PIT BULL ATTACK ON 5TH AVE.

jimmy bruch · May 2007

I'm new as of this week to Park Slope and my sister in law who has been here 9 years was on her way to help us unpack. She was walking this morning with her tiny tea cup maltise puppy and just as she neared Lincoln, a huge pit bull jumped from the back of a van and as she lifted her dog by it's leash, this massive pit bull ripped it out of her hands and tore the dog to pieces killing it in a violent attack. a crowd soon surrounded the place, i ran up upon a gruesome sight with my sister in law in screaming hysterics and her dog dead on the side walk. the owners showed no remorse and tried to drive away but were stopped by onlookers. they never mentioned they were sorry and only defended their friendly dog and attacked my sister in law while she was screaming. i picked up the dog and it had been crushed. after a half hour or so of screaming back and forth, the police let them leave with their dog without writing one report or even getting the dogs name and telling my sister in law it falls under property damage and take it up in civil court. there was no concern by anyone about the danger of this dog or any accountability. we spent the entire day calling the aspca and animal humanitarian violations, and every organization passed on by 311 and all was a dead end as long as a person wasn't injured, it wasn't their problem. meanwhile your dog, you or your child could be next to be seriously injured or killed. i need help in trying to get justice here and do something about these pit bulls that are causing so much terror. and if one more person defends these dogs, then come do it to my or my sister in laws face.yes, there are wonderfull pit bulls out there but too often they are aggressive killers. and the worst part is no orgonization will protect you if this happens to you and there are more dog people in park slope than anywhere. we are devistated and lost at this point and need help to rewrite these laws. the story will air on new york 1 and will be in the post today. for all you dog lovers there is no orgonization that protects your animal . especially not the aspca

smallbiz475 · May 2007

Sorry for your sister-in-law's loss.

Thank you for alerting us to this dangerous situation.

SB

restless native · May 2007

Very sad, something similar happened to my ex-gf's dog, only it was a mastiff and not a pit that did it.

A pit locked onto my boxer's throat once on PPW and I just about broke my hand on its head before it finally let go. I was about to attack the pit's owner, luckily my dog survived, otherwise I'd be in jail right now. Had your situation happened to me probably would've killed the owner myself.

bigguy · May 2007

You always hear about dogs being euthanized after attacking. I guess this only applies to humans being attacked?

pitu · May 2007

BigGuy wrote: I guess this only applies to humans being attacked?

It doesn't. A dog with a previously reported attack on other dogs can be euthanised, or other court-ordered action. I'm pretty sure NYC Dept of Health is the place to put in the complaint.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05302007/news/regionalnews/pit_bull_mauls_bklyn_kids_tiny_dog_to_death_regionalnews_erin_calabrese.htm
this is such a hideous, bizarre story!

brooklynpotter · May 2007

i'm telling you, if something like this happened to my pet you'd likely have to hold me back from lunging at the dog's owner (then again, owner's dog would see the owner being attacked, and then attack me...)

MOD · May 2007

I can't believe the police didn't help?
WTF!

erikka · May 2007

Did you get the police officer's badge numbers? There has to be something that can be done. Your sister should sue the pants off those fuckers--especially for trying to drive away.

rose · May 2007

I'm so sorry about your sister's dog. That must have been incredibly traumatic. I can't believe that at a minimum, the police couldn't ticket the dog's owners for disobeying the leash law and not having control of their dog. And, the law needs to change with regard to dogs that attack other animals. There is no way these people should have just been allowed to drive away with their dog. I would focus on these issues rather than starting another crusade against pit bulls.

I have a pit bull mix and he is in no way aggressive. I just came from offleash time at the park where lots of pit-type dogs were playing peacefully. It's about the owner, not the dog. The pit bull was the quintessential family dog at one time -- think of the dog in Little Rascals. Now pits have a different reputation, so they're attractive to people who want a dog that is supposedly dangerous. Irresponsible owners create dangerous dogs. I guarantee you that if pit bulls are banned, people like the idiots whose dog killed your sister's pup will just take up a different breed -- rottweillers or mastiffs or dobermans or something else will become the next "dangerous breed."

I too hope your sister sues the pants off those fuckers.

quiddity · May 2007

I was bitten by a pit at the now closed Jack Celinas at 5th/Bergen. Granted it was a puppy but it drew blood and I got a tetanus shot. The hospital was required to file a "bite report" with the State of NY. So maybe you shouldn't stop at the city level. Take your sister's plight to the state level.

Good luck with the effort to see some justice served. I'm sorry for your sister's loss.

vanilla · May 2007

nypost wrote: Police said they could only advise Palomo to file a civil suit against the pit bull's owners, but Elinor Molbegott of the Humane Society disagreed.

She said a complaint to the Health Department could lead to consequences for the offending dog, including wearing a muzzle, neutering, obedience training or the owner having to take out liability insurance..

"consequences" ? am i reading this wrong b/c those "consequences" are simply common, responsible dog owner behavior - except for the liability insurance, b/c that's when you know you have a serious problem and would have already taken care of the previous steps.

shishkab · May 2007

link:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/05302007/news/regionalnews/pit_bull_mauls_bklyn_kids_tiny_dog_to_death_regionalnews_erin_calabrese.htm

daver · May 2007

A horrible story! Jimmy, sorry for your sister-in-law's loss. I can't imagine that in NYC there isn't anything that can be done about this short of a civil lawsuit. That is unfathomable. If that is in fact the case, something should be done to change this sad state of affairs. And while I am TOTALLY anti-lawsuit, if that is the only recourse here, then by all means sue away! Don't let them off scott free with that dangerous animal still able to walk the streets.

rose · May 2007

vanilla wrote: [quote=nypost] Police said they could only advise Palomo to file a civil suit against the pit bull's owners, but Elinor Molbegott of the Humane Society disagreed.

She said a complaint to the Health Department could lead to consequences for the offending dog, including wearing a muzzle, neutering, obedience training or the owner having to take out liability insurance..

"consequences" ? am i reading this wrong b/c those "consequences" are simply common, responsible dog owner behavior - except for the liability insurance, b/c that's when you know you have a serious problem and would have already taken care of the previous steps.

I think neutering is the key issue here. I don't have statistics in front of me, but I would bet that the vast majority of dog-attack incidents involve unneutered male dogs. If the goal is to prevent dog attacks, it would be much more effective to require people to neuter their dogs than to try to ban ownership of a specific breed. Not to mention that it would be a lot easier to determine whether a dog still has its balls than whether it's a pit bull (which is not technically a breed anyway).

friendlypitbull · May 2007

Rose is right on with the neutering! Also let me also say, that Dogs understand the difference between people and other dogs and while only a truly defective pitbull will be human aggressive (as previously stated - Pitbulls make great family dogs and are notriously great with kids), Pitbulls can be dog aggressive. Spade/Neutering and training helps but sometimes 100+ years of breeding cant be overcome and a mature Pit will have to be kept from other dogs. This doesnt mean all pits are bad with other dogs (just like some retrievers wont retrieve), just that it is a characteristic that any Pit owner should be aware.
The converse of this is that just because a Pit (or any other breed) is dog aggressive doesnt mean that they are dangerous to people or can't be great pets.
All that being said - anyone who owns a dog that they can not or do not control should have their dog taken away and jimmy I am sorry about this incident as well as the numerous owners of Pitbulls who have no idea what the F they are doing or who are simply cruel.

caaahyoko · May 2007

Rose wrote:

I think neutering is the key issue here. I don't have statistics in front of me, but I would bet that the vast majority of dog-attack incidents involve unneutered male dogs. If the goal is to prevent dog attacks, it would be much more effective to require people to neuter their dogs than to try to ban ownership of a specific breed. Not to mention that it would be a lot easier to determine whether a dog still has its balls than whether it's a pit bull (which is not technically a breed anyway).

Definitely. I think one of the best things the city shelter system has decided to do in recent years is to immediately spay/neuter every animal that comes in. Not just for population control's sake, but for just the reason you mention.

dd · May 2007

Subject: Dog Attack

A while ago, New York Magazine had a great article by Rebecca Skloot about dogs who attack other dogs and what happens to them:

http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/pets_animals/features/9986/

jimmy bruch · May 2007

dd wrote: A while ago, New York Magazine had a great article by Rebecca Skloot about dogs who attack other dogs and what happens to them:

http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/pets_animals/features/9986/

reading that new york magazine story was as if we were living in it's continuation. Those are the exact responses we have gotten from every organization and it's as if we can hear the pit bull owner laughing as he drove off with not as much as a ticket, not even for his dog being off leash but those who have dogs, know good and well officers will chase you through Prospect park,hunting you down if your dog is off leash a minute after 9am

jimmy bruch · May 2007

After reading some of the responses we are so greatful. i just want to be clear that we are not out to do away with any breed and are not focussing on just pit bulls. my wife and i are very involved with dog society. the last two years my wife and i have put out the washington square dog run caledar and for the last issue we photographed over 250 dogs for it with a dozen that are pit bulls that i adore and a couple our dogs best friends. the issue with this dogs is it's a killer and noone cares to do anything and we just found out it killed a puppy on the same street two years ago andit's previous owners raised it as a fighting dog...this dog will have no problem killing a grown person or a child

krnie · May 2007

If none of the authority offices in NYC "can" do anything about this dog or its owners, might I suggest posting a description of the van, and the owners, and if not here, then publishing a website that describes what happened to you, with the description on it? I say this because I was attacked by a Rottweiler nine years ago and I still bear the scars. He tried to kill me by going for my throat and then my stomach, and it was only sheer luck and some quick thinking on my part that I didn't wind up dead. If the city won't do anything, and the dog has killed other dogs before, then by all means it should be okay to describe the owners and their van so that the rest of us know who to avoid like the plague. I have a baby daughter and I make a point of crossing the street when I see certain dogs coming (and I am very wary of every single dog I see, probably will be from now on, which sucks because I was always a dog-lover before being attacked).

krnie · May 2007

Also, according to the NYC law:

"Determination of a dangerous dog (167;17-345)

A dangerous dog is defined as:

1. Any dog that when unprovoked, approaches or menaces any person
in a dangerous or terrorizing manner upon the streets, sidewalks or
any public grounds or places.

2. Any dog with a known propensity, tendency or disposition to attack
when unprovoked.

3. Any dog which bites, inflicts injury, assaults or otherwise attacks a
human being or domestic animal without provocation on public or
private property.

When a dog is determined to be "dangerous":

The commissioner may order the owner of a dangerous dog to:

1. Muzzle the dog.

2. Confine the dog at all times, indoors in a penned area and display
a sign of owning a dangerous dog.

3. Obtain in full force and effect, a liability insurance policy of
one-hundred thousand dollars for personal injury or death.

4. Be confined and impounded by the proper authorities."

daver · May 2007

Based on 167;17-345 (above), the dog is clearly dangerous under definition 3. So the commissioner has jurisdiction and discretion to proceed with anything from muzzling to impounding and things in between.

sweet tea · May 2007

daver wrote: Based on 167;17-345 (above), the dog is clearly dangerous under definition 3. So the commissioner has jurisdiction and discretion to proceed with anything from muzzling to impounding and things in between.

you'd think, right? but according to the article posted higher up, dogs aren't "domestic animals" but property.

brooklynpotter · May 2007

can you get a copy of the police report so you can get the owner's information, at least?

daver · May 2007

Ah. Totally bogus. "Domestic animal" must then refer to all the sheep I've heard about grazing in Prospect Park then, eh?

This really is a load of crap, and if there is truly nothing that can be done by the city, then there is clearly a need to rewrite some of these statutes so that there is something they can do. The manner in which this dog behaved is clearly dangerous, and the city should be able to do something about it.

filmlover44 · May 2007

Wow, this is awful. It doesn't look as though it will make much difference (if the women who wrote the article is any example) but I think that I'm going to start writing letters.

http://www.cmap.nypirg.org/netmaps/MyGovernment/NYC/MyGovernmentNYC.asp?cmd=start

LEGISLATIVE OFFICES

NYC Council District - 38
Council Member: Sara M. Gonzalez
Address: 5601 5th Ave S-2, Brooklyn, NY 11220
Phone: (718) 439-9012
Fax: (718) 439-9042
Email Address: [email protected]
Website:http://www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/member_details.cfm?con_id=83

Elected officials & staff: update your info.
NY Senate District - 20
Senator: Eric Adams
Address:
Phone:
Email Address:

Elected officials & staff: update your info.
NY Assembly District - 44
Assembly Member: James F. Brennan
Address: 416 Seventh Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215
Phone: 718-940-0641
Email Address: [email protected]

Brooklyn Borough President
Borough President: Marty Markowitz
Address: 209 Joralemon St.
Brooklyn NY, 11201
Phone: (718) 802-3700
Phone2:
Fax: (718) 802-3778
email:[email protected]

NY City Public Advocate
Public Advocate: Betsy Gotbaum
Address: Municipal Building 1 Centre Street, 15th Floor
New York NY, 10007
Phone: (212) 669-7200
Phone2: (212) 669-7250
Fax: (212) 669-4701
email:[email protected]

NY City Mayor
Mayor: Michael R. Bloomberg
Address: City Hall
New York NY, 10007
Phone: 311 or (212) 788-9600
Phone2:
Fax: (212) 788-2460
Web Email Form: http://nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

brooklynleather · May 2007

I am so so sorry for the trauma you guys went through.

Thank you for informing us here and I hope something can be done to make the owners of the violent dog accountable.

rbg · May 2007

I saw an article in yesterday's New York Post about this attack. Ironcially, two unleashed pits were running up and down St. Johns place yesterday evening. The owners are repeat offenders---they let the pits run wild on the block regularly. Its a mauling waiting to happen. I'm really sorry for the loss of the maltese...

friendlypitbull · May 2007

DOGS ARE DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND considered property - and a dog may be found to be "dangerous" for attacking another dog.

rockhound · June 2007

This is so sad. I have a 9 year old pitbull, who is dog aggressive, but those genetic tendencies have been contained by a course of obedience training and responsible management.

The punishment for showing ANY aggression towards another dog is a five minute down stay, regardless of weather conditions or location. Needless to say, my dog has learned to ignore other dogs in the street, for the most part.

Other dogs are often much more aggressive towards us than my "vicious" pit bull is. Yet she is always ready and willing to play with little children. She was shaking hands and doing tricks for them just last evening.

Dog aggression does not necessarily mean the dog will be aggressive towards people.

I'm sorry about the loss of your small dog. What a dreadful experience.

Edited to add: I really HATE idiot dog owners who allow their dogs to run off leash in the street. It's so selfish, and irresponsible. Dogs are animals, ruled by instinct. You don't know what might happen.

raw · June 2007

This is such a terrible story. Will the killer pitbull's owners be held accountable?

PIT BULL ATTACK ON 5TH AVE.

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories