No More Sad Dog Stories, Please

By Joanna Miller in News on Apr 19, 2006 3:49PM

Chicagoist has a big soft spot for dogs. Seriously, they turn us into baby-talking morons. Which is why this story makes us want to cry.

On Sunday, a 57-year-old man drowned after he jumped into Lake Michigan to rescue his pet boxer that was stuck in the rocks near a seawall. It’s not clear if the dog jumped or fell into the water or if it survived. The man, a Polish immigrant, was known to be very dedicated to his dog.

We can’t even stand to think about seeing our dog stuck in such an awful situation. We’d certainly do anything we could to save it. Rescue officials, however, are urging dog owners to call 911 instead of jumping into the lake to save a pet.

There’s no word on whether the dog was leashed or not. But, at the risk of sounding like a nagging mother, we’re going to go ahead and urge dog owners to keep their pets on leashes. Please – we really don’t want to write any more of these stories.

And to the guy from Madison County who broke into the pound to free his dog after authorities captured it running loose: You should definitely consider keeping your dog on a leash. Faced with $125 in fines to reclaim his dog legally, the 20-year-old man released his dog and three others – as a distraction. Nice.

He’s now in jail facing two counts of burglary with bail set at $50,000. Oh, and Animal Control is taking his dog back.

UPDATE: Hey! We said no more sad dog stories, remember? An 18-year-old man from Aurora decided that his pet pit bull would look “prettier with no ears,” and so he thought it would be a good idea to cut them off. He was nice enough to heat the scissors “so it would not hurt so bad.” The dog has been taken to a local animal hospital for treatment, and the man is in custody charged with felony cruelty to an animal.

curbs via swanksalot