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ANIMAL WATCH - On March 3, 2025, a 10-pound Chihuahua, named Penny, was walking with her owners on a busy New York City street when a man with two Pit Bulls on leashes approached and both dogs violently attacked the tiny dog.
This caused the large crowd of people to stop and join in a united effort to protect Penny and save her life by kicking and hitting the dogs—one man reportedly used a cane to beat them--until she was dropped from the aggressors’ jaws.
However, had this been a less-traveled street or happened at night, it is likely Penny’s life would have ended—quickly, as a small bloody mass on the street, or perhaps after hours or days of prolonged suffering.
(See Penny here, with visible wounds and apparent painful movement but walking--and smiling—as she recovers.
In a May 7 follow-up report, the same dogs were shown “killing a woman’s Shih Tzu-mix and maiming another in January-- terrorized same NYC neighborhood before: ‘There’s got to be consequences.”
A comment published May 7, 2025, 5:00 p.m. ET in the NY Post , states
“The savage pit bulls who mauled a chihuahua on the Upper West Side over the weekend have been a menace in the neighborhood for months, killing one shih tzu mix and maiming another in January.”
Manhattan attorney Lauren Block reported that the same two dogs attacked her two tiny Shih Tzus on Jan. 4, months before the attack on Penny.
“I was completely disgusted and sickened and – I hate this word – triggered, because this could have been avoided,” Block said, recounting the attack that left Grover dead and Chuckie maimed. “The guy was so brazen that he didn’t try to get the dogs off Penny, either, she stated.
Upper West Side resident Lauren Block, whose Shih Tzu-mix puppies were attacked by the same Pit Bulls.. ( Photo.Obtained by NY Post)
The pup’s owners said one of the Pit Bulls “was picking up Grover and shaking him like a stuffed animal. My dog was totally defenseless,” she said., adding, “I could just imagine him picking up a child and doing that,” the report states.
Kevin Miller, Ohio State Representative (R), introduced a statewide dog-bite law in the Senate on April 29, 2025, called the “Dangerous Dog Bill,” which would require the same consequences for “vicious” dogs regardless of breed, including all Pit Bull-types. It appears to be on its way to approval, according to CityWatchLA.com.
TOWN HALL MEETING: “There’s got to be Consequences,
(The community meeting about the attack on Penny the chihuahua. Photo by Gus Saltonstall)
According to a thorough report by WestsideRag.com, attendees at the town hall organized by City Councilmember Gale Brewer were left disappointed, because it was made clear that, under current laws and authority, the dogs videotaped attacking Penny will stay in the custody of their owners for the time being. This is because of the current laws that would cover the dog-on-dog incident, according to Brewer, members of the New York Police Department, and a representative from the New York City Department of Health.
Brewer expressed frustration as she reported that the city’s legal system, defines dogs as property, meaning the attack is not considered a criminal matter to be taken up by the NYPD — though a civil lawsuit could be filed.
“We don’t have the outcome we all want right now,” Brewer said, indicating that her “first goal is to help pass a law that would make such attacks a criminal matter.”
She explained that Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal had already introduced a bill on the issue, which would change the section of state law containing animal cruelty crimes by reclassifying animals as “sentient beings,” not as property, allowing them to be considered as victims of crimes.
Brewer said her second goal was to get the dogs that attacked Penny off the streets.
NYPD AND MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
The NYPD representative from the Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad, summarized their efforts thus far: “We have put together information [about the attack on Penny] and presented it to the District Attorney’s Office.”
A representative from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the office “has opened an investigation into the attack, due to allegations that the owner of the two pit bulls pushed another person who was trying to stop the attack, and that after one dog attacked the chihuahua, the owner may have allowed the second one to join in.”
A city Department of Health official told the town hall meeting that, while the agency responds to dog bite complaints, it has no authority to enforce criminal sanctions. It’s “a very rare, lengthy, and arduous process to have someone’s pet removed,” he said.
Throughout the meeting, which included testimony of other attacks by the same two Pit Bulls, frustration continued to grow over the lack of laws surrounding dog-on-dog attacks.
“You’ll file a report if someone slashes my tires, but not if my dog gets killed by another dog?” a crowd member called out at one point.” Read entire report on this meeting here
City drafting legislation to punish dog owners for attacks
As described above, there appears to be little foundation in local laws and agencies to enforce .laws. However, new legislation that is proposed would create criminal consequences for owners in dog attacks like Penny’s, according to Brewer and Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, who is proposing similar legislation at the State level.
Rajkumar’s bill, “Penny’s Law,” would criminalize negligent dog handling in the case of a dog attack. It will also criminalize leaving the scene – enforced similarly to a hit-and-run – and crack down on owners who let their dogs off-leash illegally, but, unless agencies have the foundational structure to enforce these laws, nothing will change for victims or the animals themselves.
KENNETH PHILLIPS, L.A. “DOG-BITE” ATTORNEY,” DISCUSSES EXISTING AND PROPOSED LAWS. AND “PRIVATE ANIMAL CONTROL”
Ken Philips, Los Angeles lawyer, known as "the dog bite attorney," joined NewsNation to weigh in on what is needed to hold owners of dangerous or vicious dogs liable for such attacks on animals or humans, and to discuss his concept of “Private Animal Control:”
PRIVATE ANIMAL CONTROL
“California and New York already have state laws that let people act as animal control officers under certain circumstances.,” he said.
“In California, a private citizen can initiate a special legal proceeding against a dog that bit human beings on two occasions. A person can file a petition with the Superior Court, which then has to hold a hearing. Depending on the evidence, the judge can order the dog to be handled or confined in a more safe manner. The relevance statute is Civil Code section 3342.5(b).
Here's what it says:
CALIFORNIA LAW (EXISTING)
(b) Whenever a dog has bitten a human being on at least two separate occasions, any person, the district attorney, or city attorney may bring an action against the owner of the animal to determine whether conditions of the treatment or confinement of the dog or other circumstances existing at the time of the bites have been changed so as to remove the danger to other persons presented by the animal. This action shall be brought in the county where a bite occurred. The court, after hearing, may make any order it deems appropriate to prevent the recurrence of such an incident, including, but not limited to, the removal of the animal from the area or its destruction if necessary.
NEW YORK ALREADY HAS A SIMILAR STATUTE
“New York has a similar statute,” Ken Phillips says. Anybody can initiate a proceeding against a dog that hurt a person or companion animal, or even threatened to do so.
A bite is not required, and it could be the first time the dog acted that way.
The court has to hear the case within five days, and can issue a wide variety of orders to protect the community afterwards. The statute is quite wordy, also here's a link for further reading.
PENNY’S LAW NOT NEEDED TO STOP ATTACKS
Recently, a Chihuahua, named “Penny” was brutally mauled by two Pit Bulls on the upper West side of Manhattan.
Local and state lawmakers are promising to enact a new law to impose criminal penalties on dog owners like the ones who owned the Pit Bulls.
But it is hardly necessary, because New York already has great laws. What's missing, however, is the will to enforce them, because it doesn't matter what the laws are if they are not being enforced.
That’s the beauty of a private animal control law; we the people can be the enforcers.
KEN PHILLIPS YOU-TUBE VIDEO ON PENNY'S LAW -ANALYZES THE RESPONSES GIVEN BY NY OFFICIALS.
A Pit Bull attack in New York left a small dog, named Penny, mauled—and New Yorkers outraged. The NYPD refused to act, claiming it wasn’t a crime. But is that what the law actually says?
In this video, attorney Kenneth M. Phillips, the nation's leading expert on dog bite law, explains what New York’s Agriculture & Markets Law Section 123 requires from police, judges, and citizens when a dog attacks another animal. He walks us through the legal process, outlines the penalties for dangerous dogs, and debunks the myth that there’s “nothing we can do.”
You’ll also learn about Section 353—the animal cruelty law that may apply to Penny’s case—and hear why some people are calling for new legislation. Do we really need “Penny’s Law,” or are the tools already in place to protect our neighborhoods from dangerous dogs and irresponsible dog owners?
-Also see “Ohio Bill Proposes Labeling Pit Bulls as a “Vicious” Breed
(Phyllis M. Daugherty is a former Los Angeles City employee, an animal activist and a contributor to CityWatch.)
