The Village of Oak Park will hold a hearing tonight to decide if a local dog should be destroyed.
On April 14, a lab-mix dog named Scratchy bit a FedEx employee on the forearm. The dog’s owner was signing for a package when the dog attacked the 31-year-old man, according to the police department.
Scratchy also escaped his Washington Boulevard home last October and bit a man on the leg, a bite which reportedly broke the skin. With multiple incidents on his record, the village impounded Scratchy, said Mike Charley, Oak Park’s environmental health supervisor.
Under Oak Park’s vicious dog ordinance, a panel of three experts will decide whether to euthanize the dog or release him back to the owner under strict rules.
Scratchy is currently at the Animal Care League facility on Garfield. Executive Director Tom Van Winkle said the pup growls, barks, and lunges at the cage when someone comes near. Nearly a month after coming there, staff has yet to take him for a walk because of his aggressiveness.
Van Winkle said the cage could play into his behavior. He isn’t sure the dog is vicious, lacking experience and background with Scratchy. However, he said: “I wouldn’t want this dog living next to me, from what I’ve seen.”
Owner Darby Rosenfeld labeled Scratchy as obedient, protective and a “great dog” that gets along with her two small children. He was reportedly abused before the owners picked him up from Mexico and is afraid of men.
Rosenfeld said the delivery man entered the house to deliver a package, without ringing the doorbell or paying attention to a “beware of dog” sign nearby. She emphasized that the incident happened inside her home, and Scratchy ran away after he bit.
“He’s protective, but he’s not vicious,” Rosenfeld said. “It’s just unfortunate that this person just came into our house.”
The village last held a vicious dog hearing in October, after a German shepherd bit a woman and her dog. In that case, the panel chose a third option, deciding to have the dog shipped to a non-residential area to be trained as a police or airport security dog.
CONTACT: mstempniak@wjinc.com
