A dog that was mauled by two bigger dogs on Saturday night on Manhattan's Upper West Side is now out of the hospital and back home.
But outrage remains after it was revealed the dogs in question have attacked before, and the owners have not faced serious criminal charges.
“It's a miracle that she's alive”
Penny the chihuahua mix has extensive bruising, stemming from the vicious attack by two pit bulls on Saturday night at 85th Street and Columbus Avenue, but she went home from the Blue Pearl Animal Hospital in Hell's Kitchen on Monday.
Her pet mom, Lauren Claus, almost didn't think it would happen.
“It's a miracle that she's alive,” Claus said.
The attack on the 16-pound rescue prompted bystanders to jump in and help.
New video shows the man who was walking one of the pit pulls grab one bystander by the hair and drag him during the melee. Then, the couple is seen just walking away from the chaos without penalty.
“We can't get people to investigate. I'll call an organization and then they'll say call this organization, which says call this organization, which leads back to the NYPD, who goes, ‘Sorry,'” Claus said.
State assemblywoman is trying to change NYC's laws
That apparent confusion over law enforcement's role in the incident is why state Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal is pushing a bill to change the definition of pets from “property” to “sentient beings.”
But there are existing laws she believes should already apply.
“The police can absolutely take a report and then send it on to a judge, and so we've called the Manhattan DA's office because it could also be that the owner of the dog is abusing them,” Rosenthal said.
Lauren Block told CBS News New York on the phone Monday night that's exactly what she did in January, when she says those same two pit bulls mauled her two shih tsu mixes, killing 17-year-old Grover, who was blind.
“I went to the precinct near me and I said I want to file a dangerous dog report and he said you have to go back to the other precinct and I said the other precinct said I need to come here,” Block said.
David Rosengard is a lawyer with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
“I know, nationally, that is an issue that law enforcement often just aren't receiving the resources and information they need to see these laws carried out effectively,” Rosengard said.
Penny has a long road to recovery, as her owner and others continue to fight to change animal cruelty laws and attitudes.
