Hawthorn Woods Residents Want To Have Neighbor's Rogue Dogs Euthanized Following Vicious Attacks

Residents of the Hawthorn Woods suburbs are seeking to have one neighbor’s dogs put down following a series of attacks. One of these put a man in the hospital.

55-year-old Jose Gutierrez nearly died when answering a call for a tree trimming estimate from the owner of the dogs in the suburb.

He was attacked immediately he got out of the truck. He described his ordeal saying he went to the garage door to knock and the hounds came out right away without provocation.

His arm was nearly ripped off, and he suffered deep wounds to the face and legs.

The man was then saved by neighbors that were just then setting up a block party for the neighborhood.

One of the witnesses, Greg Wangler, claimed the man was defending himself with a clipboard, and the dogs brought him down at least three times. He Gutierrez had blood coming out of his arms so he yelled at the owner to call them back and he did.

Apparently, once one of the dogs let go, the others also followed suit. Wangler added that his friend, Larry, placed a tourniquet on Gutierrez’s arm to stop the bleeding. Otherwise, he might have gone into shock from the blood loss.

The police chief for Hawthorn Woods, Jennifer Paulus stated they lawfully control how many animals a person can have at a property.

However, in this scenario, they are within limits, and it is within the property of the owner. She added the manner people train their animals is something currently beyond the control of law enforcement.

The unfortunate thing is it is not the first time the owner’s animals caused problems. In 2012, the village tried to catch and put down the family beagle which had been biting people on multiple occasions.

The family fought the case to the state appellate court, and in 2015; the judge determined the county authorities could euthanize the animals.

The dogs which attacked Gutierrez were a pair of pit bulls and a beagle-pit mix. They are now meant to remain indoors by order of the Lake County Animal Care and Control

The police department has also documented the dogs outside several times since the incident on Friday. Though, the police cannot seize the animals without being provided with a warrant.

Barbara Wichmann, the leader of the local homeowner’s association, stated the long term goal of the neighbors would be to eliminate the dogs. It would also be to make sure the family cannot own dogs in the future.