Hellhounds kill Shih Tzu, put Staten Island dog walker in the hospital

NEW YORK -- A pair of unleashed pit bulls that were roaming West Brighton mercilessly attacked a young Shih Tzu Friday afternoon, leaving the small dog dead and its owner in the emergency room.

The shocking assault happened about 2:30 p.m., as Dionis Rembeci, 62, was walking 1-year-old Fluffy. Suddenly, the two pits bulls, which had been roving Delafield Avenue, attacked the helpless dog, ripping it from its leash, said neighbors.

"The two dogs came flying up the street. They literally ripped [Fluffy] off of his collar and leash and wouldn't let go," said Maureen Doyle, who was visiting her sister on Delafield.

RIP Fluffy. Unfortunately, you will not be the last beloved pet to be
attacked and mauled to death by pit bulls

 

"I tried to beat [one] with an umbrella, but it didn't work. [The larger pit bull] had the poor dog by the neck and it was shaking it like a toy."

Later, the umbrella could be seen about 25 feet from the driveway across the street from the Rembeci residence.

Albano Rembeci, 30, said the dogs -- "one of them was huge" -- pounced within moments of his father's crossing the street.

"They threw [my father] to the ground. He used a stone to hit the big one to let him go. He somehow escaped," said the younger Rembeci, who was at work when the incident occurred. He said his father tried desperately to get the savage beasts away from the little Shih Tzu.

Dionis Rembeci, who suffered a scrape on his leg and an arm injury, succumbed to shock and fainted, said his son and neighbors. As of Friday night, he was undergoing treatment in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze.

Police have yet to comment on the incident.

Dionis made a gift of Fluffy to his parents, Dionis and Luljeta Rembeci, 66, last November.
"My parents were going through a depression, so I got him for them," said Albano Rembeci. "They were getting older. They needed some sort of excitement in their life. They pretty much treated him better than a human being. No joke: The dog would eat with a spoon."

Joel Rivera, who lives opposite the Rembecis, said he saw Mrs. Rembeci walk the dog each day.
"She's always with that dog," he said.

Rivera also saw the attack.

"The big [pit bull] was very vicious. He destroyed the poor Shih Tzu," said Rivera, adding he'll exercise more caution leaving and entering his Delafield Avenue home from now on.

"[Mrs. Rembeci] was screaming. I feel sorry for the lady and the dog. I was trying to do something, but then I said to myself, 'If I hit this dog, what's going to happen to me? They're going to attack me.'"

Julio and Nicole Saldana, who live across the street, said the owner of the two pit bulls pulled up to the site and tied his dogs to a fence next to where Fluffy was killed.

The umbrella which was unsuccesfully used to try to beat the pit bulls
off the little Shih Tzu still lies in the street

"He was an older man, too. He had gray hair," said the Saldanas, adding they don't know where he lives.

Albano Rembeci said he believes the NYPD came and took the pair of pit bulls away. As of Friday night, the city's Animal Care and Control did not have any information about the dogs' whereabouts.
Speaking outside the University Hospital emergency room, the son said he's heartbroken.

"There's nothing I could do at this point," he said. "I just wish it never happened. I feel worse for [my parents] than myself. They looked at it as if [Fluffy] was another child to them."

(Staten Island Live - Sept 27, 2013)