An OTBKB reader sent in this story of her "nightmare at the Fifth Avenue Dog Run."
I had a terrible experience today at the Fifth Avenue dog run. An aggressive truck of a woman with a shepherd mix and an
abundance of leisure time stopped me and my dog from entering the park,
and by "stopped" I mean physically blocked the entrance, called me a
"bitch", and said that my dog and I would enter "over her dead body."I wish that I were joking about this.
It was like walking into an episode of COPS.
Now
I’ve dealt with my share of crazy dog people before but this lady was a
whole new level of lunatic. She calIed me Dorothy and accused me of
being from Kansas. KANSAS!This would not stand. Rather than face a physical confrontation
with this stool sample I called the cops on her after she quite
elegantly volunteered to "kick my ass." The police were nice enough to
stop by and let her know that she was neither the boss of the dog park,
nor the President of Armenia.I had unfortunately previously encountered this beastly woman. I
warn you Park Slopers to tread carefully because the wicked witch may
come for you and your little dogs next.A few months back our dogs
were in the park together with a few others. This woman…let’s just
call her Ava Braun was waving a stick in the air to throw. My dog
(being a dog) jumped up to get the stick. She was less than a year old
at the time and still mastering the command "Down".Ava yelled out "You
had better get your dog off of me. I have a head injury." Now in
hindsight this should have been abundantly clear. However at the time I
apologized and pulled my dog back. Then at some point during the course
of play our two dogs got into a tussle. Nothing too vicious mind you,
no blood or anything, just your average carried away dog scuffle. So
Ava pretty much lost her shit on me all while warning me that she may
indeed lose said shit. "Get your fucking aggressive dog out of here
before I lose it!"I am sure I asked her not to swear at me and assured her that my
dog was not aggressive but had just gotten overly excited as her dog
had seemingly also done. This just seemed to make Ava angrier and
apparently "we would no like Ava when she angry". So the pooch and I
decided to abandon the park for the time being and pray for a return to
a Democratic regime.That was the last time we had the misfortune of running into Ava
until today’s sorry incident. I pray that this will be the last I see
of her but I seriously doubt it. Ava has a lot of free time but only so
many more summer afternoons left to ruin. The boyfriend will be coming
with me to the park from now on just in case she wants to get frisky
with me again.Incidentally my dog came home from the day’s events and viciously
licked my feet for a while, ferociously attacked an ice cube, and
passed out while I was rubbing her belly. Clearly we are both a menace
to society.
Thanks to everyone for all of the helpful advice. I am honestly not sure if some of you are thinking of the right dog. (my dog has never worn a bandanna for one thing) but regardless, i understand that pitbulls and pit mixes in general can make some people nervous and i respect that. so my partner and i have hired a trainer to drill some more intense training into our girl and we have both agreed that we want nothing more to do with the fifth ave dog park or the people there. although we have had wonderful experiences and many fun times with terrific dogs like kodiac, bella and lilybell, we certainly don’t want to scare people or make them feel like their dogs are in danger.
just for the record and for what it’s worth,
my dog has never injured anyone.
my dog has never injured another dog.
but i don’t want people to fear her or avoid her and i certainly don’t want to go where we are not welcome.
that day was just so awful and i was so woefully unprepared for it. i’ve never been spoken to like that before in my adult life and i have to say it came as quite a shock to me to have such anger hurled in my direction. i am fortunate that i don’t encounter much hostility on a regular basis and i really don’t allow that kind of venom to seep into my life. it truly has had a profound effect on me and in hindsight i am very grateful to have had the experience.
i would like to apologize for my name-calling. it was childish. i was angry and upset and it was inappropriate.
as for the woman who threatened and harassed me, i forgive you. i am sure that you were just acting out of fear. i think that it would benefit you however to take some deep breaths the next time you feel the need to lash out at someone verbally and try and find a calm way of communicating your needs and desires. i think that you will find that you can reach many more people that way rather than through threats and intimidation. good luck to you and your dog. i wish you all a peaceful summer’s end brooklyn, and again thank you.
I don’t know what the future of this dog run will be. I have heard is slated for a “garden” as part of the front of the Stone House” in the park.. Is that true?
I only go to this dog run if I am watching my son’s Portie.. I try to go when there are NO dogs. Ralphie is a total pacifist. He will need protection against sounds of a fire engine so there is no way I am taking a dog of this spirit in to a dog run with an aggresive pit bull and a mom who is the female Atilla the Hun!
Fortunately never met these folks.
My main complaint about this dog run is the dog walkers that walk their charges in to the space. They show up mostly in the afternoon.. You know what the scene is. You go to work and you hire a dog walker who says they will get fifi on her solo walk by noon (5 hrs. after you left for work). Well.. let me tell you they don’t make it. They get to your homr at 2pm ( they clean up the puddle and the poo) and take your dog to the dog run. Of course they told you Mookie would be walked one on one but reality is Mookie shares his “let’s get atacked by the pit bull experience” with 8 other dogs!!. Yeah!!
Now one of these walkers shows up with 9 dogs.. She lets 8 dogs loose in the run and one is in the car.. barking!! She says.. oh Shmookie (or whatever) wants to come in too but I didn’t know what you guys would think because I am over the limit. Like no kidding she was!! So us whimpy dog owners are .. ok.. no problem.. bring the Shmooke in.. And she does.. And this dog is aggresive but thankfully gets in to a fight with one of HER OWN CHARGES..
At this point my mild Portie is pasted to my side… He looks like he saying.. Gramma get me outta this place.. I am a lover and a swimmer.
The dog walker breaks up the fight. She checks the dogs to see if they are ok.. read that unpunctured! I think.. She isn’t checking all that well. I hope one of these dogs does not have a wound that will become infected. I thank the Lord I have the time to take care of my GrandDog baby and pick up Ralphie’s poop unlike the dog walker who seems to have ignored that 3 of her charges have relieved themselves without her follow up with a pooper scooper. It seemed like Ralphie had pooped then to let me know that we both needed to get the hell outta there!! I knew this because after the deed he came over and sniffed the pocket where he knew I kept those plastic c -town bags.
Anyway.. I left this situation with 2 insights..
1. I will never hire a dog walker!!
2. Ralphie and I will take long walks through the Hood and have coffee at Ozzie’s instead of visiting the 5th Ave dog run.
I love dogs. I love the off leash hrs in Prospect Park. I don’t love this dog run.
I was also there at the occurence of the first confrontation and your dog was aggressive with my mine and every dog in the park. Although this woman “Ava Braun” did lose her cool with you- she was right and I was relieved when you left for fear of your dog. You are somehow in denial that your dog is aggressive. I think everyone would be more comfortable if you kept your dog in the other small dog run. I have seen you in the dog run with your dog since and have decided against going inside for the safety of my dog.
OH MY GOD!
that’s piper laurie!
I LOVE HER!
i have actually been told that i look like her before.
thanks diane you’re the sweetest :)
i personally prefer the term “curvy” to “dumpy” but you know,
that’s just my preference.
mmmmmmmmm ice coffee! yum!
thanks everyone for your comments.
have a lovely day brooklyn!
I forgot to mention if you are trying to identify this woman and the pit bull, for your own safety:
The pit bull is a brindle back dog who usually wears a bandanna around its neck. It jumps on people but I dont know about attacking them, it goes by the name Betty something or other. The woman is a dumpy looking wide assed version of the mother in the horror film “Carrie”, and usually has a large ice coffee in her hand.
All I can say is *WOW* did this OTBKB contributor get stomped on.
I haven’t seen a stomping that bad since the hilarious scene in “American Psycho” when Christian Bale stomps a bum’s dog to death for no apparent reason.
I tell ya, nobody does indignant like Park Slopers.
OK, maybe Californians.
Tuesday, August 14: Will the members of the Fifth Avenue Dog Group please get in touch with NYCdog at info@NYCdog.org so we can discuss the problem and possible solutions. NYCdog is working with Parks on ways to resolve conflict.
If any dog is hurt by another in a dog park (or anywhere for that matter), NYS law considers it a property issue best settled by (usually) a small claims action by one owner against another.
However, there is the NYS Dangerous Dog Act that provides ways to handle consistently aggressive dogs. Sadly, the dog ultimately pays the price for the failure of an owner to properly train and socialize their canine.
If a dog is injured in any confrontation (with human or other dogs) sufficiently enough to require medical care, make sure you report it to the police and get a report number. You may need it for court and it serves as a record should the dog act have to be applied.
UNNEUTERED DOGS are often aggressive. They are cause aggression in other dogs. In many instances, unneutered male dogs should not be brought into a dog park unless the dog has been thoroughly and properly socialized with the neighborhood dogs in the dog park.
DOGS IN HEAT should never be brought into a dog park.
Above all, this is an issue between people. Our dogs learn from humans. If we fail, our dogs will suffer much as it is with parents and children. RESPONSIBILITY FIRST.
The respondents to the original post have raised serious concerns that need to be addressed. The good people who are maintaining the dog park are leading the way.
Bob Marino
NYCdog.org
I was present when my friend’s dog was attacked a couple weeks ago by this owner’s pit bull.
I find it quite telling that this owner left out the fact that she is a pit bull owner in her recounting of this incident. That alone should give anyone hearing or reading her story the permission to roll one’s eyes in contempt at not
only her exaggerations but also her gross, insulting and horrifyingly inhumane comparison of another dog owner protecting her pet to Ava Braun. That she could make such a comparison, is indicative of her desperate, and deep level of denial in taking responsibility for her poorly trained PIT BULL–a breed notoriously predisposed to hyper-aggressive, dangerous behavior if untrained or poorly trained–
It also shows her deluded and inflated sense of entitlement to drag the NYPD to cater to her wishes and that because SHE says her untrained pit bull is safe, it MUST be so..tho Betty’s every behavior to OTHER people and their dogs has proven the opposite.
We all know this owner and we need to band tog. to prevent her and Betty using the dog run until she has adequate control of this poor dog.
Lady, you are the nightmare at the 5th Avenue Dog Run and the Crazy person
I heard this story from the many other sides of it, and the lady who told you not to come in is a community leader who with my help and the help of others kept this dog run from closing down five years ago. Since then she has been a vital part of its upkeep unlike you who give the 5th Avenue dog run a bad name by not being in control of your dog.
There is a dog run group as the poster mentioned, that has been in existence for 5 years. Naturally, you know nothing about it since you just bring your pitbull over, it attacks other dogs and jumps on people and then you leave. So you know nothing about the dog run group that exists, just like you dont know your dog is aggressive. Shame on you.
Maybe your boyfriend is able to control the dog and you are not, either way, you should not be in the run with your agressive pit bull and I have head from three people who own dogs about your dog “Betty”. Betty is all fun at first and then attacks in a way that one dog owner called “chilling”. So why do you think you should be allowed to go to a dog run that other people have fought so hard to keep in this neighborhood with your untrained agressive dog? You admit you havent taught your dog “down” in this post, so what planet are you on that you imagine you have control over your dog?
If three different people on three different days reported Betty attacking their dogs what makes you think you are right? Your dog jumps up on people, you say your dogs name in response. That is not control. Your poor dog is going to end up getting put down because you have not trained it and you are in denial over its agressive tendencies. Your dog is a rescue pit bull, the number one dog put down for aggressiveness in NYS and you will have to have a great deal of control over the dog to change that possible outcome. Why dont you take your pit bull up to the park off leash and see what the people there will do to you when your dog is aggressive. You wont be able to call the cops. By the way, what did the cops do when you called them? You left she didnt, that sounds like you were the crazy lady.
Your calling our friend Ava is both disgusting and insensitive. She worked with Survivors of the Shoah for several years along with a rich number of human and civil rights groups. Boy are you a jerk with egg on your face. Forget about bitch.
Snoopy was attacked by that pitbull!!
I’m going to set the record straight. As someone who frequents the 5th Ave Dog Run and also volunteers for the dog run group I’ve heard of this irresponsible woman who owns the pitbull that we’re trying to keep out of the dog run (for everybodies safety) until she gets proper control of her dog through training. There are many reports from other dog owners of her dog becoming aggeressive after being playful and her not taking control over it and more importantly, not assuming any responsiblity for it.
We dog run users have an obligation to keep our own and other peoples aggeressive dogs out of the run.
I’m going to set the record straight. As someone who frequents the 5th Ave Dog Run and also volunteers for the dog run group I’ve heard of this irresponsible woman who owns the pitbull that we’re trying to keep out of the dog run (for everybodies safety) until she gets proper control of her dog through training. There are many reports from other dog owners of her dog becoming aggeressive after being playful and her not taking control over it and more importantly, not assuming any responsiblity for it.
We dog run users have an obligation to keep our own and other peoples aggeressive dogs out of the run.
I had a terrible experience at the 5th Avenue dog run-
I wish I was joking about identifying this poster-but I was in the dog run that day with my French bulldog and witnessed this entire event. This poster is a woman with a pitbull “rescue”-in other words an aggressive pitbull that she has no control over, whatsoever. This dog is not smiply ignorant of the command “stay”, this poor dog is only aware of her name “betty’, which all to many of us in the dog run have heard repeatedly screamed as this woman attempts to take control over the dog, in vain.
This day was like any other, this woman was walking her pitbull towards the run, completely ignorant that there is a universe of people and dogs in this run. Now I have heard of two other incidents where her pitbull’s play turned into violent dog attacks. This is a small dog run, yet still I dont know anyones name but “Betty”, as I heard it screamed over and over again while her dog jumps on people. This day a woman was in the run with a doberman mix and actually had the balls to say something.
I wish I had. The police came and this woman and her pitbull left, and I only hope the police come the next time she brings this dog to the run. The first time I was there and her dog was aggressive, after she left all four of the people that were in the run hoped she got the message, which she did not as she had the guts to bring her dog back and then the completely insane respnse to call the police. My only hope is that more people stand up to this woman and that she trains that poor dog so it is not doomed to a life of misery and isolation.
Tis OTBKB reader
The problem is clearly with the other dog’s owner. The poster appears to have handled the situation properly by calling the police rather than involving herself in a direct confrontation with this threatening woman.
Each dog park and run in the City should have an organization of local residents willing to oversee their respective facility. If the Fifth Avenue Run does not have one, please consider getting together with other dog owners to create one. It is not hard but it does take commitment to your neighborhood and the belief that responsible dog owners can positively participate in the operation of local parks.
If there is a group already, please suggest that they join the New York Council of Dog Owner Groups (NYCdog.org). By bringing together dog owner groups throughout the city, we help one another resolve problems such as that contained within the original post. We are also the best conduit to elected and appointed officials.
NYCdog has been working to create a basic set of dog park rules of etiquette. This sounds easy but parks vary dramatically in size, amenities, usage, etc. so rules have to be tailored to each park in order to work effectively.
If the problem persists at the Fifth Avenue run, please call 311 so Parks will know and let NYCdog know via email as well. Perhaps we can help.
There are those who want to use postings such as this to portray dog owners in a bad light. To those individuals, we remind you that there are often arguments and fights at little league games, adult sports leagues, community boards, school boards, civic associations, etc. Things happen.
Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of New York dog owners are responsible and respectful. By working together, we help create an atmosphere where confrontations become discussions; where disagreements become compromises, and where we can continue to improve the ability to have healthy, well socialized, and happy dogs throughout our beloved city.
On a side note; the Belgian Consulate recently contacted NYCdog to put us together with a Belgian journalist who is writing a series on the World’s Top Ten Cities for Dogs and Dog Owners. NYC has been named one of them.
NYCdog is helping groups form in Pennsylvania, Westchester County, Canada, Washington DC, London, and now Belgium. This is not boasting on the part of NYCdog. Rather, it is a tribute to our fellow New Yorkers who are helping to reclaim neighborhoods and local parks; dog owners and non-dog owners alike. This is a compliment to all New Yorkers.
For those who do not know the current rules and law, please go to: http://nycgovparks.org/sub_things_to_do/facilities/af_dog_runs.html
Please remember:
1. Pick up after your dog.
2. Offer a bag to another when it looks like they might need one.
3. Keep your dog on-leash when on the street and in off-limits areas within parks.
4. Vaccinate and License your dog.
5. Spay or neuter your dog.
6. Adopt an abandoned dog from your local shelter.
7. Respect wildlife and flora in and out of parks.
8. Join your local dog owner group and volunteer to help maintain your local park or dog park.
9. If there is no local group, form one. We can help.
10. Finally, give your dog an extra treat “just because…”
Thank you,
Bob
Your OTBKB reader’s nemesis is *clearly* in the wrong and sounds like a miserable person to encounter w/ dogs or without, but that said, if your dog is in a public dog run and has been allowed to get overexcited to the point of “tussling,” don’t let yourself off the hook so fast either. I personally avoid the 5th ave. dog run for these very reasons – there’s no getting away from an overexcited dog, and a dog coming into a dog run in that state can quickly cross the line from “play” to aggression. Often in those cases the owner isn’t paying attention to the warning signs and then takes a “dogs will be dogs” attitude, which can be a bit infuriating. Just because there’s no blood doesn’t mean it’s ok for the other dogs and owners to have to put up with it. You said the other dog was out-of-control excited as well, which would make a problem pretty inevitable. Just think about the playground, same basic considerations apply – if one kid pushes another kid in “excitement”, then that kid’s parent needs to take charge, not make excuses, whether or not anyone was hurt. It doesn’t mean you have a monster dog or anything, it’s not really the dogs’ fault – I just wish people would exercise their dogs a little before coming into the dog run, to take the edge off so problems like this can be avoided. There’s an excellent Dog Whisperer episode about dog park etiquette I wish all dog owners would watch. So take your pooch for a good long walk before letting her loose in the run, keep a closer eye out for signs of play getting too rough for one dog or the other, and hopefully you won’t have to worry again about some crazy dog person getting all crazy on you.