Queens dog owners call for accountability after their pup was killed in Sunnyside

The owerns of Neelu, an Italian Greyhound, are looking for justice after the dog was mauled to death by a group of dogs in Sunnyside. Photo via reddit

By Luan Rogers

A Queens couple is looking for justice more than a month after their Italian greyhound, Neelu, was mauled to death by a group of dogs in Sunnyside.

The dog’s owners, Sabine and Razakh, who declined to share their last names out of fear of reprisal, say current New York law has left them stranded with few ways to get any accountability for the attack, which also left Sabine with a bite on her hand.

The couple says they have been forced to become their own investigators after the Feb. 16 attack, when a group of Cane Corsos escaped from their handlers with a dog daycare and pounced on Neelu on the corner of 47th Avenue and 39th Place.

After conducting their own probe into the incident using CCTV footage from nearby businesses, Sabine and Razakh were able to identify the owners of the violent dogs. While they’ve passed that information along to the NYPD and the city’s Department of Health, they have little faith much will come of their work.

“We’ve had to do all this work instead of grieving and processing,” Razakh said.

Under existing law, dog owners are required to file a bite report with the NYPD. The report is then copied to the Department of Health, which then takes responsibility for the investigation. Dog owners can then choose to sue the owners of the dogs in Civil Court. Though a judge may order the owners of the dogs alleged to have attacked a victim to pay damages to cover medical costs, the judge does not have the power to remove the dog from the owner’s custody.

Following the attack of a Chihuahua in the Upper West Side last May, Queens Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar introduced a bill to expand the laws governing dog attacks. “Penny’s Law,” named after the late dog, aims to establish criminal liability for the owners of dogs that commit violent attacks.

In a recent statement, Rajkumar identified the bill as one of her top priorities in Albany this year and claimed that she expects to “get it done” after the conclusion of the state’s budget negotiations. The lawmaker said the bill could be passed as soon as June.

But the legislation has come under scrutiny from some legal experts who question the need for new laws around dog attacks. According to dog bite attorney Kenneth Phillips, the city needs to focus on enforcing existing laws instead of passing new ones. In a blog post, he outlined how “the city needs to increase staffing so they can follow up on prior incidents.”

Last year Queens Councilmember Julie Won co-sponsored a City Council resolution calling on the State Legislature to pass Penny’s Law. A spokesperson for Won said that the lawmaker supports the bill because she feels that the current city system isn’t functioning as intended.

“It unfairly puts the onus on dog owners who have been attacked,” the spokesperson said.

The City Council resolution did not pass before the end of last year’s legislative session and has not been reintroduced. Similarly, in the State Assembly, “Penny’s Law” has yet to advance to the committee level.

Neelu was far from the first dog to die after being attacked by another canine in Queens in recent years. And dog owners have long struggled with what they describe as a “lack of accountability” following an attack.

In 2023, Sheena Vo’s pet beagle was mauled to death in Sunnyside. Though she won a civil case against the owner of the violent dog, Vo has yet to collect the winnings of her judgment.

“Despite many tragedies and public attention, the same legal and enforcement failures continue,” she said.

She highlighted “the amount of legwork” that victims must do to raise awareness of their situation.

“It's such an arduous process,” she said.

After his dog was attacked in Astoria last summer, David Baldwin went to file a report at the 114th Precinct. But Baldwin said that the officers told him that they could not process the report.

“They ripped it up in front of me and sent me home,” he said.

Baldwin was then contacted by the precinct’s Community Affairs team, who he says later stopped responding to his messages.

“There are laws that are not being enforced, but individual owners like me can do nothing,” he said.

After fundraising to cover the cost of his dog’s medical bills, Baldwin decided to “completely give up trying to find any justice for our case.”

“The city’s inaction means that this will continue to happen,” he added.

Sarah Frankel, one of the NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Liaison Officers, admits that most officers are not trained to handle bite reports.

“When someone comes to the precinct and wants to file a bite report, most cops shrug their shoulders and say we can’t help you,” she said.

According to Frankel, the current Animal Cruelty Liaison program is “pretty neglected and understaffed.” This means that she has to handle many cases beyond the boundaries of her Manhattan North patrol borough.

Frankel advocated for new laws surrounding dog attacks in New York.

“There should be a law put in place where if a dog owner leaves the scene of an incident, they should be held accountable,” she said.

Over a month after Neelu was killed, Sabine and Razakh say they have yet to get an update about the status of the investigation into their dog’s death.

“We’re still not getting any justice,” Razakh said. “That’s the most frustrating part.”