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In a court appearance earlier this month, Joseph Columbus—the Upper West Side man whose pit bulls attacked a Chihuahua named Penny on May 3—was told by a judge to give up both of his dogs to the NYPD or risk jail time.
According to a Fox 5 NY report, the judge warned Columbus that if his dogs were not in the possession of the NYPD by the end of the next day, she would take more serious action, “possibly putting Mr. Columbus behind bars,” Fox 5 NY’s Arthur Chi’en reports.
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Columbus had a tense encounter in court, with the outlet describing his behavior as “evasive” and his attorney’s as “combative.” Columbus’ attorney frequently interrupted Chi’en as he tried to ask her questions.
In March, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued an order requiring Columbus to muzzle his dogs and walk them one at a time. This order was issued because of another incident in January, in which one of Columbus’ pit bulls fatally attacked a smaller dog in Central Park. Columbus attorney claimed his failure to muzzle his dogs was due to never receiving the order.
Columbus’ attorney used the term “alleged” to describe the attacks, but during her exchange with the reporter, a woman who identified herself as the owner of the dog involved in the January incident walked by and stated that her dog had died.
The lawyer also claimed Columbus’ pit bulls were traumatized from prior events. The judge didn’t buy this explanation at all.
In video footage taken on the day of the incident (May 3), two pit bulls can be seen attacking Penny on 85th and Columbus Avenue. The Chihuahua was badly injured and required emergency surgery. She has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
This case has gained significant media coverage and has led to widespread community outrage, with calls for changes to laws and legislation, including Penny’s Law—a piece of legislation introduced by Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar to hold irresponsible pet owners criminally liable for pet-on-pet violence.
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Americans kills 3,000 animals per second for food.
Yes, but Chihuahua meat is too lean to be useful
Yo! Columbo!! You PAY the VET BILLS too!! You know they’re a danger you know they have a history. I say PUT COLUMBUS IN PRISON with BOTH HIS DOGS and his WIFE!
COLUMBO- yo get outta my hood!i
I do applaud the citizens who have followed thru the proper channels in an effort to keep streets safe from out of control animals.
Ugly— get those attackers off the streets!!!
So did he comply and turn in the dogs? According to this article, the deadline was May 4.
Nope.
Make that couple pay Penny’s vet bills before they lock them up.
These owners are cruel, bad people. If their dogs are not taken from them, another dog, or child, or adult will be injured or worse. I would fairly assume they have issues with their fellow tenants and their landlord over the dogs – that might be something to investigate.
As I read on the Fox 5 site https://www.fox5ny.com/news/pit-bull-attack-court-case-maul-dogs , the dogs were not seized on Tuesday, which was the deadline. Columbus didn’t answer the door and no dogs barked. He’s back in court on Friday,
Absolutely should surrender dogs dad and mom of dogs. On your knees !!
If the order was to surrender them by the end of the next day and the court appearance was last month, why are the dogs still in their possession and/or he is not in jail? Where is the police and court follow up?
Because justice does not work well in this country.
Good question. At the hearing yesterday Columbus agreed (barely) to be at his home today at 6 am for the NYPD to take dogs. Unsurprisingly he did not answer his door this morning to the NYPD. The judge said yesterday she will put him jail if he does not comply today.
Why is this owner of Killer Dogs getting extensions on surrendering
These dogs. These are not pet . They are dangerous predators.
The general public is at risk of being mauled or worse !
Tanya
I am sure I am in the minority here, but I do not blame these dogs for the criminal irresponsibility of their owners. These dogs were not born vicious, contrary to misguided and misinformed media reports (read all the latest studies on bully breed intelligence and temperament, scoring much higher than labrador retrievers and others on desirable traits and metrics.) These two dogs were never trained or socialized properly, which is the owners’ fault, not the dogs. Muzzles, ordered back in March, would have, at least, kept these dogs and any other animals or humans encountered on the street, safe. But the owners chose not to do that. I am horrified by the attacks – truly horrified – but I am equally horrified that these two dogs may now pay with their lives because of their wildly irresponsible humans. Full disclosure: I am a current municipal city shelter dog walking volunteer and have walked and continue to walk scores of “pit bulls” and other bully breeds, among other pups. They are my very favorite dogs due to their naturally playful, loyal and loving nature. If treated badly, their behavior will reflect the abuse, just like any other dog or breed. The only time I have ever been bitten in my 12 years of volunteering with multiple animal shelters was by a chihuahua, and that was my fault not the dog’s. I do hope these owners are held accountable and punished. Thank you.
I agree. I also have volunteered at the shelter socializing with the bully breeds. Many of them there were abused and scared. I did hear that owner abuses his dogs. My former Pit was a therapy dog working with children and a foster mom to kittens, My Pit now was a cruelty case, but is so lovable, plays with dogs and cuddles with my cat. There are many bully breeds like this, but it is not reported because its not newsworthy.
Agreed, and well said. I feel bad for ALL the dogs in this story, 100% of the blame is with the irresponsible tough guy owner.
The owners are 100% responsible and should be prosecuted as if they did they attack on the other dogs or people themselves.
I completely agree…. the pit bulls I know are sweet and loving dogs. Even a Golden Retriever, the epitome of a “mush” dog, will become vicious if it is not treated correctly. It’s the owners, not the dog.
As for knocking on the door but nobody answered. The owners/dogs will have to leave the apartment at some point…. just wait and take them at that time.
Totally agree. All dogs are individuals, just as humans are. These people know that their dogs are dangerous, not because they are pits, because they have not been socialized and trained. The humans need to take responsibility. If I was walking my pit and got attacked by ANY dog I would be horrified. Pits are also my favorite.
Debra: What do you propose should be done with: 1) the dogs and 2) the “owner”?
Debra:…and the lawyer?—-“alleged” attack. Sounds ridiculous.
All dogs should have muzzled on the little ones up all the time n the big ones are angry n curious
It’s about time! Hopefully, these dogs can be re-trained back to being loving, lovable animals.