Moose The Dog Dies After Prospect Park Attack, Owner Left 'Shattered'

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — A crazed man with a stick attacked a woman and her dog in Prospect Park last week, costing the dog his life and leaving his distraught owner "shattered."

The unprovoked attack has left Jessica Chrustic facing a slow-to-start police investigation, thousands of dollars in veterinary bills, and worst of all, a life without her Golden Retriever-mix Moose, she told Patch.

"He was just the goofiest, sweetest big fluffer," Chrustic said, her voice cracking, of the two-year-old pup. "He was the best."

The Attack

Chrustic's nightmare began near the Prospect Park Picnic House on Aug. 3 about 6:30 a.m. when she and Moose encountered a man she'd seen before, who always had a big stick and a bag overflowing with recycling, and whom she tried to avoid.

As Chrustic and Moose walked across the park's inner loop, she saw the man rifling through some trash near the Picnic House and Litchfield Villa.

They gave him space, standing far away in a plot of mulch, Chrustic said.

"This man is violent," Chrustic said. "He’s just a person I knew to avoid.”

But the distance didn't stop the man from reaching into his bag and throwing a container of urine at the Park Sloper and her pup, Chrustic said.

He muttered something about "immigrants taking over the park," and then he attacked, said Chrustic.

The man swung his ever-present stick over and over, striking Chrustic in the back as she scrambled up some nearby stairs, she said.

He also hit Moose square in the mouth with the stick, shattering a tooth, she said.

Later, Chrustic learned that amid the frenzied attack the man had likely struck Moose in the abdomen, causing a perforation that became infected.

A woman rushed up to help, shouting, "Get the f--- away," Chrustic said. Two bicyclists also stopped, and the attention apparently scared the man away.

NYPD officers arrived minutes after Chrustic and the woman called 911, she said.

A shaken Chrustic gave the officers her information, described what happened and told them in which direction the man had run, she said.

"It’s not very hard to find a distinct person waving a stick around with recycling," Chrustic said.

But not only did police not find the man, Chrustic learned a week later a police report had never been filed, she said.

“I’ll be honest, my dog was bleeding from its mouth," said Chrustic. "That was my main focus."

The End

Chrustic rushed Moose to Prospect Park Animal Clinic, where veterinarians performed an emergency surgery to pull a shattered tooth from his jaw.

The expensive surgery prompted Chrustic to set up a GoFundMe — "Attacked in Prospect Park" — seeking $10,000 to cover the procedure.

"I will spend all my time snuggling my pup and giving him all the (soft) treats," she wrote in the fundraiser. "Any and all donations towards Moose's vet bills are incredibly appreciated."

The GoFundMe spread like wildfire among local Facebook groups in neighborhoods surrounding Prospect Park.

Many residents reached out to Chrustic to tell her of their own frightening encounters with the man. One person had a nearly identical run-in with the man three years ago, she said.

Other concerned neighbors reached out to media outlets, including Patch, to spread word about the attack and fundraiser.

But Chrustic's focus, again, was on Moose. By Sunday, Moose had started to become lethargic, she said.

She said she took Moose to another emergency clinic, where veterinarians told her an internal injury — likely suffered during the attack — became septic.

Moose went through another emergency surgery, but he did not survive.

"I’m just shattered right now," she said.

The Investigation

Tuesday, after Moose's death, Chrustic walked into the NYPD's 78th Precinct to update the report she believed police officers had presumably written and discovered it didn't exist.

Similarly, when Patch contacted police Tuesday morning about the incident, an NYPD spokesperson likewise said they had no record of a report.

Police later told Patch that Chrustic did not immediately file a report after the incident, but did so Tuesday afternoon.

Chrustic said she couldn't "fathom" police never made a report after the attack, which left both her and Moose shaken and injured.

Report or no report, Chrustic must now mourn the lost of the friend who's been a constant companion since she adopted him from a local shelter.

Together with Moose, Chrustic used to visit the park at least four times a day.

They loved the park's quiet early mornings and its bustling weekend days. With leash in hand, Chrustic would watch Moose happily bound through the grass in the park's Nethermead.

Now, she wants the NYPD to finally apprehend an attacker who has long terrorized parkgoers and give Moose justice.

Chrustic said police have since been "very proactive." She said they informed her they may know who committed the attack.

Police told Patch that the investigation remains ongoing.

Chrustic is deep in grief over Moose's death, but she is heartened by her community's response.

"Nothing will bring back Moose right now, but knowing I have so many people out there right now that are so supportive, it means the world,” she said.

"I want everyone to know that Moose is the best dog.”