Josephine Catalfamo also lost her own pet dog in the incident, a 1-year-old Coton de Tulear that was mauled to death by the 85-pound pit bull, which streaked across Florence Street and attacked the pup on Sept. 26, 2012.
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| Dave Rigano, right, and his wife left Mamaroneck Village Court Tuesday after a judge ordered their dog, a pit bull, permanently contained or euthanized. |
Diesel’s owner, Dave Rigano, was later criminally charged in the incident, and on Thursday, Rigano was sued in state Supreme Court in White Plains. The suit accuses Rigano of negligence, saying that he knew Diesel was “ferocious, vicious, and accustomed to attacking and biting dogs and mankind.”
Rigano did not respond to messages and a lawyer for him could not be immediately located.
[Yeah, ask him about the dog's previous attack on another dog before it attacked this poor woman and mauled her beloved dog to death.]
Diesel was taken to a Long Island pit bull shelter after the attack, where the 4-year-old dog’s caretakers there said that he had not been properly socialized with other dogs, possibly leading to the attack on the Coton de Tulear, who was known as Ané.
In court papers, Catalfamo said a relative had purchased Ané for $2,600 in July 2011, and paid $455 in “veterinary expenses” as a result of the attack.
Catalfamo is demanding that Rigano repay her that money, as well as an unspecified amount in punitive damages.
The attack spooked neighbors, who sought to have Diesel removed from the area, which a village justice later agreed to do, ordering him “permanently confined.”
New York Bully Crew, the Long Island shelter that had taken in Diesel, had promised not to euthanize the dog.
(lohud.com - May 24, 2013)
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