A couple is grieving today following the death of their 14-year-old rescue dog, who was stabbed in Central Park on Saturday night.
Man stabs dog in Central Park
According to the New York Post, Brian Robert (not his full name) and his wife Melanie often walked their dogs, Eli and Sadie, in the park. They occassionally saw another man with three Pocket Bullies (a hybrid breed of the American Staffordshire Terrier and the American Pit Bull Terrier) near the 106th Street and Fifth Avenue entrance. Brian once complimented the man on the miniature dogs.
But on the night in question, one of the Pocket Bullies snapped at Sadie, a 17-year-old Miniature Pinscher. Brian criticized the man for allowing the behavior.
“I was trying to correct him and say it’s not OK, your dog just tried to bite my dog,” Brian told the New York Post. “And then he just wanted to be a tough guy and he started trying to talk to me like he’s my dad. I know the guy, I’ve spoken to him. But his dogs never tried to bite my dog.”
Melanie must have recognized a threat, but she kept encouraging Brian to walk away. But Brian couldn’t let it go. “We just had words, like, regular, stupid guy words,” Brian said.
Then, the situation intensified. The man loosened the dogs’ leashes and allegedly sicced them on Brian. “All of a sudden, three dogs are attacking me and [my wife] picked up my little dog … because [the suspect] was trying to punch me,” Brian said.
In self-defense, Brian sprayed pepper spray at the attacker to no avail. Then, the man pulled out a folding knife and stabbed Eli. The senior Pit Bull–German Shepherd mix cried out in pain. “It happened so fast, so sudden,” Melanie said.
“My dog never stood up again,” Brian said. The man fled and is still at large.
Dog parents decide to euthanize dog after stabbing
Brian rushed Eli to a vet. During the evaluation, they found a tumor that would likely prove fatal. That information, along with the internal injuries resulting from the stabbing, meant that the most humane decision was to put Eli down.
Saying goodbye to Eli was particularly tough on Melanie. “I’m sad and I’m scared about what happened [Saturday],” she said.
“It’s hard, because the dog was attached to her,” Brian added. Now, the couple fears walking Sadie in Central Park. They not only worry about their dog’s safety, but about their own. “I know stuff happens,” Brian said. “But I thought I was pretty safe around this neighborhood.”
