Wrong Dog Destroyed After Attack on Child; Warden Placed on Leave

Editor's Note: The victim's mother, Shannen Flores, posted photos of her son taken shortly after the attack. These photos may be too graphic for some readers.

This article was updated at 2:49 p.m. Friday.

The bull mastiff that bit a 6-year-old in the face at Kendall County Animal Control was adopted a few days after the incident – not .

Another bull mastiff, however, was euthanized a few days after Moose, the biter, was adopted to a family living near Lake Holiday, said animal rescue advocate Erik Devick. Moose bit a mailman in Boulder Hill on May 31 before he bit an Oswego boy who had accompanied his father to court-ordered community service work on July 3.

In a phone interview with Patch, Devick said he confronted warden Christine Johnson about Moose’s adoption Tuesday and then relayed the same information to the county board’s Animal Control committee Friday morning. Devick said Johnson confirmed the details at the committee meeting when committee chair Anne Vickery asked her.

He said he learned from “a third party” that Moose was alive more than a week ago but he declined to elaborate.

“I did turn over the information to Anne Vickery about where the dog is, and, hopefully, they’ll have his behavior evaluated before it’s decided whether to put him down,” Devick said.

The Plano resident said he thought county board members should know what was going on at Animal Control, which he said needed an administrative overhaul.

“The fact remains that the dog that did the biting is alive and another dog that didn’t show any signs of aggression was euthanized,” Devick said.

Vickery answered the phone at the Animal Control shelter Friday after the meeting, saying Johnson was no longer in charge at the shelter.

Vickery said she couldn’t say whether Johnson was fired. But Kendall County State's Attorney Eric Weis said Johnson was placed on administrative leave with pay, and that the county board would make a decision on her status with the county at Tuesday's meeting. 

Weis said the state's attorney's office is providing legal counsel for the board and the Animal Control Department, but is not yet involved in the case beyond that.

Vickery said she had believed Moose had been euthanized until she learned otherwise at the meeting.

“We owe the public a huge apology,” Vickery said. “We were not told the truth. From the bottom of my heart, and as God is my witness, I had no idea.”

However, Shannen Flores, the 6-year-old boy’s mother, held both Vickery and Johnson responsible for telling media that Moose had been euthanized. Their leadership was embarrassing, Flores said.

“[Vickery has] had multiple weeks to get the correct information and present that to the public, and that has not happened,” Flores said. “… This is not Kendall County; this is not how we want to be perceived.”

Flores also criticized . She said she’d rather see leaders find safe ways for children to interact at the facility than ban children volunteers.

“I think somebody needs to take the bull by the horns, visit some other animal control facilities and get it figured out,” Flores said.

Her son is recovering well, although he will have scars on his cheek, under his chin and on his forehead. Complications while he was receiving treatment placed him in intensive care for four days; he had a follow-up appointment Friday to check his lungs.

For his part, Devick figures the facility needs new leadership, a bigger budget and better networking with area rescue groups.

“It’s just not enough,” Devick said of the proposed changes. “They really need funding. We can build a bike trail … but we can’t send another $50,000 to animal control. It’s ridiculous.”