Last Sunday, two Alaskan Malamutes fatally mauled a Schnoodle named Kaiser at a Carroll Gardens dog park. It was their second victim in the past few weeks, and now city investigators are investigating whether the dogs should be euthanized. Malamute owner Robert Harney says, "I'm horrified over this," but Schnoodle owner Alexis Russo says Harney's pets are too dangerous, and should either be put down or muzzled at all times. He told the Post, "They have tasted blood, and it's only a matter of time."
The Malamutes, Jack and Ginger, entered the park shortly after Russo and his Schnoodle, Kaiser, on September 25th. Russo says the violence began almost immediately. "You only see this on Discovery Channel, and then it's a lion eating its prey,"said Russo. "They were blood thirsty. The sounds they made were otherworldly." Russo rushed Kaiser to a nearby animal hospital, where they said there was nothing they could do, and Russo was forced to get Kaiser euthanized. Russo said Harney "kept apologizing and said it wasn't the first time his dogs had attacked. He pleaded with us not to call police."
Harney claims he called out to see if anyone was in the park before letting his dogs off the leash, and said, "This is a heartbreaking situation for me...I don't want anyone's animal hurt." But another attacked dog owner said, "He needs to put those dogs to sleep, but he just doesn't get it." Wikipedia says the Alaskan Malamaute "has a long genetic foundation of living in the harshest environment imaginable, and many of its behaviors are evolved to conform with "survival of the fittest." While intelligent, they are widely believed to be one of the most difficult dogs to train."
