Search On For Pit Bull Owner After Vicious Attack On Manhattan Couple & Poodle
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It was a close call for a couple and their dog after a pit bull attacked them in Manhattan.
Jay Tedder and Andrew Constantinides' 60-pound standard poodle, Jefe, is a gentle giant that's missing a big patch of fluffy fur until the stitches heal.
"You just don't leave a dog for dead on the street and run away," Constantinides said. "It's just not right."
The men say Jefe was on a leash outside their apartment on West 53rd Street when another man with a pit bull walked over.
"Let him come up to the dog to sniff and smell, and the dog lunged at him," Tedder said.
Constantinides says the pit bull went straight for Jefe's neck and pulled him a couple feet before taking him to the ground. All three men tried prying the pit bull off, with Tedder suffering a few battle wounds of his own.
"Everyone was just yelling 'get off, get off' and he was yelling at his dog 'get off' and hitting his own dog, and he couldn't control him," Tedder said, nursing a few deep cuts to his wrist and arm.
The poodle owners say once they managed to wrestle Jefe free, the pit bull owner tried to make a run for it. He made it about halfway down the block before the men stopped him and asked for his contact info.
They say the pit bull's owner gave them a fake name before running off.
"We looked up the name on Google looked up the number tried calling the number it just says this is a number no longer in service," Constantinides said.
Jefe had to be treated for a neck injury and get stitches for eight puncture wounds. Both pooch and Tedder were prescribed antibiotics for their injuries.
"The dog didn't have tags or registration so we weren't able to determine if he had his shots," Tedder said.
The men did manage to snap a photo before the pit bull owner took off. They called police, who then notified the city's Health Department.
"If it's your pet and it does something to harm another pet you have to take responsibility," Constantinides said.
Jefe's owners are posting warning signs throughout Hell's Kitchen in hopes that another dog doesn't end up bloodied and battered.