9-year-old girl attacked by unleashed dog in Chicago

Nine-year-old Natalie Sieracki spent her sister’s softball game Saturday night doing cartwheels on the Horner Park grass. She only noticed the large, unleashed dog nearby when it attacked her.

When she broke away from the animal, she ran towards her parents in the stands, screaming and crying. Her back was covered in bite marks. Blood streamed from her leg.

“She was traumatized,” her mother, Marci Sieracki, recalled Tuesday. “She writhed in pain. It was just terrible.”

The attack has led to growing frustration among some residents over the dogs being let loose in public. Just a few hundred yards from the attack site is a fenced-in, 25,000-square-foot designated dog park.

“There is no reason why this should have happened,” Sieracki said. “A child should be able to play on the grass and do cartwheels without fear of being attacked by dogs.”

Residents across the city have struggled for access to dog parks in recent years because virtually no green space was otherwise accessible to released animals, and today the Chicago Park District maintains more than 30 dog parks for released pets.

The Horner Park Dog Park, which was first fenced in in 2018, was made possible through a $250,000 fundraising effort. It features landscaping, lawns, a water feature and a separate area for small breeds.

Outside “dog-friendly areas,” animals are required by law to be restrained. Dog owners who violate the leash requirement face a $300 fine, according to the city’s municipal code. If the violation results in “serious injury” to another person, the fine can be up to $10,000.

Although dog bites do occur, they rarely make headlines in Chicago. In 2022, a man was fatally mauled by dogs on the far south side. In 2012, a jogger was critically injured by two pit bulls at Rainbow Beach Park.

According to Chicago police, the dog’s owner remained at the scene Saturday in Horner Park and was issued a citation. It is unclear how often leash requirements are enforced.

“The Park District does not have the authority to issue citations and therefore relies on agencies that have that capacity to assist in complying with leash laws,” a Park District spokesperson said in a statement.

Natalie remained at Lurie Children’s Hospital for five hours while doctors treated her wounds. She has doctor’s appointments scheduled all week.

For the first two nights after the attack, she could only fall asleep next to her parents.

“She said, ‘Every time I close my eyes, I imagine the dog attacking,'” Sieracki said. “We keep telling her how brave she was.”

Weeks before the attack, Lincoln Square resident Melody Cross emailed local officials to express her concerns about released dogs. She said she was treated with indifference.

Cross said the number of dogs released in parks appears to have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The boldness and audacity has increased since that time,” Cross said. “They just let their dogs run free.”

Cross knows the Sieracki family through her daughters’ softball team and Girl Scout troop. When she heard about the attack on Natalie, she was angry. She couldn’t believe someone would let a dog run loose near a children’s ball game.

“I’m just so angry that people think they can break the law this way and that their dog is ‘just friendly,'” Cross said. “It makes me angry and it scares me.”

Other residents also described dozens of dogs released in Horner Park, particularly in the early morning and late evening.

At Horner Park there were only two dogs in the designated dog park late Wednesday morning. Several owners had taken their dogs off the leash on the lawn to play fetch. The park’s winding path was dotted with joggers and pedestrians as the sun set.

Adan Sandoval threw a tennis ball across the lawn for his husky, Ziggy. He almost always lets Ziggy loose in the park, but no one has ever approached him with concerns.

“I think in general people know their dogs,” Sandoval said as Ziggy skipped past him. “I’m not too worried.”

On the other side of the field, Meher Ali Owens threw a ball for her terrier. She goes to Horner Park every morning with her puppy — the designated dog park is full during peak morning times, she said.

“It’s such a wide open space,” Owens said, pointing to the field. “And the police don’t enforce it, so it doesn’t feel like a violation of the rules.”

Adjacent to Horner Park is the Found Chicago Boarding & Training Center. Every morning, owner Fabian Romo-Vargas looks out the second floor window of the building and sees the number of dogs released. He has never heard of an owner being issued a ticket.

His advice? “Just don’t do it,” he said. “You really have to invest in the dog and make sure the dog is exhibiting conditioned behavior.”

Walking a dog off-leash if it runs away or approaches another animal can also pose a risk, he said. And leashes are not a replacement for training. According to Romo-Vargas, animals in dog parks should also be able to listen to their owner’s commands.

“If you have a dog in Chicago, you have to train it, just because it’s a busy city environment,” Romo-Vargas said. “If your dog is not trained, do not take him off the leash under any circumstances.”

A woman who gave only her first name, Hannah, watched her toddler drink from a water fountain while clutching her Labrador’s leash. She said she would never let her lab go into parks.

“Animals are unpredictable, and for their own safety and the safety of others, I prefer to keep them on a leash,” Hannah said. “I don’t know why you wouldn’t.”

Meanwhile, Natalie’s wounds are still open and healing. The dog’s vaccinations were up to date, which helped protect her from infection. She returned for her first full day of school on Tuesday.

But Sieracki is still frustrated. For them, the attack was completely avoidable.

“Follow the law. Put your dog on a leash,” Sieracki said. “There are children and adults who are afraid of dogs and there is a risk of such terrible things happening.”