Mortified over the mauling of their dog by a Labrador retriever, a Palatine family considered moving days after the family pet died.
Olivier Coibion said that he exited the front door of his west Palatine apartment July 3 when a neighbor's dog attacked his leashed Yorkshire terrier, biting and shaking the 8-pound dog in its jaws.
Coibion said he pinned the black Lab down by its throat until the owner, a neighbor, arrived.
Inspecting the Yorkshire terrier, Dixie, Coibion found a flesh wound on her abdomen and brought the pet to a Palatine animal clinic, where she was sutured and released later that afternoon, he said
After a night of vomiting, Dixie died at 7 a.m. July 4 and was cremated at a pet funeral service.
"This was not a typical dogfight incident," said Coibion, who lives in Countryside Apartments on the 1200 block of Sterling Avenue.
'No provocation'
"There was no provocation and no snarling, just an instantaneous and fatal attack by an (80-pound) Lab on an (8-pound) Yorkie," he said.
Palatine police said Brittany Stemmen, 24, was issued two $20 citations for allowing an animal to run at large and to bite another animal.
No history of violence
Though Coibion believed the Lab should be put down, Palatine police said it would remain in Stemmen's care because her dog did not have a violent history in Palatine or in Bloomington, Ill., where it also lived with Stemmen.
"Biting or other violent behavior might enter into a case like this, yet (Cook County) ordinances require nothing more than citations and no executions," Cmdr. Sam Maki said.
Stemmen paid the family $400 in veterinarian bills, but said more money was not forthcoming.
Coibion said Dixie's full-bred worth, past vaccinations and the cremation cost $948.
Stemmen said, "It's hard to write a check for $1,000 with no receipts for those services. I'm willing to take full responsibility for this and make people as comfortable as possible, but I need to be responsible, too."
"I didn't intend for any of this to happen."
She also said she temporarily let go of the dog's leash in the yard when it bolted.
"I don't know why this happened."
"My dog was always laid-back and sweet. I know that in this neighborhood, you could not go outside without encountering three or four dogs. Maybe she was not used to that."
Lab returns to shelter
On Saturday, as requested by the apartment complex's manager, Stemmen returned her dog to the Humane Society where she took ownership three years ago.
Coibion said his family eventually decided against moving to Arlington Heights.
"We have to walk through the door where it all happened, which is very upsetting to do because doing so reminds us of Dixie," he said.
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