Mayra Castillo, the devastated mom of Amiyah Dunston of Baldwin, clutched her 9-year-old daughter’s denim jacket as she left her home with friends to pick out funeral clothes for the girl, family said.
Amiyah was visiting her biological father, Tramel Dunston, at 236 Holland Ave. when she was attacked by the pit bull named Kane at around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Willis.
Dunston had been crashing at the Elmont home and was friends with the dog’s owner, Carlyle Arnold, Willis said.
The shattered family of a little girl mauled to death by a pit bill on Long Island over the weekend mourned the loss of their ”princess” Monday — as cops weighed whether to bring criminal charges against the dog’s owner.
Mayra Castillo, the devastated mom of Amiyah Dunston of Baldwin, clutched her 9-year-old daughter’s denim jacket as she left her home with friends to pick out funeral clothes for the girl, family said.
“Amiyah Kayla was a phenomenal little girl who has touched many lives with her presence, smiles and laughs. We thank you for all your support and prayers,” Brian Willis, Castillo’s fiancé, who helped raise Amiyah, said to reporters. “Just please let us mourn our terrible, tragic loss.”
Amiyah was visiting her biological father, Tramel Dunston, at 236 Holland Ave. when she was attacked by the pit bull named Kane at around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Willis.
Dunston had been crashing at the Elmont home and was friends with the dog’s owner, Carlyle Arnold, Willis said.
“He was holding her somewhere on the side — I don’t know if it was the ears or the neck — and he was throwing her around like a rag doll,” said a next-door neighbor.
“The two [other] little girls ran down the street, screaming, ‘Help! Help! Help!’ I tried to take my broom and push the dog off through the fence. And the doctor up the block was trying to help, too. He threw a garbage can at the dog, but he wouldn’t let her go.’’
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| The dog’s owner, Carlyle Arnold (right), was arrested at the scene on charges unrelated to the dog attack.Photo: Ellis Kaplan |
When cops arrived, the dog tried to attack them, and one of the responding officers fired three shots and killed him, authorities said.
Meanwhile, the mortally injured child was rushed to Franklin Hospital, but died a few hours later, with bites all over her body.
“It was a violent attack,” said Nassau County Detective Michael Bitsko at a press conference at the scene Sunday afternoon. “We don’t know why the pit bull attacked her.”
Arnold’s father, Carlyle Sr., said he was stunned that Kane would attack a child.
“I don’t know what to say, what to do,’’ the dad said. “This is crazy. I’m getting off of work, and now I’m in a horror scene.”
Arnold’s uncle, Anthony Jett — who lives in the house where the attack occurred but wasn’t home at the time — said Kane was a tough dog but usually interacted well with people.
“He was a good dog — that’s what I don’t understand,” Jett said. “He was a beast because he was a pit, but he was very gentle.”
He said he believes that something must have triggered Kane.
“Dogs can flip sometimes,” he said. “They don’t respect kids like they respect adults.”
Neighbor Vito Rendace added that Kane was an “OK’’ dog.
“I mean, if somebody came too close to the house, he would react,” he said. “He would start barking. But that was the extent of it. I never thought he would maul anybody.”
Amiyah’s family set up an account on Go Fund Me asking for donations for her funeral and for grief counseling for themselves.
So far, more than $6,700 has been raised toward the family’s total goal of $15,000.
Amiyah was also lovingly remembered by her aunt Asia Thomas, who called the girl “Mimi” and “Curly Sue.”
“She was so smart and respectful,” Thomas told The Post. “She really was the perfect little girl.”
It’s unclear why the dog attacked Amiyah.
“I wasn’t there but I heard the dog had puppies, and they were playing with the puppies,” Thomas said.
“The dog was probably protecting the babies. This is just tragic.”
(New York Post - Nov 9, 2015)
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