1 hour ago
1
A pair of vicious pit bulls have terrorized a Coney Island building for months, killing one innocent pup and mangling two more, outraged pet owners said Wednesday.
The latest attack took place Sunday morning when a French bulldog, Calypso, had just gotten back to Coney Island Commons — and one of the pit bulls snatched the tiny dog in its mouth and made it go limp.
“It grabbed her by the head and shook her around like a rabbit,” owner Diane Bradley, 56, recalled to The Post.
“I was pulling on the lease so hard to get Calypso out of his mouth that the leash just snapped. I fell to the floor. That’s when I begged the porter to go get my husband.”
Bradley’s spouse, Derrick, jumped into action as the pit bulls’ owner also tried to stop his savage dogs’ attack. Derrick, 58, said he pulled one of the dogs away, and the owner started punching the other one to get it to release Calypso.
Video footage obtained by The Post appears show the pit bulls’ owner clock one of the dogs in the aftermath of the scuffle.
Calypso survived the attack, though her frail frame suffered severe injuries, including stitches and a swollen eye. The Bradleys said they filed a police report.
The near-fatal mauling is among three attacks dating back to May – with one of the affected dog owners telling The Post that pet owners are walking their four-legged friends terrified and laying the blame on the owner.
“We are fearful,” said Latoya Nunn, who doesn’t live in the building. “We don’t feel safe, and that’s terrible. We don’t feel safe walking our dog. It’s already not safe for humans, it’s not safe for dogs either, it’s horrible.”
Nunn’s dog, Denim, was killed on June 19 while the pair were at a community event for Juneteenth.
The big dogs targeted the bichon frise, and while Nunn tried to pull her dog into her arms, Denim wrangled out of her harness free and tried to flee from the danger.
“I honestly believe in my heart that she did it to protect me because that dog would’ve attacked me if I were to have Denim in my arms, that dog it could’ve even been more catastrophic,” she said.
The dogs easily caught up, and “one had her from one end and one had her from the other,” Nunn recalled. “And she was bloody and it was horrible.”
The dog later died at the animal hospital.
“She gave joy,” Nunn said of her precious “little fluffy.”
Leshia Palmer, who lives in the same apartment building as Bradley, alleged to The Post her dog faced down the same two pit bulls while her teenage daughter was walking her in May.
Her daughter noticed the beasts in front of the building so she started walking the dog, Milo, to another entrance.
“The pit bulls just charged after Milo,” Palmer, 40, said.
“Their leashes were on them, but they were just both laying on the ground — the leashes — so they just charged right at Milo both of them. My daughter tried to pull Milo in but eventually had to let go of the leash.”
Her pup suffered four bite marks, including the worst one on her neck, Palmer said.
ELH Mgmt. LLC, the company that oversees Coney Island Commons, said in an email it started eviction proceedings against the owner of the dogs Tuesday.
“The safety and well-being of our residents and their pets are our top priorities,” a spokesperson said.
“We have initiated legal proceedings against the tenant and are taking this matter very seriously.”
The Post knocked on the dog owner’s door on the seventh floor in the building, but no one answered. Dogs could be heard barking behind the door.
The trio of dog owners are frustrated 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.
“These dogs are out of control,” Nunn said with Palmer adding, “Those two dogs should have been gone.”
“How many dogs are we going to allow to get attacked?” Palmer said. “How many are we going to allow to get killed? Is a person next?”
English (US)