyone get violent from pot- including animals. (Yes, I had friends who routinely got their pets stoned.) This is just silly.
And no, I don't do drugs anymore- I got saved long ago.
And for some none pot news......
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1523488/posts?page=1
Marijuana? Wow man. Never touch the stuff, myself.
ANd that article is right in Target!
Pot bulls?
Yeah. That's a good idea. "Let's make the pit bulls hungry".
From the headline, I thought they were applying for a job.
LOL!
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