Park Slope Dog Beach Dachshund Attack Update

Yesterday, we posted about an attack by another dog on a dachshund at the popular Dog Beach in Prospect Park. The attack was originally noted in emails posted to the Park Slope Parents group board that were forwarded to us by a reader. The story was later updated and clarified on the Park Slope Forum at brooklynian.com where a reader wrote:

Great news! I just heard that the dachshund actually survived, thanks to Dr Silverman, Animal Kind and the Animal Medical Center. Also that the attacking dog was taken by the police. I hope it will be put down. It was evidently a temporary foster dog and was off-leash swimming at the dog beach during non-offleash hours. There's the roots of the tragedy.

The Dr. Silverman that is mentioned is Dr. Leonard Silverman at the excellent Prospect Park Animal Clinic, which is relatively close to where the incident happened. There seems to be some disagreement as to the breed of the attacking dog, with original reports being that it was a pit bull. Someone at the Park Slope Forum has identified it as "more like a shepard/terrier mix, but not a pit bull. I realize that pitbulls are terriers, but this had floppy ears, and the jaw was not as square as a pit." A GL commenter wrote, "I was there. It was NOT a pitbull. So those of you 'more evidence that pitbulls are bad' should feel free to retract your insensitive and uninformed comments."

It would seem that a more general issue is that of potentially dangerous or aggressive dogs (regardless of breed) being allowed to run around without leashes, even at a "dog beach" because they can harm other dogs or attack children and adults. That, however, is an issue that has been widely argued in the past and there are off-leash hours in some parks, including Prospect Park.