We received the following note and photo from a reader on Monday afternoon and have decided to share it in the interest of the dog’s well-being.
“I witnessed a man in Central Park near the entrance at CPW and 93rd street (in the grassy area just south of Wild West playground) beating and abusing his medium-sized grey (with white patches) pit bull while “training” him. The man was in his 20s/30s, strong medium build, curly hair in top knot, I believe Hispanic or black (I was watching from a distance). He wasn’t only screaming at and threatening the dog, he was squeezing the dog’s nose and hitting his face repeatedly (for example, when he wouldn’t lie down quickly enough, or when he put his nose in the grass to sniff something, or when he didn’t find the ball fast enough). From what I could gather, it seemed he was training the dog for dog fighting (the only time he was enthusiastically encouraging the dog was when he was getting him aggressive with tug of war rope). I witnessed this scene for close to 20 minutes, waiting for the police to arrive (I had called 911). Of course the man stopped once he saw the police, and they let the man go with his dog, just requesting he put the dog on the leash. I asked the police if they even took the man’s info, in case he has a record of animal abuse, or in case more complaints are filed against him, but they didn’t since they said they hadn’t witnessed any abuse. It was horrible to see, and I feel so helpless to save that poor dog. He was so docile and sweet, and the man was evil. I’m hoping to spread the word so that all can have their eye out for this man and his dog … perhaps if more people see something and report it to the police, there’s a chance of saving this innocent animal.”
Also on Monday, a Nextdoor user shared a post about a man who appeared to be abusing dogs in or near the West 79th Street subway station. “Someone mentioned said he is breeding dogs to fight,” the post adds.
To report animal abuse as it is happening, call 911.
To report animal abuse witnessed at an earlier point in time, call 311 or complete the forms on this page.
Here’s some additional info from the ASPCA.
i very much appreciate this being reported and shared with our community, however feel the suggestion the dog was being trained for dog fighting is an assumption made primarily based on the dog’s reported breed. i do not in any way condone what sounds like a horrible way to treat this poor animal – however, do want to offer up another possibility outside of dog fighting. many dogs are not food motivated and need to be rewarded via play, (eg. something like tug of war with a rope). when we brought my dog to a trainer, all positive reinforcement was done through playtime because he was not interested in treats or food. so could have been that as well.
I reported this, and I own a pit bull. I love my dog so much, and of course realize there is a negative association and assumption between the breed and dog fighting. I wouldn’t have suggested he was training his dog for this if I weren’t very convinced after having watched him for quite a period of time.
I do think you should be a bit more accepting about how different cultures treat animals. I believe we kill 30,000,000 animals a year for food in the US alone.
Animal cruelty is animal cruelty; it’s not a zero sum game and doesn’t have to be relative. (And, I’m a vegan and not the Mayot Adams type.) I don’t know what differenf cultures you are referring to, but this NY and that man’s treatment of his dog is illegal. Even accepting your “cultural” argument, it doesn’t excuse the cruelty; slavery was cultural and so is abuse against women. Should we accept that heinous cultural behavior, too?
Unfortunately, abuse of women is almost universal, spans most cultures.
In this culture we don’t abuse dogs. It’s actually illegal.
In what universe is it okay to abuse an animal?!?!?!
Thank you so much for reporting what you witnessed, even if it didn’t result in action. I once observed a man on Amsterdam Avenue trying to sell a very young puppy (way too young to be separated from its mother and to be outside) and I didn’t report it — sadly, I thought the police wouldn’t be bothered dealing with the issue. To this day, I can still hear the awful squeals coming from this poor little dog and regret not calling the police.
Culture? What ‘culture are you referring to..Legal or illegal MOST ‘Cultures’ harbor individuals who mistreat Animal. Children..Women Men..etc..and it is always WRONG..Please!
Unless you’re in Iran where women are chattel and kan be murdered for wearing the wrong clothes.
The inferences made in this article are more numerous than any facts. That you would publish this dunning account of dog abuse based on one person’s “eyewitness” account is not journalism – it is gossip. This paper is not where people should be presumed guilty and then loosing citizen justice (a.k.a. vigilantism) on the supposed perpetrator. It is clear from comments in ILTUWS that the readership is not without its fair share of cranks; why would you trust this person’s account without thoroughly investigating their story first? Puppies swimming across the Hudson in freezing water, the park rife with dog abusers… this paper is going off the rails.
It’s losing. There is no such thing as “loosing”. And it’s not a “paper”. Other than that, your rant was fun!
Loosing is a word and works fine in that sentence. Maybe look up a word before you correct someone. Other than the ignorance, your response was fun!
Completely agree. “Tech Bros taking over the UWS” “Spinning, Outer-Spacey Looking Sculpture”. All click bait articles. And this article is terrible. There is no base to what is being said. And people in this city think anything other than positive reinforcement is abuse. I don’t know about the hitting (if there actually was hitting), but I do believe grabbing a dogs muzzle is a form of training, though unpleasant. It’s all fun and games until a dog becomes a “bad dog” that bites an adult, child or another animal. Some dogs literally do not respond to positive reinforcement and there are many legal humane ways to train them that appear unpleasant, but also keep them out of a kill shelter. There may have been foul play here, who knows. You submitted a blurry picture and made a lot of subjective claims. Doesn’t make it fact.