By Gus Saltonstall
The owner of the two pit bulls that attacked Penny the chihuahua on the Upper West Side at the beginning of May has been ordered to hand over his dogs to police or face the possibility of jail time, according to legal documents filed this week.
The court order on Tuesday from New York’s Supreme Court follows a motion filed earlier this month against Joseph Columbus by Lauren Claus, the owner of Penny, and Lauren Block, the owner of two shi tzus that were also attacked by the two pit bulls earlier this year in Central Park, according to the court.
“Failure to turn over the male dog, known as Rambo, and female dog, known as Zooey…to the New York Police Department by 6 a.m. on June 10, 2025, but no later than 5 p.m. on June 10, 2025, may result in fines, or imprisonment, or both for contempt of court according to law,” the legal document reads.
Fox 5, which was the first publication to report on the order to turn in the dogs, reports that Columbus has not turned in his pit bulls as of 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
The ruling from the judge this week to hand over the pit bulls to police comes after Columbus was given a court order in March of 2025 to muzzle his dogs after they attacked Block’s dogs in January in Central Park, which resulted in the death of her shi tzu named Grover, according to court documents and as reported by Fox 5.
“His dog tore my dog apart as people screamed and cursed,” Block told a room of Upper West Siders at a town hall organized after the attack on Penny.
Despite the order, “the Defendant (Columbus) made no effort to muzzle the two dogs after the January incident,” read Tuesday’s court notice.
At a June 4th hearing, the judge ordered Columbus to turn in his dogs to police that week, but he did not.
Columbus then appeared in court on Monday with his lawyer who said they had been confused about the court’s order to turn in the dogs, and the court then again ordered the pit bulls to be given to police by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, according to Fox 5 and court documents.
Columbus’ lawyer also told the court on Monday that his client had never gotten the order to muzzle his dogs, Fox 5 reported, adding that Columbus declined to give his own comment.
While there is not an immediate pathway to criminal charges when a dog attacks another dog in New York City, Columbus is now facing the possibility of criminal penalties or jail time due to his refusal to follow the court orders, which results in a person “being held in contempt.”
You can read the full ruling by the judge on Tuesday — HERE.
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