New York: Little Coton du Tulear lucky to be alive after being attacked by Pit Bull

NEW YORK -- Deborah Becraft Pinker posted on Facebook March 11, 2018 ·

Many of us connected with this lovely lady whose Coton du Tulear was attacked by a Pit bull. In lieu of doing a GoFundMe page she agreed to share her Etsy page with us. This would at least give her some funds to put toward the many vet, lawyer and medical bills for herself and dog Henry.

We are all praying her sweet dog Henry to continue improving. Thanks for your participation.

3/14 update, Henry is improving. 🙏

Woman who was attacked and her pet killed by pit bull sues owner

NEW YORK -- A Mamaroneck woman whose left index finger was bitten off by a pit bull named Diesel in September is suing the animal’s owner for at least $3,000.

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.

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)

Earlier:

• Deadly Pit Bull Attack in Mamaroneck Causes Death of Dog, Owner's Severed Fingertip
• Mamaroneck dog that killed neighbor's pet has violent past
• Judge: Pit bull in Mamaroneck attack must be confined or euthanized

Judge: Pit bull in Mamaroneck attack must be confined or euthanized

NEW YORK -- A village judge declared a pit bull dangerous and essentially delivered the dog a life sentence for killing a neighbor’s dog and biting off part of the owner’s finger.

Dave Rigano, right, and his wife left Mamaroneck Village
Court Tuesday after a judge ordered their dog, a pit bull,
permanently contained or euthanized. The dog had attacked
and killed a neighbor's dog last month.

In Village Court today, Judge Christie Derrico ordered Diesel, a 4-year-old animal, “permanently confined” or “humanely euthanized.”

Diesel is currently being held at a Long Island shelter, which advised the court that the animal “has never been socialized.” The shelter continues efforts to rehabilitate him.

Meanwhile, the dog’s owner, Dave Rigano, pleaded guilty to a violation for his pet’s fatal offense.

The Sept. 26 attack killed Ane, a 1-year-old coton du tulear, and cost Ane’s owner, 75-year-old Josephine Catalfamo, part of one of her fingers.

(lohud.com - Oct 9, 2012)

Earlier:

• Deadly Pit Bull Attack in Mamaroneck Causes Death of Dog, Owner's Severed Fingertip
• Mamaroneck dog that killed neighbor's pet has violent past

Mamaroneck dog that killed neighbor's pet has violent past

NEW YORK -- The dog that attacked and killed a neighbor’s dog last week has a record, it turns out.

Detective Sandra DiRuzza of the Mamaroneck village police said Friday that the dog, owned by Dave Rigano and described variously as a pit bull and an American staffordshire terrier, attacked and wounded another dog in April.

 

The victim of that bloody attack suffered wounds to its neck but survived. DiRuzza had earlier said she wasn’t aware of any prior violent incidents involving Rigano’s dog. She said residents later called her attention to the Spring attack.

Rigano has been charged with one count of dangerous dog attack on a domestic animal following the Sept. 26 incident that killed Ane, a 1-year-old coton du tulear, and cost Ane’s owner, 75-year-old Josephine Catalfamo, part of one of her fingers.

Rigano is due in court Tuesday. Based on the dog’s history of violence and the fact that the most recent attack proved fatal to another animal, the judge could declare it a dangerous dog and, in theory, order it euthanized.

 

Records show the area’s judges tend to shy away from issuing the harshest of penalties in dangerous dog cases.

Attorney and dog owner Alfred Laub, whose White Plains firm represents dog-bite victims, has told The Journal News, “Even though there is a process for holding owners accountable or taking a dog into custody and following through with euthanasia, there seems to be a reluctance to do that.”

(The Journal News - Oct 5, 2012)

Earlier:

• Deadly Pit Bull Attack in Mamaroneck Causes Death of Dog, Owner's Severed Fingertip

Deadly Pit Bull Attack in Mamaroneck Causes Death of Dog, Owner's Severed Fingertip

NEW YORK -- An elderly Mamaroneck resident is recovering at home after a vicious pit bull attack on Wednesday that killed her dog and left her with only part of her finger remaining.

The 75-year-old woman was walking her dog (a Coton de Tulear) on Florence Street on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at approximately 9 a.m., when the unleashed pit bull—whose owner lives on Jensen Avenue—began to attack her dog, according to Village of Mamaroneck (VOM) Police Spokesperson Det. Sandra DiRuzza.

As the woman attempted to separate the two dogs, she suffered several puncture wounds on her hands and the loss of one of her fingertips, said DiRuzza.

The pit bull’s owner has been charged under the Agriculture and Market Law with one count of a dangerous dog attack on a domestic animal, a violation. He is due back in VOM court on Oct. 2, said DiRuzza.

He was not charged in connection to the attack on the woman because the woman was bit while attempting to rescue her dog.

Kim Stein, who also lives on Florence Street, told Larchmont Patch that she ran outside after hearing piercing screams.

“I witnessed the owner pulling his pit bull off of the victim who was on the ground with her dog, while he was kicking and punching his pit bull. Another neighbor had also been out there. I was in full panic mode and ran back into my house to call 911,” she said.

According to Stein, the pit bull owner’s residence borders both Florence Park and is within walking distance of Daniel Warren Elementary School.

“This could have been us. We are petrified to walk our dog now. I really want to know why this dangerous pit bull is still at its residence and not impounded or taken away.  I feel violated in my own neighborhood—I no longer have the freedom to feel safe on my own street,” she said.

(Larchmont Patch - September 28, 2012)

Calgary couple fears killer dog may strike again

CANADA -- The muscular dog that killed a Calgary couple’s canine in front of their eyes is still on the loose and poses a threat to others, says one of the dead animal’s owners.

Sharon and Duncan Proudfoot said they’d enjoyed an afternoon last Tuesday at Ghost Lake, about 30 km west of Calgary, when two women arrived with a pair of bull mastiff dogs.

The two powerful canines had been running free at the lake’s day use area when one of them made a beeline for the Proudfoot’s much smaller, 12-year-old male Coton de Tuleur, Harley, said Sharon.

“There was no apparent aggression, no growling and then the dog just ran up and started chewing on Harley,” she said.

“I’ve never seen anything like it ... it was horrifying.”

With her husband sail-boarding at the time, Proudfoot, 47, said she tried pulling the bull mastiff off her dog to no avail, guessing the dog easily outweighed her 118 lbs.

“I tried so hard to pull its collar with absolutely no effect,” she said.

The two women owners of the bull mastiffs then appeared, with one yanking the sandy-coloured attacking animal away by its leash, she said.

But it was too late, said Proudfoot, who said she watched Harley breathe his last.

“It bit him in the middle and punctured his lung,” she said.

Proudfoot said the dog’s owner gave her a khaki hoodie as a shroud for her mangled pet and offered further help.

But she said the two women then fled the scene with their dogs in a Grey Nissan Pathfinder with black bumpers, possibly a 2004 model.

“They left me there covered in my dog’s blood,” said Proudfoot, fearing for possible future victims.

“There’s no doubt in my mind it’ll kill small dogs or children ... if my dog hadn’t been there, it would have come after me.”

With Ghost Lake outside the jurisdiction of municipal bylaw enforcement, Proudfoot said they turned to Cochrane RCMP, who showed up to take pictures and seize the bloodied hoodie.

She said both women were brunette, white, of medium build with one aged in her forties, the other in her mid 30s.

Proudfoot said she and her husband have been unable to have children, making Harley a special member of their family.

“This dog was like a baby to me — we know he would leave us but we hoped in a gentle way,” she said.

“I’m an animal lover, but that dog should be destroyed — it’s a killer.”

Cochrane RCMP Const. Lee Sandau said he’s checking with local animal control officials who might have had dealings with a bull mastiff fitting that description.

“But we don’t have a licence plate and unless people come forward, at this point we’re not going to get anywhere,” he said.

(Calgary Sun - July 9, 2012)

Woman cited when dog bites jogger

ILLINOIS -- A Coton de Tulear dog bit a jogger on the lower leg at about 4:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Ridge and Westleigh roads.

The dog owner, a 50-year-old Lake Forest woman, of the 200 block of Ridge Road, was cited, police said.

According to the American Coton Club, Coton dogs are fluffy dogs, ranging between 10 and 15 pounds.

(TribLocal - Dec 7, 2011)