Rhode Island: Nicola Patalano gets 4 months in the STATE PRISON for fatally beating small dog with cane

RHODE ISLAND -- A Rhode Island man will serve four months in state prison followed by eight months in home confinement for the beating death of his neighbor's 10-pound Yorkshire terrier.

Sixty-year-old Nicola Patalano was found guilty of felony malicious injury in November for his role in the 2014 death of Missy.

Prosecutors say Missy's owner was walking the dog when the Yorkie started barking at Patalano's terrier, prompting the Cranston man to repeatedly strike the small dog with his wooden cane.

He knocked Missy unconscious, and she became unresponsive. A neighbor who witnessed the incident accompanied Missy's owner to an animal hospital, where the dog was pronounced dead.

Police say Patalano told officers he "hit the dog to kill it."

Patalano also was sentenced to community service and assessed fines.

(FoxNews - Feb 15, 2017)

Earlier:

• Rhode Island: Nicola Patalano charged with killing neighbor's dog by beating the little Yorkie to death with a walking cane

Rhode Island: Nicola Patalano charged with killing neighbor's dog by beating the little Yorkie to death with a walking cane

RHODE ISLAND -- Police have charged a Cranston man with a felony after he hit and killed a neighbor’s dog with his cane.

According to a news release issued Saturday, 58 year-old Nicola Patalano was walking his dog at 2 Western Hills Lane, the apartment complex where he lives, shortly before 2 p.m. Friday when the dogs began fighting.

Patalano told police that he tried separating the two dogs with his foot but couldn’t, and then hit the other dog with his cane.

The other dog’s owners brought it to Oaklawn Animal Hospital, where it died.

An animal control officer from the Cranston Police Department is investigating.

Police arrested Patalano and charged him with malicious killing of animals, and assigned him a court date of January 23rd.

(Providence Eyewitness News - ‎Nov 22, 2014‎)

"I want the dog put down... It's a killing machine."

PENNSYLVANIA -- Wally Shank was walking his dog in Thornwald Park in Carlisle, when a pit bull suddenly attacked his 13-year-old cocker spaniel Friday morning.

Shank said he fell to the ground amid the tussle and got the dog away, but again, it attacked. As he rose to his feet, he gave the dog a good kick to the shoulder and it whimpered and ran away.

 

Sieglinde and William Smith recount how a pit bull attacked and killed
their 2-year-old miniature dachshund, Schatzie, on Monday, June 23, 2014.
The attack happened Friday morning in Thornwald Park in Carlisle.
Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive

Thankfully, Shank's dog was OK, but it had a circle of blood on it. It wasn't the cocker's spaniel's blood. It came from a miniature dachshund the pit bull killed just before attacking Shank's dog around 8:30 a.m.

As Shank and a friend walked out of the park, they encountered Sieglinde and William Smith, who were crying and carrying their miniature dachshund, Schatzie, who was clinging to life.

The couple, who live on nearby Noble Boulevard, rushed the 12-pound dog to the veterinarian, but nothing could be done. Schatzie died just short of making it to her second birthday.




A birth announcement for Sieglinde and William Smith's miniature dachshund,
Schatzie, lays on the living room table in their home in Carlisle on Monday,
June 23, 2014. Schatzie was attacked and killed Friday morning in Thornwald
 Park in Carlisle by a pit bull. Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive

Sieglinde Smith, 73, bought Schatzie for her husband on his 80th birthday.

Schatzie's death "isn't the only thing that's worrying us. What if it gets loose again and goes to the park? There are children playing over there," Sieglinde Smith said.

"I want the dog put down," William Smith said. "It's a killing machine."

As the Smiths rushed Schatzie to the vet, Shank called police to file a report.

The owner of the pit bull, Brittany Over, of the 200 block of West Ridge Street, is facing two state charges, for harboring a vicious animal and failure to confine an animal, and a charge for violating a borough ordinance requiring pet owners to confine their animals, said Carlisle police Chief Stephen Margeson.

The dog that attacked the other dogs is Over's new pet, a 61-pound pit bull named  Pablo that Over recently adopted from New York, according to adoption records the Smiths obtained and shared with PennLive. The pit bull jumped its backyard fence that abuts Thornwald Park, and then attacked the dogs, Margeson said.

Over has promised to keep the dog confined going forward, Margeson said. He also noted that while police can recommend further action be taken against a dog that has attacked or killed other animals, a decision to muzzle it or euthanize it would be made by District Judge Jessica Brubaker, who is handling the case.

William and Sieglinde Smith stand by the grave of their miniature
dachshund, Schatzie, in the backyard of their home in Carlisle, on Monday,
 June 23, 2014. Schatzie was attacked and killed Friday morning in
Thornwald Park by a pit bull. Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive

In addition to having the dog put down, the Smiths said they want to see dogs that are considered dangerous forced to wear muzzles and on leashes they can't slip out of while they are in public.

Margeson said he has yet to speak with the responding officers, because they have a few days off from work. But after he speaks with them about the matter, he will decide whether the police department makes any recommendations regarding how the matter should be handled to ensure the dog does not get loose and attack animals or people in the borough.

Sieglinde Smith holds the walking stick her husband, William Smith,
 used to hit the pit bull that was attacking the Smith’s miniature
dachshund, Schatzie, on Monday, June 23, 2014. Mr. William said he
 hit the pit bull “at least a dozen times” to no effect before the
 stick snapped. Elizabeth Frantz, PennLive

Over "accepted that responsibility [of keeping the dog confined] very seriously. I think there is a good chance that the dog will not get out and loose again," Margeson said. "It's especially important for the victims to make their concerns known to the district justice."

[When the dog gets loose and kills something else - maybe a child this time or an elderly man, then you can act surprised and say, "Wow. I thought there was a GOOD CHANCE that the dog wouldn't get out and loose again."]

Over could not immediately be reached for comment.

(The Patriot-News - June 24, 2014)

93-Year-Old Woman Mauled by Pit Bull Mix

CONNECTICUT -- A 93-year-old woman was attacked and mauled by a pit bull mixed breed in Branford on Sunday afternoon after the dog broke free from its owner’s home, police said.
 
 Police officers and firefighters responded to Harbor Street and McKinnell Court around 2 p.m. on Sunday after receiving several 911 calls from neighbors and others who were witnessing the attack, police said.

"I need a cop really, really quick," one man who called 911 said. "There's a pit bull attacking a bunch of people. ... This dog is attacking a lot of people."

Another person reported a "pit bull biting people all over the place."

Police Officer Joseph Harrington said the animal had run from inside of the owner’s home and attacked the victim as she was walking.

On Monday, police said the dog somehow pushed the door and got out.

Several neighbors went to help the victim and began fighting the dog off with a cane and a baseball bat until the dog’s owner could subdue and cage the animal.

When police arrived, the dog's owner had captured his dog and put it in a cage.

Sergeant Richard Dahlin said the victim sustained a massive amount trauma to her lower left leg.

Paramedics from the fire department transported the woman to an area medical facility to be treated for serious injuries. The woman later underwent surgery, police said.

Animal Control Officers at the Branford quarantined the dog at the Branford animal shelter as the investigation continues.

Police said they are still investigating, but do not plan to file criminal charges at this point.

(nbcconnecticut.com - Apr 14, 2014)

Michigan: Pit Bulls go on a rampage in Detroit neighborhood

DETROIT, MI -- Animal control officers confiscated two young looking pit bulls Wednesday from a house on Kilborn.

 

The dogs seemed calm and cooperative, but residents said earlier they were on a rampage and out for blood, attacking neighbors including James Galloway, who suffered several bite wounds.

"I beat them with anything I could get a hold (of). That's the only way I could get them off of me so they'd go about their business," he said.

 

 

Two other victims were hurt so badly they had to go to the hospital, and several other people, such as Rose Floyd, had close calls. There's blood on her porch where the loose pit bulls tried to get to her dogs.

Blood from the victims is smeared on her porch wall as
the pit bulls jumped and tried to get inside her
screened-in porch to attack her dogs

Neighbors up and down the street also feared for their lives. One man said his son used a cane for protection.

"The dog came back up on him. He wouldn't back down," he said.

A man shows how his son had to use a cane to
fend off the pit bulls

That's why neighbors were so glad to see the two pit bulls being driven away.

Animal control officers told FOX 2's Robin Schwartz the dogs will now be held at a shelter and observed for ten days. It's not clear what will happen to them after that.

The owner declined to be interviewed.

 

 

"Faith in God and that's what protected me today," Floyd said.

"I believe it's the people that train them that way. I don't believe it's really the dogs," Galloway told us.

Despite the frightening ordeal, Galloway said he's still an animal lover.

It's not clear whether the owner will face charges.

(WJBK - June 22, 2011)