The pit bull came running up behind a man, woman and baby sitting on a bench just across from the boathouse on the east side of the park, then latched onto the man’s arm. NBC 4 New York’s Ida Siegal reports.
What to Know
- A dog ran up to a man sitting on a bench in Central Park and took a bite out of his arm, leaving him bloody and unconscious
- Luckily the dog did not go after the man’s wife, who was holding their infant child
- If the dog's owner cannot be found, the victim will have to undergo a series of painful rabies shots over the next 30 days
A dog ran up to a man sitting on a bench in Central Park and took a bite out of his arm, leaving him bloody and unconscious — but luckily did not go after the man’s wife, who was holding their infant child.
The couple was sitting on a bench Wednesday morning right across from the park’s boathouse on the east side with their 9-month-old daughter and the family’s small dog. A pit bull then came running up from behind them, the victim’s wife said, jumping up on the bench. The dog leapt right over the mother and child before sinking its teeth into the man’s arm.
His wife called 911 immediately, while a stranger helped her with the baby. The victim lost so much blood he passed out multiple times.
The owner of the attacking dog stopped only briefly, grabbing the dog and saying “I don’t know why he did this” before taking off, said Erica Chodkowski, the victim’s wife.
“My husband I guess put his arm out, to make the dog move away from the two of us,” said Chodkowski, referring to her and her daughter. “Then the dog bit him in the forearm.”
The husband is recovering from the attack at home after being released from the hospital, where he received 30 stitches.
Local
Chodkowski and her husband are desperately searching for the owner for health reasons: If they cannot locate him, her husband will have to undergo a series of painful rabies shots over the next 30 days as a precaution. She described the owner as a man in his 50s with brown hair, dressed nicely for work. The pit bull was white with brown and red splotches.
