Verified incident record · 2026-08-18

Rock Falls owner required stitches after dog bit wrist and foot, animal control says

Whiteside County Animal Control told KWQC that a Rock Falls dog owner required stitches after Starsky bit the owner’s wrist and then foot on August 18, 2026.

Nonfatal human bite · stitches reportedBreed: Not reportedRock Falls, IL

Date2026-08-18 · Exact time not reported

LocationRock Falls, Illinois; exact address not reported

Victim(s)1 adult dog owner

Dogs involved1 dog (Starsky); a foster dog was present but was not reported as attacking

Injury severityNonfatal; wrist bite with head-shaking followed by a foot bite; animal control said the dog-bite injury required stitches

Breed attributionNot reportedKWQC identified the dog as Starsky but did not state a breed in the reviewed report. BiteDB does not infer breed from the dog’s name, appearance, circumstances or proposed disposition.

What the record currently shows

Incident summary

Whiteside County Animal Control told KWQC that it received a report on August 18 after a Rock Falls dog owner was bitten by their dog, Starsky. According to the agency’s account, the owner was trying to free a foster dog that had become tangled near a lawn mower, fell and yelled, after which Starsky bit the owner’s wrist and shook his head while maintaining the bite. Animal control said that after the owner broke free, Starsky latched onto the owner’s foot. The agency said the aggressive behavior ended after the foot bite, though Starsky continued to growl. The reported dog-bite injury required stitches.

Legal-status note

KWQC reported that Whiteside County Animal Control still planned to euthanize Starsky despite residents asking that the dog be released to a local animal shelter. BiteDB records that as the agency’s reported administrative disposition at publication time; it does not treat the plan as a court judgment or infer whether the disposition was later carried out, appealed or changed.

Media & source coverage

Video, reporting and source material

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↗Primary incident reportingKWQC — Whiteside County Animal Control to euthanize dog that bit owner; despite pleas to release to animal shelterLocal report cites Whiteside County Animal Control; no third-party image is copied into BiteDB.

Source provenance

Primary record used by BiteDB

Whiteside County Animal Control to euthanize dog that bit owner; despite pleas to release to animal shelterKWQC local reporting citing Whiteside County Animal Control · Published 2026-09-11 · Accessed 2026-09-12

KWQC reported on September 11 that Whiteside County Animal Control received an August 18 dog-bite report involving Starsky. Animal control said the owner fell and yelled while trying to free a foster dog tangled near a lawn mower; Starsky then bit the owner’s wrist with head-shaking and later latched onto the owner’s foot. The agency said the bite required stitches and that it still planned to euthanize Starsky despite pleas from residents to release the dog to a local animal shelter.

Open original source ↗

Additional sources

No additional source was required for this entry; the primary KWQC report citing Whiteside County Animal Control is linked above.

Data-quality notes

What BiteDB does not infer

Breed is recorded only at the provenance level shown above. Missing injury details, dog history, ownership facts or circumstances remain unknown unless a reliable source establishes them. This record may be updated as police, animal-control, medical, court or follow-up reporting becomes available.