Chicagoland Dogs, in the News

By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 17, 2010 3:20PM

Photo by seng1011.

• For Butch, a Rottweiler from suburban Riverside, a microchip embedded in his body was the key to being reunited with his owners. Butch disappeared from his family's yard three years ago, and given up as gone for good. But on Monday, the Simmons family got a phone call from a Lake County, Indiana animal control officer. Butch had been found on a porch in Gary. "It's unreal," Butch's owner Kerry Simmons told the Sun-Times. "I can't believe it." Butch has returned home, safe and sound, albeit neutered, and seems to remember his previous family. "He came right to the living room and the chair by the computer," Kerry Simmons said. "That was his spot. He's lying there now." April Godra, community liaison with Lake County Animal Control, speculated to the Sun-Times that Butch may have been bought at a flea market.
• In Elgin, pit bull lovers are celebrating, after the city council there passed an ordinance requiring owners of dogs designated as dangerous or vicious to carry six-figure liability insurance. The ordinance requires that the dog be declared dangerous or vicious by an animal control officer - rather than simply classifying all pit bulls as dangerous. "I was crying. I am just ecstatic," said Linda Wyka, president and part owner of the Almost Home Foundation animal shelter. "This (breed) gets a second chance." Wyka was concerned that if Elgin banned pit bulls, her shelter would be flooded with abandoned dogs. "It's not the dog, it is the owners that are the problem," Wyka told the Tribune. Council member John Prigge said that, while he still believes that pit bulls are dangerous dogs, giving "pit bull owners a chance to demonstrate that they are every bit as responsible as they've assured me they are," is a fair compromise for opponents of the legislation.
• And in Chicago, a drug-sniffing police dog is retiring with his handler. Lakos, a Belgian shepherd born in the Netherlands, retired after nine years on the force with his handler, Chicago police Officer Sandra La Porta. According to the Tribune, Lakos has helped seize "more than $2.1 million in tainted cash and $1.4 million worth of drugs" in his time on the force. He also defended Officer La Porta twice when she was being attacked by other dogs. "I could not ask for a better partner than my canine," La Porta said. She's looking forward to retirement with the pooch. "We're going on to another journey," La Porta said.