By Brian D. Sabin
Special to Inside
A Lincoln Park group best known for helping to establish dog-friendly areas throughout the city is making sure that animal abusers go to jail.
The Dog Advisory Work Group, or D.A.W.G., began in 1998 to bring together dog owners and non-dog owners to solve a growing problem created by dogs in public places. Now the organization is turning its focus to violence against animals that can happen behind closed doors or in dark alleys.
"Abuse doesn't stop with animals," said Barbara Chadwick, D.A.W.G. court advocate. "It moves to animals with two legs."
Chadwick and three other advocates, Holly O'Mara, Tokiko Takeuchi and Marianne Wielgosz, were honored at D.A.W.G.'s sixth annual celebration on Nov. 1 at the Chicago Firehouse Restaurant, 1401 S. Michigan Ave. The event also paid tribute to area legislators, organizations and others who understand the link between animal cruelty and more heinous crimes.
Chadwick attends court hearings involving animal abuse or dog fighting, like nearly 100 other D.A.W.G. court advocates this year. In these crimes the pet owner is most often the offender. The victim would have no voice without a D.A.W.G. volunteer.
"We're a ministry of presence," Chadwick said. "Just being there puts people on their toes. They know someone is paying attention."
The evening also honored Joan Patricia Murphy, 6th District Cook County Commissioner, for her role in the creation of Partners Against Animal Cruelty, a county-wide effort against neglect and violence against animals.
"Some prosecutors and State's Attorneys might not see this as a big deal, and might not sentence to the fullest extent," said Murphy. "We want to make everyone aware that dog fighting is a class 4 felony that can send you to jail, because children who grow up with animal violence become desensitized to all violence."
Cynthia Bathurst, D.A.W.G. co-founder and honorary director, began the event by showing two new public service announcements from the Chicago Police Department. The announcements link dog fighting to gangs, drugs and guns, and tell viewers that dog fighting and related crimes merit jail time. One is narrated by Dana Starks, First Deputy Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, who attended the event.
"Animal violence is so interrelated to other violence we see on the streets," Starks said. "Many of the individuals involved in dog fighting are the individuals who later commit aggravated battery."
State Sen. Don Harmon received an award for sponsoring House Bill 315, which provides funding for spaying and neutering the pets of low-income residents. The bill is known as "Anna's Law" in honor of Anna Cieslewicz, who was killed by a pack of stray dogs while jogging in the Dan Ryan Woods. Gov. Rod Blagojevich recently signed the bill into law.
Tenth District Commissioner and Lake View resident Mike Quigley was honored for helping to establish a dog-friendly area at Beck Lake.
D.A.W.G. was a committee of the Lincoln Central neighborhood association when Bathurst was the association's president. The committee later added Stacey Hawk, a member of the Wrightwood Neighbors Association who had helped create Chicago's first dog park, Wiggly Field, at 2645 N. Sheffield Ave.
Hawk owns a dog. Bathurst does not. Cooperation between those who own dogs and those who don't became part of the organization's operational model. By working together, owners and non-owners can create dog-friendly areas that both sides can accept.
Today the organization is at least partially responsible for all of Chicago's dog parks and has helped create more than 50 dog friendly areas nationwide, Hawk said.
D.A.W.G.'s next court advocacy and violence prevention meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, at the 18th District police station, 1160 N. Larrabee Ave. |
