Chihuahua’s Upper West Side Pit Bull Mauling Prompts Town Hall Meeting Wednesday

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — After two large pit bulls brutally mauled a 16-pound chihuahua on the Upper West Side over the weekend, Councilmember Gale Brewer is holding a town hall on Wednesday afternoon to discuss what can be done to hold the dog owners accountable.

The town hall will be on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Goddard Community Center, her office said.

The chaotic scene unfolded Saturday evening around 7:30 p.m. at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 86th Street when one pit bull lunged at Penny while on a walk, and she escaped, according to the West Side Rag.

Then, the other dog lunged at her and bit down, at which point the other dog joined in until several bystanders and Penny's owners wrestled the dogs off her, the NY Post reported. All dogs were on leashes during the attack, according to video footage posted to X (formerly Twitter).

Penny, a 10-year-old service dog, was rushed to the emergency room for three hours of emergency surgery, and is now covered in stitches and bruises, a GoFundMe for Penny's medical bills says.

Michael Jay, a friend of Penny's owners who started the GoFundMe on their behalf, said the people walking the pit bulls did nothing to stop the attack, fled the scene, and even tried to interfere with bystanders making rescue efforts.

"The owners not only did nothing during the attack to help, but they also fled the scene, dragged a fellow bystander who was trying to help away from the dogs, AND intentionally smashed someone’s phone when they tried to record them," Michael Jay wrote, adding that they think the same two dogs were responsible for killing another pooch in January in Central Park.

So far, the GoFundMe has raised nearly $38,000, and a Change.org petition has compiled more than 4,000 signatures.

"This was an assault," Brewer said, adding that she called the NYPD to ask to hold the owners of the pit bulls accountable, but was told that because dogs are considered property, her options were limited.

"We need and deserve to feel safe in our community. We cannot let anyone terrorize neighborhoods, including dogs. The NYPD must be able to address an attack on a dog by another dog, and I will be introducing legislation to address such situations."

Representatives from the NYPD will be at the town hall as well as the Animal Care Center, which is New York City's largest animal shelter, her office said.

The town hall will be on Wednesday, May 7, at 4 p.m. at the Goddard Community Center, which is located at 593 Columbus Ave. in Manhattan. Service dogs welcome, but no pets please, Brewer's office says.

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