A 14-year-old Evanston girl was hospitalized Monday after being attacked and bitten by a dog on her left arm and knees, police said.
The girl, Melissa Hamil, of the 2200 block of Lyons Street, was riding her bike down the 2400 block of Lyons at about 9 a.m. Monday when she was attacked and bitten by a male shepherd-mix dog, said Cmdr. Michael Perry of the Evanston Police Department. Two officers investigating an abandoned golf cart near the scene overheard Hamil screaming , and were able to track down both her and the dog.
Hamil was found bleeding from the left shoulder. She told police she had been attacked by the dog, Perry said. Hamil was then transported to Evanston Hospital and treated for numerous puncture wounds and scratches to her left upper arm area, left lower chest and knees, police said.
Police spotted the dog on Lyons near Hamil’s abandoned bike. The dog then fled two houses down to a residence at 1807 Lemar Ave., where one of its owners let it in, police said.
Police entered the backyard of the dog’s owner, Marsha Martin, and discovered the dog, named Max, secured in the backyard, Perry said. The dog was tied by its collar to a cable that had been bent open and broken, police said.
Martin told police the dog had been vaccinated at an animal hospital in Skokie and that it had never harmed anyone. She told police that several neighborhood kids had been teasing the dog lately, police said. Martin was cited with a city ordinance violation for leaving the dog out without a leash, Perry said.
The incident will be reviewed by EPD’s animal warden, Bill Andrews, who will decide if any other action should be taken against the dog. Police officials made no mention of whether the dog would be put to sleep because of the incident.
“It depends on whether … the dog has bitten someone more than once,” Perry said. “(If there was reason) the animal warden would write a recommendation that the dog be terminated.”