Baby Girl recovering at the Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation (SNARR) after reportedly being shot by a police officer in Schmul Park on Saturday afternoon. The unleashed dog was initially reported to be dead.
Staten Island
The brother of the injured dog's owner wrote on Facebook that the officer shot the dog after the incident was already under control, and that the officer shot a dog who wasn't involved in the incident, according to a post on gothamist.
"The bullet entrance and exit wounds show the dog was running away, NOT [TOWARD] the cop like that coward officer claims. The fight was already under control, yet hero cop of the day felt it necessary to pull out her gun and shoot. THIS DOG WASNT EVEN THE ONE THAT WAS FIGHTING."
According to cops, the owner was walking with her unleashed dog at Schmul Park in Travis around 1 p.m. Saturday. Three dogs were involved in the incident, though it is unclear whether all three belonged to the woman. Two of the dogs started fighting, and when the woman went to break them up, one bit her. "Responding officers tried to help her, and in the attempt to get the dog off her, shots were fired," a police spokesman said.
But the brother of the owner, who was treated for her hand injuries at Richmond University Medical Center, wrote a long post on Facebook refuting the cops statement. In addition to shooting the wrong dog after the incident was over, the brother claims cops left the dog in the back of an ESU truck for an hour while she bled out and told the family they couldn't find it. "They lied hopeing [sic] the dog would just die so they could dispose of her and pretend the shooting never occurred," he wrote.
S.N.A.R.R Animal Rescue Northeast, the group that rescued Baby Girl before she was adopted, spread the brother's message and has been updating her condition since. Founder Robin Menard posted this about the incident:
Two other dogs were in a scuffle. The dogs did not " attack an turn on their owner ". She accidentally got bitten while breaking up the scuffle. Baby Girl was NOT involved ( it was two other family dogs) and was running AWAY from the fight when cops fired 3 rounds. Baby Girl was shot in the stomach. She is now fighting for her life and her adopters are paying for a 6000 surgery. They are doing whatever they can. Baby Girl has never had an issue with people or other dogs. She is best friends with a bunny rabbit... Yes. A bunny!
Baby Girl underwent two surgeries.
We reached out to the NYPD for comment regarding the brother's claims as well as to the Parks Department to see if the woman was facing any charges stemming from the off-leash condition that lead to the incident.
- Geoffrey Croft
Read More:
Family And Rescue Group Claim Cops Shot Innocent Pet Dog
Gothamist - April 7, 2013 - By Ben Yakas
Police Shoot Dog in Staten Island Park
A Walk In The Park - April 6, 2013 - By Geoffrey Croft
I'm sure there were more witnesses in the park other than the victims family and we all know there is always two sides to any story. We dog owners love our dogs as family. We must be responsible for our pets so therefore we must also abide by laws. The dog was unleashed and in a scuffle... some say the dog ran away because it was afraid, sometimes dog run because they know they did something wrong. I believe the cop was trying to help the woman and when that dog ran away who knows what it was capable of doing, it could of gone after a child in the park. We don't know that. So I believe if that dog owner had her dog leashed and under control the officer wouldn't of had to make a split second decision. And the dog did not die like the other stories lead us to believe. People really need to stand up to responsibilities and stop placing blame on others. Leash your dogs!
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