Labrador attacked by pit bull; caught on surveillance camera

Update: At the beginning of the video, the reporter says the Black Lab has died.

NEW YORK -- A Brooklyn neighborhood was torn apart this weekend by a vicious dog attack that was caught on surveillance video.

As CBS 2′s Steve Langford reported, a black lab named Fiona, a precious family pet, was attacked by a pit bill from across the street.

Surveillance video of the attack shows the lab being thrown around like a rag doll, its throat then gripped by the pit bull’s teeth.

“I saw this thing charging directly at my dog for no reason,” said Anita Bolognese. “I love her with all my heart. My children adore her, we all love her.”

Bolognese struggled to describe the moment the violent attack shattered the calm of the Bay Ridge street.

Her husband was no less grief-stricken.

“My wife and my kids, it’s heartbreaking,” he said.

 

A contractor working nearby who happened to also be an animal control officer rushed to help subdue the pit bull, Langford reported.

“I got the hose and just started shooting water in the mouth, let her choke a little so she would release. Eventually she released, but she had already done some damage,” he said.

“It’s really serious and it’s not likely she’s going to survive at this point,” the veterinarian said.

The owners of the pit bull told Langford they don’t want to discuss the attack.

“I don’t want to talk to you. (Why not?) Because I don't want to,” the man said.

Neighbors said they live in fear of the dog.

“My son told me he didn’t want my grandkids to come over because they like to play in the yard and he’s deathly afraid of that dog attacking his kids,” said one neighbor.

“My beautiful dog right now is in the hospital fighting for her life,” said Bolognese.

Bolognese said the police told her family nothing could be done about the attack.

An attorney suggested it is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

(CBS New York - June 28, 2014)

Fail: Animal Control does nothing when pit bulls kill dog; six months later they kill another and attack its elderly owner

ILLINOIS -- A suburban grandmother is demanding justice after her Yorkie named Toto was fatally attacked Tuesday by two pit bulls a neighbor says killed her dog just last year.

Bonnie Price, 83, of West Chicago, says she was walking down the street at around 1 p.m. with Toto when the dogs attacked the both of them.



"They were just vicious-looking as they were just charging down the street," Price said. "I went down to pick Toto up, and they pulled me down."

Price said four men, one wielding a shovel, came running to her aid after hearing her cries for help, but it was too late.

"He banged it on him, but he didn't budge," Price said. But they couldn't save Toto. "There was still a heartbeat there, but he was gone."

Neighborhood children made cards for the Prices. This little girl spoke
of how sweet Toto was and that she's sorry he's gone.

Bonnie, who herself was bitten and bruised in the attack, has since learned it's not the first time the pit bulls have fatally attacked another dog in the neighborhood.

When asked by the reporter what authorities did about the pit bull when it
killed her beloved Macy back in December, Laura Ekstrom said, "Nothing."

Macy, killed by the same pit bull six months earlier

Laura Ekstrom said her dog Macy was killed by the dogs just a few blocks away in December, but her complaints to city officials fell on deaf ears.

"I tried so hard when it happened at Christmas-time to get something done. I said, 'This isn't right,'" Eksrom said.

NBC 5 was unsuccessful in trying to contact the owner of the pit bulls.

The pit bulls live here; not surprisingly, the owners refused to speak

The DuPage County Animal Control have quarantined the dogs and assured Price they won't be coming back to the neighborhood.

West Chicago police are considering charges against the owners.

(nbcchicago.com - June 26, 2014)

Pit bull attacks disabled woman's dog; owner grabs pit bull and flees

NEW MEXICO -- A pit bull attacked a woman and her dog outside of an Albuquerque hospital.

"She's a very special dog to me," said Cherif Porter, who has had her miniature schnauzer, Lilly, for four years.

Earlier this week, Porter said she had the scare of her life.

"I was terrified the dog was going to come after me, too, bite me, too," Porter said.

Porter said the attack happened Wednesday evening. It happened on their usual walk around Presbyterian Hospital, when a pit bull charged at them and took a bite out of Lilly's backside.

"And I heard her yelp," Porter said.

A witness stepped in to help and wrapped his arms around the pit bull until it let go of Lilly.

"She was shaking, shaking, shaking badly," Porter said.

Porter said the pit bull and his owner fled without asking if they needed help. Lilly ended up requiring emergency surgery.

Porter's father, Armando Lara, wants the pit bull captured before another attack happens.

 

"Before that dog attacks another animal or worse, a child," Lara said.

Porter asked that anyone with information about the dog attack call Animal Control.

(KOAT - June 28, 2014)

One injured in Middletown pit bull attack

NEW JERSEY -- One person was injured in a pit bull attack at 5 Pacific Ave. at about 2:30 p.m. today, police said.

The pit bull crawled under a fence from a neighboring house and attacked another dog, Detective Lt. Stephen Dollinger said.

The owner of the attacking dog attempted to break up the skirmish and suffered a minor bite wound to a hand, Dollinger said. The individual refused medical attention, Dollinger said.

The officer said no charges were filed.

Dollinger declined to release the names of the dogs’ owners.

[Don't you love how they minimized everything. "Break up the 'skirmish'", "suffered a 'minor bite wound', "refused medical attention"... all leading up to the most important part: "no charges were filed". Um, how about the dog that was attacked by the pit bull??? Anyone give a hoot about it?]

(Asbury Park Press - June 29, 2014)

Woman sent to hospital after dog bite to the face

NEW HAMPSHIRE -- A 32-year-old woman was hospitalized Wednesday morning after a black labrador retriever bit her in the face, according to Police Sgt. Christopher Kiberd.

"She sustained serious injuries to her face," Kiberd said Friday. "She was brought to the hospital and is receiving treatment there."

The woman was at a friend's house when the dog bit her, according to Kiberd, who said the incident occurred on Crescent Way at 8:13 a.m. Wednesday. Police and the animal control officer responded to the home, and took the dog into custody after the animal control officer determined the dog was not up to date with its rabies shots, Kiberd said.

He said the dog will be quarantined for 10 days "to make sure the animal doesn't exhibit any signs of sickness," including rabies. If it doesn't, it's likely the dog will be returned to its owner, Kiberd said.

It will be up to the animal control officer to decide if the owner is cited under the city's dog ordinance.

Kiberd said because the incident happened in a private home, it's unlikely the animal control officer would move to have the dog euthanized, even if the city ordinance allows for that.

"It could be different if the dog is outside on the loose," he said.

Kiberd also said the victim knew the dog that bit her.

(Seacoast Online - June 28, 2014)

Dead kittens and neglected dog found in Terre Haute home

INDIANA -- Code Enforcement said two dead kittens and a neglected dog were found in a Terre Haute home Thursday night. Officials said it’s one of the worst cases they have ever seen.

It all started four days ago when Rickie heard something strange coming from her neighbor’s yard.

“I’m walking to my garage and I hear this sound and it was his dog. I wanted to be neighborly so I went to check on him. I started smelling this stench and I looked up and there was just blood dripping out of a bag,” she said.

Her fears were confirmed when a tip led code enforcement to 2037 N. 7th Street on Thursday evening.

“We had a complaint of an individual with bags of decaying meat inside his garage,” said Tim Manley, a City Animal Control Officer, with Code Enforcement of Terre Haute.

Inside the garage, authorities found two dead kittens.

“He (the homeowner) put them in bags to keep the possums from getting them, but he didn’t throw them in the garbage,” said Manley.

Leading Rickie to question if one of them was her cat that recently went missing.

“Now that this has come out and everything has happened it makes we wonder if my cat is really over there or not,” she said.

The dog was found alive but had to be euthanized due to health issues brought on by neglect.

“The condition of the dog was horrendous. It had open sores all over its body, with matted fur, there was fly larva coming out of the animal and crawling all over it,” said Manley.

It’s a gruesome discovery that has left some in fear.

“Dead animals hanging in your garage? I’m going to move,” said Rickie.

The homeowner’s name is not being released at this time. He has been issued a citation for animal cruelty and is expected to be in court on July 18.

(WISH-TV - ‎June 28, 2014‎)

Marlborough man charged with hurting dog

MASSACHUSETTS -- A Marlborough man was charged with animal cruelty and making threats after police said he was seen abusing his small dog and then angrily confronted to two passersby when they questioned whether he was hurting the animal.

Michel P. Monteiro, 46, of 13 Cross St., was charged with cruelty to animals and threatening to commit a crime after his arrest at 9:47 p.m. Friday, police said.

According to a police report filed in Marlborough District Court, two men called police and said that they were passing Monteiro in his driveway, when they heard his dog yelp. They stopped and asked Monteiro if he had hurt the dog, according to the report.

Monteiro, in turn, told the two men to "get away from my dog" and began walking toward them in a threatening manner, according to the report. One of the men continued backing up until he was pinned against a car and told police that he thought Monteiro was going to hit him.

When police arrived, they found Monteiro, still in his driveway, showing signs of intoxication and smelling like alcohol, according to the report. He was holding his dog, named Ukie, on a leash, but the dog was constantly moving in circles, rubbing the left side of his body against the ground, according to the report.

Witnesses told police that they had seen Monteiro grab Ukie by the throat after it had gotten loose from him. Witnesses said he then picked the dog up by the throat and hit it in the head with a water bottle, according to the police report.

The dog’s left eye was bright red and bloodshot and appeared as though the dog had been struck or punched, police wrote in the report. Monteiro told police that he had just noticed the color of the dog’s eye, but was not going to seek treatment for the dog.

Police requested animal control and continued speaking with Monteiro as they waited for the animal control officer to arrive. Monteiro repeatedly told police that the dog was his and that he loved the dog and did not hit it, according to the police report.

While police were talking to Monteiro, he kept picking the dog up and putting it down, at one point dropping the dog from his arms, according to the police report. After Monteiro dropped the dog, officers took control of the animal, according to the report.

An animal control officer took the animal to Tufts University Foster Hospital for Small Animals, according to the police report. A veterinarian at the hospital told police that the dog was treated for head trauma, which caused bruising to the head and left eye, according to the police report. The vet also told police that Ukie's behavior of circling and rubbing his head on the ground was consistent with being injured, police said.

Monteiro was released without bail following his arraignment in Marlborough District Court Monday and was ordered not to own any domestic animals, according to court records.

(Wicked Local Marlborough - June 23, 2014)