STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — An alleged dog bite incident in November has left a woman with physical injuries and no avenue to prove the owner’s accountability.
Maryam Khalil, a 20-year-old student athlete at Wagner College, decided on the morning of Nov. 25 to take her 5-month-old German shepherd, Zara, for a trip to the often-frequented Silver Lake Park Dog Run.
According to Khalil, Zara was mingling and playing with other dogs when another canine, a labrador retriever, was heard growling from outside the fenced-in dog run. At this time, Khalil says, another concerned dog owner in the park began to point out the rules, which state that aggressive dogs are not permitted.
A number of signs at the dog run lay out a plethora of rules to abide by, including: “No aggressive dogs.” And, “dog owners are responsible for their dogs’ actions.”
Khalil says the owner of the lab made his way into the dog run anyway, releasing the dog from his leash. According to Khalil, the man’s dog charged Zara, ramming into the puppy and biting her. Khalil tried to grab her puppy, an action she says resulted in two bites from the lab that ripped open her hand.
“My puppy was being demolished, completely demolished,” Khalil said. “Nothing happened to her, thank God.” She didn’t see thee owner anywhere for a few minutes while this was happening, she said.
Witness Sandy Kennedy, a resident of Stapleton and a regular at the Silver Lake Dog Run, recalls the day’s events.
“The dog made a beeline for this girl’s dog, a beeline,’’ Kennedy said. ”It was up against the fence, she (Khalil) was trying to break them up, I was trying to grab my dog.”
Of the dog’s owner, Kennedy said: “He didn’t even get up off the bench to stop his dog from fighting. He sent his kids over.”
Dog run guests tended to Khalil, who was reportedly bleeding profusely and felt faint. Mark Gales, a West Brighton resident, and another woman, were there at the time. After checking on Khalil, Gales…
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