A ferocious pit bull viciously attacked a 41-year-old dog walker and two of her pups after it leaped a fence at Highbridge Park Dog Run on Saturday, the shaken woman said.
“My customers are really good and they know I will defend the animals, but I feel like I failed,” Denise Lauffer told the Daily News.
The mad dog mauled the pair of pups, chomping one on the leg and shoulder blade — and the other on the back of its neck, even taking off a chunk of fur, Lauffer said.
The professional pooch walker fought back with bear repellent, spraying the brute’s eyes, but it still managed to bite her right hand.
She escaped nearly unscathed compared to one of the injured canines, a 10-year-old Borzoi, or Russian Wolfhound, which sustained serious injuries and may require surgery, veterinary records show.
It was unclear who the unleashed pit bull belonged to. Its owner — who is not expected to face any charges, according to sources — tried to separate the mutts, Lauffer said, but the damage had already been done.
The terrifying attack, the second in six months, has put Uptown residents and pet lovers on edge.
“I don’t walk my dog there ‘cause there’s always loose dogs,” said Ron Saja, 56, who lives nearby.
“It’s gotten out of hand.”
A 6-year-old pit bull-beagle mix, Abby, was attacked in March by a dog at the same Highbridge run, her owner Adeline Boyko said.
She had a bad bite on her back,” said Boyko, 77. “My dog was traumatized, and so was I.”
Nearly two dozen residents called for more cops at the park and enforcement for loose dogs at a 34th Precinct Community Council meeting Wednesday night.
The city Parks Department, which operates HighBridge Park, has not received any complaints about the run, according to agency spokesman Philip Abramson
A police report had not been filed for either incident, he said. Dog bites are tracked by the city Health Department, which could not be immediately reached.
There are 4,000 dog bites reported annually to the agency tasked with enforcing “leash laws,” according to its website.
Cops issue summonses when dogs are off their leashes, but an owner cannot be arrested unless the attack was intentional, a police source said.
(New York Daily News - Sept 19, 2014)
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