Slain Dog Owners Call For Euthanization Of Pit Bull

A Staten Island man is calling for the euthanization of a Pit Bull after it mauled his Chihuahua earlier this year.

Eugene Charles, 77, is pleading for a Manhattan judge to allow the condemned dog, Ceaser, to be put down because he fears it will attack again.

Meanwhile, Ceaser’s owners are fighting to save the dog from euthanasia.

The attack happened on May 17, according to court papers which outline the viciousness of the attack of Charlie, the Chihuahua.

“I was walking my Chihuahua on North Railroad Avenue . . . near my home, when a brown pit bull dog . . . ran toward me and aggressively lunged at my Chihuahua,” Charles recounts in an affidavit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday, according to the New York Post.

“The pit bull grabbed my Chihuahua by the side with its mouth and dragged it along the sidewalk, refusing to let go,” he adds.

“I was also dragged along the sidewalk . . . In the process, the pit bull bit my arms and hands. My Chihuahua died on the sidewalk.”

At present, Ceaser is being held in a city shelter while owners Kristina and Douglas Panattieri fight to save the dog’s life. The filed a lawsuit that will prevent him from being euthanized for the attack.

Charles, whose home in the Grant City neighborhood is near the Panattieris’, says he dreads ever having to see the pit bull again.

“I am very afraid [the Panattieris’] pit bull . . . will escape their home again if it was to be returned to them, and attack me or other people or animals in our neighborhood, including children from the school located one block away,” he says.

An August 15 hearing is scheduled to determine Caesar’s fate. The Panattieris argue that the attak is not their fault because Charles instigated the attack. Charlie was not on a leash, according to the Pit Bull owners. While Charles denies that claim.

This is not the first time Ceaser has caused issues. The dog previously escaped from the yard and mauled a Maltese dog.

Ceaser also has health issues including a respiratory disease and pneumonia. The Panattieris’ attorney Richard Bruce Rosenthal, said Thursday that Caesar should be released from city custody because of this health issue.

He blames the city for Caesar’s condition and says his clients are considering filing a federal lawsuit claiming the pit bull has been “tortured.”

City lawyer Robert Martin III ­argues in a recent filing that Caesar’s case does not belong in state court but rather should be heard before an administrative law judge.

But Rosenthal has argued that the city’s administrative courts, which advise the city Health Department on which dogs should be put down, are governed by a “guilty unless proven innocent” standard.

Do you have an opinion on this case? It’s a complicated one with many conflicting words and opinions so we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. And please SHARE with friends, family, and fellow dog-owners.

[Featured Image: Kristina and Douglas Panattieri]

Slain Dog Owners Call For Euthanization Of Pit Bull is an article from: LifeDaily