There’s more outrage after a small dog was mauled by pit bulls on the Upper West Side.
The shocking attack was caught on video Saturday night at 85th Street and Columbus Avenue.
The owner of the chihuahua mix that was mauled is demanding legal action as another woman claims the same pit bulls previously killed her pet shih-tzu.
Penny, a chihuahua mix that survived Saturday’s attack, is slowly recovering.
Penny’s owner Lauren Claus is clear about what she wants to see happen now.
“To get the dogs off the street and hold the owners accountable,” Claus said.
Dogs involved in mauling may be linked to another incident
In a packed room on the Upper West Side Wednesday night, many dog owners spoke about their deep concerns, saying the two pit bulls involved in Penny’s attack have been a constant problem.
Graphic video shows two pit bulls mauling a 17-year-old shih tzu-mix named Grover in Central Park in January. Grover was killed in the attack. Grover’s owner, who did not want to be identified, said her dog was mauled by the same pit bulls that attacked Penny.
“Grover was completely blind and defenseless. I was screaming that he was dead,” she said.
Grover’s traumatized owner said her effort to get justice failed.
“To date, I’m not optimistic anything is going to happen,” she said. “No one can guide me as to what to do tomorrow.”
“We need to change that law”
Police say they can’t investigate the attack, because under New York law, pets are considered property.
“That’s ridiculous. Children are not your property, they are your family. Dogs are your family,” Upper West Side dog owner Charles Candreva said.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer is pushing to make a dog-on-dog attack a crime.
“Why is it that a dog can attack another dog and nothing gets done?” Brewer said. “We need to change that law.”
Claus previously said she’s been told that her options right now are to sue the owners of the other dogs in civil court and try to get the attacking dogs declared dangerous and removed.
“The NYPD has to take a report on dog-on-dog attacks. That way we can take that report and file civilly if we need to,” Claus said.
The district attorney has assigned Penny’s case to be investigated, Brewer said. She also said police have been in touch with the owner of the pit bulls, but haven’t been able to do anything further.
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