Our peaceful lives in Island Park have been turned upside down. 

On the morning of Wednesday, February 26th, I received a frantic phone call from my mother. She informed me that a loose pitbull, with no owner in sight, had aggressively mauled our beloved dog Dexter & attacked my father. The attack, located in Island Park, was completely unprovoked & even with multiple bystanders jumping in to help, this dog was absolutely relentless. The injuries were so extensive to my sweet little 13 lb. dog that we were forced to euthanize him. My dad had to go to the emergency room for his own injuries & bites; he could not even be there to say goodbye to our dog. This pitbull is a dog that is consistently getting out & roaming around on its own, despite the fact the owners are aware of its aggressive behavior towards other dogs. & after what it did to my father, I find it hard to believe this dog is not aggressive towards humans too. Our dog was our family- & he did not deserve to lose his life like this. My father did not deserve to endure this. My family is traumatized. The community is afraid to walk their dogs or have their children play outside, as this vicious dog was put right back with its owners the very same day.  Not long after, a judge signed off on an order to temporarily seize the dog, until a decision can be made in court, yet the owners have refused to surrender the dog to animal control.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I love dogs more than absolutely anything in this world, regardless what breed, but the unfortunate truth is some dogs are simply a threat to safety. We deserve to feel safe in our community without the threat of repeated attacks on our pets and our residents. There is a huge, huge difference between a dog not being friendly with other dogs and a dog being vicious to the point it mauls and kills an innocent dog and attacks a grown man. If multiple grown adults could not stop this dog, there is extreme concern. This type of behavior from a pet is a clear indication that it can harm more people and other animals in the future.

What happens next time? What if it had been a child walking their dog? Most importantly, why is this threat not being addressed?

These owners were not responsible enough to keep their dog inside the home let alone have their dog up to date on its shots, so what makes them responsible enough now? 

Please please please sign & share to get this dog removed from our community (Island Park)This should never have happened & we want it to never happen to someone else. 

We urge the Town of Hempstead and animal control to take action.

This is a photo of our beloved Dexter. When you sign this petition, please remember him & how easily this could have been prevented.