Pit bulls brutally kill small dog at park

Long Beach couple seeks pet owners who fled scene

Posted

A 14-year-old Jack Russell terrier belonging to a Long Beach couple was killed on June 13 at the Nickerson Beach dog park, after two pit bulls attacked it, according to its owners, who are now trying to find the owners who fled.

Susan Bissett, a frequent user of the dog run in Lido Beach for the last three years, said her dog, Jake, was standing within the fenced area at about 6:15 p.m. when a pit bull sprinted toward and attacked it unprovoked. Another pit bull latched onto Jake as well, and though Bissett and the other owners ran over and tried to stop the attack, her pet was quickly killed and “ripped to shreds.”

According to Bissett, the owners — a man and woman who appeared to know each other — fled the scene when another woman at the dog park advised Bissett to call the police. She added that because she was so shocked and distraught, she did not call authorities that night, but has since filed reports with Nickerson Beach and the Nassau County Police Department. Nickerson Beach officials did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Police Department said that she was not yet aware of any report.

“We want justice for my little Jake, and for myself,” said Bissett, adding that one of the pit bulls bit her hand, leaving it bruised and swollen. “They fled the scene of a horrific accident and inhumanely left my poor Jake and myself there to deal with what their dogs started.”

Though Bissett has helped care for Jake for the last six years, her fiancée, Alexandra Buckley, owned the dog for all 14 years of its life. Bissett said that calling Buckley was the hardest part of it all.

“I probably shouldn’t have called her when I did because I was hysterical,” Bissett said. “I’ve never had to be in that type of heartbreak, emotional situation before in my life, so it was horrible. All I could say was ‘Jake’s dead.’”

One pit bull involved in the attack was gray and white and wore an American flag bandana, according to Bissett. The other was what she described as a mix between a pit bull and a brindle mastiff. The owner of a another gray and white pit bull that was not involved in the attack seemed to know the two owners, but stayed behind when the two others left, just holding her dog, Bissett said.

A visitor of the dog park posted a sign on the site’s fence, hoping to alert dog owners about what had happened there, including a description of the dogs and the owners involved in the attack. Various people and groups have shared the photo of the sign on Facebook.

Rachel Engel, a friend and neighbor of Bissett and Buckley described Jake as “my other kid.” She said that legally, not much can be done, aside from finding the owners, having them confess to the incident and having their dogs put down. She acknowledged that not all pit bulls and mastiffs are aggressive, but pointed to other attacks involving pit bulls around Nassau County dog parks at Eisenhower and Cedar Creek Park recently, citing Facebook posts.

Bissett hopes to spare others from the pain she and her fiancée have faced.

“It can’t happen again, which is basically what keeps me talking about it,” said Bissett. “I don’t want them to be able to bring their dogs to another dog park, or even the same one, and have it happen again.”