This is so heartbreaking. That poor little darling.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/sto...p-358587c.html
A bloodthirsty Rottweiler chomped down on a tiny dog being cradled yesterday by its 64-year-old owner and then locked its jaws around the man's arm in Queens, stunned witnesses said.
"Get it off of me!" Matthew Connolly screamed, as the 100-pound Rottweiler chewed on the Shih Tzu near Frank Principe Park in Maspeth.
"Somebody help me!" Connolly begged, according to witnesses. "Get it off of me!"
The Rottweiler had charged through the park toward Connolly and his black-and-white pet, Rosalita, at 9:25 a.m. before knocking him to the ground on Maurice Ave. near 54th St.
Clutching Rosalita, Connolly tried desperately to protect the dog that once belonged to his 31-year-old son, Marc, who died last year from an asthma attack.
"This is the only thing I have left of my son," Connolly said of Rosalita after being released from Elmhurst Hospital Center where he was treated for a deep wound to his left arm.
"I was completely caught off guard," the retired ironworker said. "I saw this dog and it just kept coming toward me."
Rosalita - a 2-year-old pooch known affectionately as Lita - was rushed to the AAA Veterinary Clinics in Woodside where she underwent surgery.
"The next 24 hours are critical," veterinarian Mahmoud Elbasty said. "If everything goes well, she may be able to go home on Saturday."
The injuries to Connolly and Rosalita could have been worse if not for a couple of auto mechanics who helped fight off the Rottweiler, witnesses said.
"I got a stick and hit the dog," said Luis Silva, 41, of Diamond Automatic Transmissions.
His co-worker, Luis Flecha, 35, said he sprayed the Rottweiler's eyes with engine cleaner, momentarily freezing the beast.
"It's natural to help people," he said. "You don't think about getting hurt."
Moments later the Rottweiler's owner, Philip Simon, 56, ran over and grabbed his dog. Simon was issued a summons for not keeping the animal on a leash, police said.
"His arm was ripped apart," witness Mary Lattanzio, 44, said of Connolly. "He was really trying to protect that little dog."
Rosalita's neck was punctured two or three times and she may have suffered a dislocated cervical vertebra, the vet said.
Hours after the attack, city workers put up signs around the bloody scene, warning visitors that bicycles, skateboards and pets were banned in the park.
In Long Island City, the Rottweiler's owner expressed remorse when told about the injuries to Connolly and Rosalita.
"I'm very sorry," Simon said, his Rottweiler at his side. "I would like to get in touch with him and do whatever I can."
Simon said his 2-year-old dog, Jessie, is friendly and routinely walks around his 10-month-old son. He added that his pet may have taken the smaller dog's barking for aggression.
But Connolly wasn't convinced.
"I'll see him in court," he said, adding that Simon didn't apologize at the scene. "He showed me no respect."