Dog attack - pit bull - what to do? (Hempstead: property taxes, housing)

[Johninwestbury]

Last Wednsday I was walking along the sidewalk on Linden ave in Westbury to deliver some boxes to the post office, I was just a couple blocks north of the post office when this loose dog darted out from a lawn and attacked me. It bit the box and my wrist. Fortunately someone nearby saw what happened and called the police. I was bleeding pretty intensely, and was worried the loose dog would come back. It took just over 15 minutes for the police to arrive, it seemed like an eternity. I'm glad I carry napkins and alcohol swabs so I was able to cleanse the wound (the guy who called wouldn't let me into his house to wash it off). The ambulance medic didn't think I needed to go to the hospital, at this point I was quite worried if it was rabid or not. He put some bandaids on and was instructed to go to my doctor. I left the scene and was in touch with animal control soon after. They captured the dog, fortunately it has had all it's shots, but here's what the disturbing thing is, this dog is a PIT BULL and has had a history of biting people. If so, why did animal control allow the dog back with it's owner and on the streets? Westbury works with North Hempstead animal control, and from what I've heard, they almost never take the dogs away from their owners, usually they just pay a fine ($200) and they are back. That thing could've seriously injured and killed a little kid.
I am looking into what kind of legal action I can take to get animal control to get serious about dangerous dogs. In the meantime it has made me realize that I am eventually going to have to move out of Westbury. Street by street the houses are getting turned into rooming houses for illegals, they are all over the town, up and down Post ave, but esp east of Post ave, Linden street, School street,etc.
I'm glad I live west of Post ave but this garbage just keepings expanding, it wont be long till they are on my street too. The village government does nothing about getting rid of them, "code enforcement" never does anything about the illegals drinking and peeing on Post ave, they only write tickets for expired meters. This whole town is a joke and I want out.
This is a photo of my wrist after the ambulance left, the flimsy bandaid didn't even stay on right.


Later that day my doctor put anti-biotics on it and a bandage which I had to change. This is what it looked like the next day.


The dog that bit me roaming loose, with the bricks of the Westbury firehouse in the background. I should've walked there instead of waiting for PD, it prob would've been faster.


The dog's teeth marks are clearly visible on the box.


Meanwhile I'm on antibiotics for the week, it dont hurt much, just a dull ache. Considering it was a pit bull it could've been alot worse.
As long as I'm stuck here I am going to have to carry some security. Where can I get pepper spray?

[GypsySoul22]

I'm sorry this happened to you. It must have been very, very scary. The other day my son (age 10) and myself and our 5 month old puppy were walking up our main street and someone's barky little rat dog was making a huge racket. As we walked by ANOTHER one of their dogs (a huge black dog, possibly a lab mix but NOT nice!) darted out and began to intimidate my puppy and scare me to death. The dogs kept growling and I was worried my son (he's got anxiety issues) would dart in the road or just get upset his dog was being hurt.

After I screamed and screamed, the idiotic owner finally came out and 'eventually' dragged her dog away. I forgot I have pepper spray in my pocket (I've been out of NY too long).

You can buy pepper spray online (google it) or I think at ammunition stores..maybe? I bought mine online. You might want to check with town police if it is okay in your area.

Any dog, pitbull or not, can be trained to be 'a bad dog.' Or not well trained, I should say.

I don't, however, think this is a problem of 'illegals.' We lived in Farmingville and our area was full of 'white trash' who let their huge dogs roam around. Bad pet owners come in all colors.

[omigawd]

I would sue the owner of the dog.... the dog has a history of biting people. If you initiate a lawsuit against them/their homeowners insurance, maybe that will wake them up & make them keep their dog tied up before it kills someone.

As far as the rooming houses and illegals are concerned?? Get used to it. It's only going to get worse. The counties and towns do NOTHING about it. The so called "I.C.E" does nothing about it.

[I_Love_LI_but]

Horrible! You were just minding your own business and this dog charges you and attacks! I am glad it wasn't worse. I think this dog should be put down. What's going to happen next? It might kill a little kid.

The problem with pit bulls today is their owners. The owner of that dog is a moron. Pit bulls are highly trainable and have a strong drive to please their masters. They can be very good dogs if trained properly, but they are often unfortunately in the hands of idiots.

As for illegals packed into single-family houses, it is interesting how there is no one common rule on Long Island or even in Nassau and Suffolk, but different municipalities handle (or mishandle) things in various ways.

I would think that the best way to combat this would be laws about overcrowding and how many people can live in a property. It is simply a fire hazard and a deathtrap when so many people live like that in a house not meant for more than a few occupants.

Awhile back I read a post on here from a young woman who was upset that she got kicked out of her rental. It was a single-family 4 bedroom house and she was sharing it with 2 other young professional people (as per her description). Well, somebody complained and the town came down and told them that it is a single-family house and since none of them are blood relations, they can't live in it together and they all had to move out. Not sure, but I think it was Smithtown. You can bet wherever it is, no illegal alien rooming houses will stick around if they are that strict on a few young people sharing a house.

Then there was something in Newsday awhile back about a single-family house in Elmont that was chopped up by an absentee landlord into a rooming house. Neighbors complained and the tax assessor reassessed the house as a "commercial property" and the property taxes went up to over $30,000 a year. That nipped that rooming house in the bud, since with that tax rate the landlord couldn't make any money off his illegal aliens (that's what was supposedly living there).

Long Island's counties needs a common way to deal with this mess. Single-family suburban neighborhoods were never meant to be faced with this onslaught of illegal aliens. A lot of absentee landlords get away with murder. Absentee landlords single-handedly destroyed N. Bellport and some of Huntington Station. Look at that one (Haitian immigrant living in million dollar house in Dix Hills) who had the house chopped up into illegal apartments in Babylon where people died because of carbon monoxide poisoning. That landlord had a history of paying small fines and doing whatever he wanted. I also heard from an insider that this landlord, while a millionaire, submitted falsified documents so his kid could get on the free lunch program at school!

They need to crack down on these landlords instead of giving them small fines ($500 here, $500 there). It makes more sense for these types of landlords (slumlords, absentee landlords) to do what they want and pay the fines because the profits are huge compared to the small fines.

[jmax]

why do you carry alcohol swabs with you?

[Johninwestbury]

Originally Posted by jmax

why do you carry alcohol swabs with you?

For cleansing a wound. Unfortunately forgot the band-aids that day!

[Johninwestbury]

That's why there needs to be more strict punishment for slumlords, they should face jail time and large fines, like $10,000 and up.
Yes, Smithtown is very strict about illegal rentals, thats why the quality of life there is so excellent. However the town does nothing to stop them from working in the community as day laborers doing landscaping,etc. Most towns license contractors and landscapers, and they could just put a stipulation in there that the workers have to be legal. Apparently it's OK as long as it's someone else's town that has to suffer. The Village of East Hills has the same attitude about that.

[VillageOfWestbury]

Originally Posted by Johninwestbury

That's why there needs to be more strict punishment for slumlords, they should face jail time and large fines, like $10,000 and up.
Yes, Smithtown is very strict about illegal rentals, thats why the quality of life there is so excellent. However the town does nothing to stop them from working in the community as day laborers doing landscaping,etc. Most towns license contractors and landscapers, and they could just put a stipulation in there that the workers have to be legal. Apparently it's OK as long as it's someone else's town that has to suffer. The Village of East Hills has the same attitude about that.

Typically, neighbors complain about that type of situation which sheds light and exposes the landlord. While I do find there are some homes that are rented to possible "illegals", I don't find it as pervasive as you suggest. I drive down post ave frequently and don't find folks "peeing" in the street. I definately think that there some illegal renting going on within the few blocks north of the train station. The village is also got a new complex being built off of maple which I'm sure won't invite "illegals". While I understand your frustration, painting the picture that you do does not help the situation. In case you haven't noticed there's nowhere to run to boys and girls. I live in north of the pkwy and I see the hispanic cab service "Centro America" coming from Old Westbury----so what should residents do? Say oh...the neighborhood has gone to hell---let's all run away and allow the landlords to make rooming houses out of our mansions? Point is WE (USA Bush Administration) allowed the situation to occur---now if you read threads from ANY state you find folks have the same issues --- but to varying degrees. Add to that a busted housing market and now you have a situation ripe for illegal renting ...

Westbury Village is gentrifying to the better...but it takes time.

[NYNewbie]

I don't get it, but I'm seeing as many pitbulls around East Northport as I did around Central Florida. Central Florida is filled with idiots, so I don't get it. I counted three people walking the neighborhood with them, and two rottweilers (spelling?). When I was a boy, the toughest dog you could get was a Doberman. Most people had beagles and collies. I think this reflects a larger sickness in our cultures, where everything must be extreme and badass. I can't wait for everyone to figure out that the economic roller-coaster we are on is more extreme and badass than their intrained killer pitbulls.

And phooey on anyone who says pitbulls are as good as any other dog. That is horse manure. These dogs were bred to kill. Their temperaments match the breeding. They aren't good dogs. There are exceptions to every rule, but they are exceptions.

[Samrai309]

As much as I am an animal person, if the dog roams as your pictures show and if it comes near you, if it was me the dog would be shot on sight. And I have never killed an animal. Sometimes when you do the right thing, you will get bit twice. Apparently the town wants to handle this the financial way.

My father was a police officer and when we were growing up, he used to carry is gun off duty where ever he went. I guess its habit and the nature of the job. Some police officers do and others are not as consistent. Anyway, one day, an elderly gentleman who lived around the corner from us in Floral Park was walking his mixed breed collie. Very friendly, docile dog. As he was walking down our street, very near to our house, a pit bull was wandering down the block. It was apparently loose. Across the street from my home was Nassau County land. We called it the sump. A lot of people walked their dogs there. Anyway, this dog was running from that direction and when it saw this man's dog, it made a bee-line for it. It bit the dog in the neck literally in front of our house. THis was the ONE TIME my father left his gun in the house. He was washing the car. He yelled to my mother to get his gun and ran into the garage and got one of those old school steel blade snow shovels. He hit this dog in the head with the point of the steel shovel and this dog DID NOT LET GO. He swung and hit it again and it let go, stumbled back a bit and then ran down the block back the way it came. These dogs are strong and depending on who raises them and their bloodline, unfortunately aggression has been a pseudo-trait breeders have tried to replicate. To my knowledge, they located the owner and got the dog. I do not know if it was ever put down. THe man's dog, was never the same but it did survive. The poor thing must have had nerve damage and lost a lot of blood but she survived. As you stated, imagine if this was a man and his grandson/granddaughter? Or the man himself? I hope your hand is ok and things work out for you.

PS. THe comment about peeing in the street...LOL...sounds like the stories my brother tells me. NYPD 115 pct. in Jackson Heights. He catches the same type of people doing this on a regular basis where he works. He doesn't speak spanish but he can ask them in spanish why they are drinking/peeing in the street....LOL....I thought it was just because this area was a craphole. I guess its a cultural thing or a lack of respect for some.