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ANIMAL WATCH - Dog owners in Brooklyn are righteously on edge over a pair of violent Pit Bulls that they say are responsible for three attacks on other dogs in the community, according to the New York Post.
One of the attacks resulted in the death of one beloved pet, and there are angry and fearful calls for the Pit Bulls' owner to be held responsible.
Diane Bradley said she screamed and huddled in her building at Coney Island Commons on Sunday to protect her 3-year-old French Bulldog, Calypso, who had been snatched and held in the mouth of one of the Pit Bulls — and “made it go limp.”
"Out of nowhere two Pit Bulls grabbed Calypso in the foyer. I saw the owners jump on the dog that had Calypso's head in the jaws of the dog,'" she said.
Photo of Calypso after partial recovery.
Bradley says the same two Pit Bulls killed one dog and mauled another in May, prior to attacking Calypso on Sunday.
The docile little French Bulldog is “now covered with bites,” she said and needed stitches. Her left eye is badly swollen and cut, and her left shoulder was dislocated, but her owners say they are just happy she survived.
She told The Post that the Pit Bull grabbed Calypso by her head and shook her “like a rabbit.”
She said, “I was pulling on the leash so hard to get Calypso out of his mouth that the leash just snapped. That’s when “I fell to the floor and begged the porter to get my husband, Derrick, who rushed to pull one of the dogs away and punched the other one to free Calypso from its jaws”.
(Derrick Bradley holds up a pink leash and collar that broke during the attack.)
Calypso’s owners also said they filed a police report on the incident.
SAME PIT BULLS – PRIOR ATTACK
This is not the only severe mauling by the same Pit Bulls. According to information provided “three attacks, dating back to May have occurred and the owner needs to be held responsible,” she said.
In June, a toy poodle, named Denim, (pictured below) was attacked and killed. “We are fearful,” his owner, Latoya Nunn, told The Post, “We don’t feel safe…it’s horrible.”
She described the viciousness of the dogs as “one had her from one end and one had her from the other. And she was bloody and it was horrible.”
She said she attempted to hold Denim to protect her, but the terrified animal jumped out of her arms and ran to escape, which caused the Pit Bulls to follow and kill her.
She said she believes in her heart that “she did it to protect me because that dog would’ve attacked me if I were to have Denim in my arms.
(Denim (above) is one of three New York dogs attacked by the same Pit Bulls; he later died at the animal hospital.)
THIRD ATTACK BY PIT BULLS – AND STILL NO RELIEF
(One of the dogs had to be “wrangled in” on Sunday, the owner said.)
Leshia Palmer, another tenant in the same building, told The Post her dog “faced down the same two Pit Bulls while her teenage daughter was walking her in May.” She recalled her dog had “suffered four bite marks, including the worst one on her neck.”
MANAGEMENT FINALLY TAKING ACTION AGAINST PIT BULL OWNER
ELH Mgmt. LLC, managers of the building, Coney Island Commons, said in a recent e-mail that the company “had started eviction proceedings against the owner of the dogs,” according to the report.
“The safety and well-being of our residents and their pets are our top priorities,” a spokesperson said, adding, “We have initiated legal proceedings against the tenant and are taking this matter very seriously.”
WHY DOESN’T NEW YORK HAVE STRICT PENALTIES FOR DOG ATTACKS?
But this action merely shifts the problem from one location to another when the owner relocates. If a dog has killed or seriously injured one dog, why isn’t action taken immediately to assure this does not happen again. Why isn’t it removed, impounded and euthanized for public (and tenant) safety?
The three dog owners all expressed frustration that stronger measures against the Pit Bulls and their owner can’t be taken. In New York state, issues over people’s animals have typically been limited to civil court litigation, they said.
“These dogs are out of control,” Nunn said, with Palmer adding her opinion that, “Those two dogs should have been gone.”
“How many dogs are we going to allow to get attacked?” Palmer asked. “How many are we going to allow to get killed? Is a person next?
Pet Owners in NY may want to inquire as to how control of Pit Bulls is being developed (or not developed) and how responsibility will be enforced in conjunction with the new Best Friends Adoption Center policy, just established in New York and today featuring the above Pit Bull for adoption.
(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a former Los Angeles City employee and a long-time animal welfare advocate. A contributor to CityWatchLA, she is known for her investigative reporting on animal shelter operations, misuse of public funds, and the dangers of poorly regulated pet adoption policies. She is a strong proponent of public safety in animal control, advocating for stricter oversight of aggressive dog breeds, especially pit bulls, and for breed-specific legislation.)
