Kane County Sheriff’s Office honors man who saved a woman from a vicious dog attack

KANE COUNTY-Chris Shanahan of St. Charles was recently recognized by Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain with the “Heroic Citizen Award” during the March 8 Kane County Board meeting.

According to Hain, on the morning of Dec. 13, 2021, Shanahan was driving through his neighborhood on Windsor Drive in St. Charles when he spotted a woman lying on the ground.

The woman, who was later identified as Laura Kizman, 51, was desperately trying to fend off two large Rottweilers who belonged to a nearby homeowner.

Hain states that Kizman was out for her daily jog when she stopped to help the homeowner catch one of their dogs who had gotten loose.

Unprovoked, the homeowner’s two other dogs charged at Kizman and began mauling her.

Having taken notice of the incident, Shanahan rushed to help Kizman, but his initial attempts to pull the dogs off of her proved to be unsuccessful.

Realizing the situation was quickly becoming dire, Shanahan, who is a conceal and carry license holder, called his father to retrieve his firearm. Shanahan proceeded to then shoot one of the dogs, causing them both to retreat.

“We are never surprised to see our citizens step up to help one another in this great community. Chris Shanahan is a true hero and it was an honor to recognize him for his swift actions to save [Mrs.] Kizman’s life,” said Hain.

After having been presented with his award, Shanahan received a standing ovation from Kane County Board members.

“I was prepared to do this for anyone. It didn’t matter who the victim was in this particular incident. I was committed to stopping and preventing what could have been a terrible, terrible tragedy,” Shanahan told board members.

Shanahan indicated that his sense of urgency escalated when he realized it was Kizman who was under attack.

“It put me in the situation where I had to diffuse it anyway I could so ultimately, she was able to go home to Mike (her husband) and be there for the moments that matter for their four kids,” Shanahan said.

As a result of the attack, Kizman suffered life-threatening bite wounds to her arms, legs, and head, and was subsequently airlifted to Downer Grove’s Good Samaritan Hospital, a level one trauma center, where she underwent emergency surgery. Kizman spent 24 days in the hospital.

Kizman later filed a lawsuit against Steven and Ann Dorando, the dogs’ owners, accusing them of failing to take proper precautions to control them.

Attorney Tim Cavanagh, who was representing the Kizman family, told media outlets back in January, that Kizman faced having to pay substantial medical bills from the attack and was suing the Dorandos, who did not face criminal charges.

The dog that was shot by Shanahan eventually died. Kizman and her family later revealed that the Dorandos voluntarily had the second Rottweiler euthanized the day after the attack.

According to the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, Kizman is hoping to make a full recovery from the attack.