Dog-on-Dog Violence

A happier dog, photo credit: Prospect Park

Around 8am yesterday morning, two Brussels Griffons were attacked by a large Husky in Prospect Park’s Long Meadow, reports FIDO (Fellowship in the Interest of Dogs and their Owners). According to the notice posted to Facebook, the tussle began during Prospect Park’s off-leash hours. Writes the Brussels Griffons owner, Madeline Poley:

My dogs were playing with another dog when the Husky appeared out of nowhere. At first it appeared that he was joining in on the playing, when he suddenly turned aggressive & attacked both my dogs.

And for Team Brussels Griffon, it only gets worse:

I screamed at the owner to get his dog off mine & put him immediately on leash. The [Husky owner] was belligerent & slow in pulling his dog away, trying commands instead of physically grabbing him. Finally, he grabbed his dog & walked off without checking to see if my dogs were injured. It was only after a few dazed moments that I realized one of my dogs was bleeding. I couldn’t see how bad it was under his hair until I got home. I took him to Animal Kind. He suffered a deep fang wound, the other wound wasn’t as bad. The bill (& there will be more) was over $200. Worse than that was the trauma my dogs ( & I) went thru.

We don’t know exactly what happened (the Husky’s not talking), but according to FIDO, the standard etiquette is that the owner whose dog does the biting pays the medical bills, regardless of which dog technically started it.

If you witnessed the incident, contact Ms. Poley at madeline@madelinepoley.com — “any help or suggestions in finding this man would be appreciated,” she writes. And in a should-be-unneccessary (but apparently isn’t) reminder, FIDO adds: “off-leash privileges only work when dog owners maintain control of their dogs.”