Deputy shoots dog near Johnsburg after fighting dogs injure several people; at least 1 officer bitten

A McHenry County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed a dog near Johnsburg and at least one deputy was bitten after police responded to a report of dogs fighting and a person injured.

The Sheriff’s Office reported at just before 8 p.m. Thursday that one dog remained in the loose in the area around West Huemann Drive and Stilling Boulevard and advised residents in the area to stay in their homes and to report any sightings of the dog by calling 815-338-2144.

[ UPDATE: 1 dog remains on the loose after series of attacks; neighbors say dogs caused problems before  ]

Residents should “exercise extreme caution for the immediate future,” the sheriff’s office said in an earlier alert to residents when two of the dogs were on the loose.

The animals were described by authorities as pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

Battalion Chief David Harwood of the McHenry Township Fire Protection District said his agency and the sheriff’s office were were dispatched at 5:50 p.m. Thursday to the 2500 block of West Huemann Drive for an animal bite. “It was relayed to us that several dogs were fighting and there was a person with injuries,” Harwood said.

When responders got on scene, the dogs had been corralled into a yard and a front porch and two people were found to have been injured, Harwood said, adding those with injuries were taken to Northwestern Hospital McHenry but that the injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

But while authorities “were assessing the scene, the dogs managed to get out” and charged the deputies, Harwood said. The battalion chief, who was also on the scene, said he attempted to stop the dogs using a fire extinguisher, and the deputies attempted to use Tasers on the dogs.

“Neither were effective” to stop the dogs from biting the two deputies, Harwood said. He said one officer was bitten and treated on scene and another refused medical attention.