More NYC dogs mauled by other pooches without consequence as state bill to close legal loophole stalls: ‘Should not be happening'

New York Post

a day ago

City dogs continue to be mauled by other pooches without consequence because a state bill prompted by the horrific Penny the Chihuahua attack has stalled, animal activists say.
Upper West Side resident Jennifer Busse told The Post a pit bull who was illegally off his leash mauled her tiny 13-year-old shih tzu-chihuahua mix Forrest in Riverside Park earlier this month — and that the NYPD said there are still no avenues in the criminal-justice system to punish the four-legged attacker's careless owner.
'Something needs to change,' Busse fumed.
4 Chihuahua mix Forrest was attacked by a vicious dog in Riverside Park on June 6 — but current laws prevent police from taking criminal action, owner Jennifer Busse told The Post.
Courtesy of Jennifer Busse
She said Forrest was sleeping in the grass at the Manhattan park June 6 when he was suddenly pounced on by the pit bull in front of her screaming terrified children, ages 6 and 8.
Busse said her poor pooch lost vision in his right eye while being left with more than a dozen puncture wounds from the attack.
Yet cops said their hands were tied, according to Busse.
4 Joe Columbus' pit bulls are accused of mauling Penny.
Obtained by NY Post
4 Penny recovers at her owner's apartment after being attacked by two dogs on the Upper West Side last month.
Gabriella Bass
'Due to current laws, harm or death to an animal caused by another animal is not a criminal matter,' an NYPD rep confirmed to The Post.
The attack occurred just weeks after a similar incident involving Penny the Chihuahua on the Upper West Side made national headlines.
The 16-pound Chihuahua was mauled by a pair of pit bulls near Columbus Avenue on May 3.
The case prompted state Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar last month to introduce a bill that seeks to allow owners to be potentially criminally charged for pet-on-pet injuries, as opposed to only facing a possible civil lawsuit.
'Pets are not property, they are family,' Rajkumar said at the time.
But the legislation remains stalled in the Assembly's Agriculture Committee, although it's unclear exactly why.
4 Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar proposed 'Penny's Law' in the state legislature last month.
Stephen Yang
The bill would make it possible to levy charges against careless owners, including 'cruelty to animals through negligent handling of a dog' and 'leaving the scene of an animal attack.'
It would also impose harsher penalties for those who repeatedly violate city leash laws.
The bill is named after Penny.
'This lack of accountability has permitted numerous dog owners to allow their pets to attack other dogs,' Rajkumar said last month. 'The same owners will allow the behavior repeatedly, often dismissing it as 'playing' or 'a dog being a dog.' '
Busse said, 'I totally understand that people who are homeless have [some of] these animals for companionship for protection.
'But at a certain point, this kind of situation is so unsafe for the community.'