Bentley is missing

Several readers have pointed us to these signs around Tompkins Square Park today... details on the flyer...

East 10th Street, 10:20 a.m., April 28

Photo by Shawn Chittle.

Resident asks, What can I do about those 2 dogs left outside all day on 7th Street?

A note from a reader:

"I live next door to Cafe 81 on 7th Street and lately there have been two dogs left outside all day inside the fenced in area. They bark all day long. They're small dogs, but they're very loud and annoying. Sometimes a woman comes out of the building and gives them food and water, but mostly they're just out there alone. I've called 311 a few times, but nothing has changed. It's bad for the neighbors trying to get some peace and it's bad for these poor dogs. E.V. Grieve, can you and your readers please do something!!!"

The reader followed up later yesterday.

"An angry woman screamed out the window to Shut those dogs up! And someone came out and took the dogs in. Hopefully for good!"

Given the location, I'm surprised that no one has thrown a shamwow at the dogs.

Also, Cafe 81 has been closed now for months, as noted previously...

Previously on EV Grieve:
At Cafe 81, you'd better be quiet or someone will throw a shamwow at you

Why it's very possible that you own a Yorkie named Max in the East Village

From the EV Grieve inbox...

People love their dogs and consider them members of their family, and in New York City, a city with such a high number of singles, dogs may be their only family. Recognizing the enthusiasm people have for their pets, WNYC’s Data News team has created DOGS OF NYC, an interactive map that illustrates the popularity of names and breeds depending on neighborhood.

DOGS OF NYC includes:
• Doggy Census: Who lives where? Who knew Yorkies were so popular in Chelsea?
• Most popular boy and girl names (and other top 10 lists) Max and Bella reign supreme in 2012.
• Match the Breed with the Name” game, and more!
• Make your own t-shirt: a unique gift for the dog lover this upcoming Valentine’s Day!

Some more interesting tidbits:
• Princess is big in the Bronx, but Bronx — the name — is not nearly as popular as Brooklyn.
• The most popular female dog name is Bella, and Max is the most popular male dog name.
• There are 26 dogs in NYC named Pepsi, but none named Coke or Coca-Cola.
• There are 14 dogs named Kitty and 31 named Tigger.

You can read the article and find interactive stuff here. (The top image here is interactive.)

In total, there 5,000 Yorkies are licensed in the city, and more than 4,700 Shih Tzus. As for the East Village... a closer look at the stats shows that — surprise! — Yorkies are the most popular breed ... with Max being the most popular name. Followed by Bailey and, um, Coco. Keep in mind that these are only for licensed dogs, which only number 20 percent of all canines in the city.

From the article: the Health Department estimates that only one in five dogs are licensed. And now a cut-and-paste job from the piece:

It’s against the law to own a dog in the city and not get it licensed. The Health Department says licensing helps reunite lost dogs with their owners, and reminds owners to keep up with vaccinations for their best friend. The proceeds from registration fees support the operation of animal shelters in the city. The penalty for getting caught by a police officer or park official with an unlicensed dog is a summons and $200.

An unscientific survey of dog owners in Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan's East Village on a Thursday afternoon reveals most of them are oblivious to the rule, the reasons for getting a license, and the penalty for going without one.

“Laziness, mainly laziness,” said one owner of an unlicensed dog, explaining why he hadn’t registered his one-and-a-half-year-old Affenpinscher with the city. The owner asked that he remain nameless for fear of incriminating his dog, to which he gave the alias “Bodean.”

You should really go get Max licensed.

Today in Urban Etiquette dog poop signs

On the topic of Urban Etiquette Signs, a reader sent us the shot below from East 12th Street near Avenue B where "there is always dog shit smeared on the sidewalk."

Here's one way to perhaps curb this kind of non-practice ...

This sign led to a conversation about the worst blocks for uncurbed dogs. Aside from this stretch, one candidate suggested was the north side of East Second Street between Avenue A and First Avenue ... on the sidewalk, dubbed by someone as "poop alley," along the Village View parking lot.

That aside, remember — You don't fuck with East 12th Street.

Runaway dog

A reader shares this from late this afternoon:

I was walking west on St Mark's Place toward Broadway. I heard somebody shouting "Stop that dog!" Then saw a group of guys running down Lafayette, but I didn't see a dog.

Shortly thereafter, I saw an exhausted woman with a leash trying to run to the direction of the shouting.

I kept walking and turned north on Broadway. I had reached 9th Street when I heard the shouting again. I saw a very wet golden retriever-ish dog running in the street and against traffic, but directly toward me. The dog skillfully dodged my attempt to catch it, and proceeded to dart its way through oncoming traffic before ... disappearing again.

The reader asks:

Any other reports of this story? Does anyone know how it ended?

And now, a lot of photos of dogs in costumes...

EVG contributor Stacie Joy was at the Halloween Dog Parade in Tompkins Square Park today...

...oops. Cat!

And our friend editrrix has more photos from yesterday right here ... and via NY Through the Lens here ...

Noted

Um.

Going on until 3:30 today in Union Square. Per the Merrick Pet Care Facebook page: "Food worthy of a fork. This is the standard we hold ourselves to. Using only ingredients of the highest quality, it's food that elevates the bowl. It's food you will be tempted to eat." Top photo by Dave on 7th.

Afterwards, they played poker

Tompkins Square Park Dog Run today ... photo by Bobby Williams.

In case you are looking to buy a pug French bulldog

You're in luck! Spotted these flyers around Third Avenue and St. Mark's Place this weekend...

The further (often truly) amazing adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Back in March, we introduced you to Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street, whose owners recently brought her home from a shelter.

We haven't heard from Kita since May. How has Kita's summer been?

Kita's owner provided an update.

She's spent most of her summer in Tompkins Square Park chasing pigeons, avoiding aggressive terrier mix types (she's learned the hard way) and generally becoming part of the local cafe society. The photos here are of her favorite local haunts. (She'd rather not say precisely which establishments she frequents as she doesn't want the health department cracking down on her favorite places simply for having the temerity to serve a dog.)

She can report that she's not terribly fond of Mexican food (too spicy!) and loves, loves, loves, sautéed mushrooms. She's also exploring a run for a Community Board seat but isn't really prepared to talk about that just yet.

On the next episode: While searching for apartments, Kita learns that "two bedrooms" often just means two rooms.

Previously on EV Grieve:
The further adventures of Kita the Wonder Dog of East 10th Street

Star lives, and may be available for adoption

Star, the dog that the NYPD shot on East 14th Street on Aug. 13, is OK and may soon be available for adoption, according to Gothamist.

As of last night, Star is now in the custody of Animal Care & Control. Said Richard Gentles of the AC&C: "Her owner had until that day and time to reclaim her but since he didn’t ownership was legally transferred to AC&C."

According to Gentles, Star's medical bills, "which have already amounted to nearly $10,000, will be paid for through donations to AC&C’s Special Treatment and Recovery (S.T.A.R.) Fund."

And per Gothamist:

"It's expected she'll be put up for adoption—but Gentles says no one has expressed interest in being her human (yet)!"

Serena Solomon at DNAinfo has more on the story here.

Previously on EV Grieve:
[Updated] Report: NYPD shoots dog on 14th Street and Second Avenue (Warning: Post includes graphic image of the dog after the shooting)

[Image courtesy of AC&C via Gothamist]

Report: Dog shot by NYPD in 'stable condition'

There has been some speculation about the condition of the pit bull mix that the NYPD shot yesterday afternoon on East 14th Street and Second Avenue. Early media reports said that the dog was dead ... the Daily News later reported that the dog, Star, was alive and in an East Harlem animal shelter.

Serena Soloman at DNAinfo got confirmation this afternoon that the dog is alive. Per her story:

"The dog is being provided medical care by Animal Care & Control of NYC and is in a stable condition at this time," said Richard Gentles, a press representative for ACC, which contracts with the city to rescue and care for homeless and abandoned pets.

No word just yet on the condition of the dog's unnamed owner, who reportedly was homeless and suffered from epilepsy.

Meanwhile, Gothamist hears from an NYPD spokesperson who confirmed that officers discharged pepper spray on the dog before shooting it. Per Gothamist:

"Pepper spray in no way would ever be effective in subduing a dog," says Doug Halsey, the director of Ready For Rescue, a non-profit animal rescue group. "I only see this as heightening the animal's aggression. This was an ignorant and irresponsible approach on these officers' part."

Witnesses have said that the dog was protecting his owner, who may have been unconscious at the time of the police response.

Previously.

[Image by @robbyohara]

[Updated] Report: NYPD shoots dog on 14th Street and Second Avenue

[Eddie Huang]

All sorts of reports coming in. Per NBC:

Officers were responding to a call to check on a man who appeared to be passed out on a sidewalk at 14th Street and 2nd Avenue Monday afternoon, police said. A dog near the man, who was possibly homeless, began attacking the officers.

That's when police opened fire on the dog, killing it.

[Via @robbyohara]

[Via @robbyohara]

Gothamist has more here ... including a statement by the NYPD ...

An NYPD spokesman confirmed that officers shot and killed a dog at the location at approximately 4:25 p.m. The spokesman could not comment on why officers opened fire.
An East Village resident who witnessed the shooting says that the four officers who responded to the scene in front of the KFC at first were "not aggressive" towards the man or the dog. "The dog was barking very loudly, as though it were protecting its turf," the witness said

And here's a report via the Observer... they interview Eddie Huang, the chef-owner of nearby Baohaus...

Everyone around was like: Put the dog out of its misery. The cops left this dog wiggling and flaying, blood coming out of its mouth. They shot it in front of a public bus.

You can see in the photo, the trail of blood. The dog traveled. People were really really vocal, harassing the cops to put the dog down, and they wouldn’t do it. The whole thing just seemed really, really unnecessary. I don’t know what the protocol is for this, I know they have to keep the peace, but it really seemed like an abuse of power, an unnecessary one, and not doing it the right way.

According to NY1, authorities said the dog "snapped at a pedestrian and an officer."

"He was protecting the owner, like what animals do. He doesn't know any better, he's a dog," said one witness. "They could have handled it differently, rather than shooting the dog. The dog was twitching and rolling around."

"I talked to the cop afterwards. He was very shaken up. He's a dog lover and it ruined his week if not his year," said another witness. "And he did what he had to do to protect himself."

DNAinfo reported that the dog belong to a 29-year-old man from Poland... and that he "epilepsy, and had frequent seizures."

UPDATED 10:11 p.m.
The early reports said that the police killed the dog. Not so. According to the Daily News: "Police said the dog survived and was being cared for at an East Harlem shelter. The unidentified homeless man and the shooting officer were taken to Bellevue Hospital for minor injuries."

And here's a photo from the News ...

The Post notes that the dog's name is Star.

Izzy is missing

Readers spotted these flyers go up in and around Tompkins Square Park this afternoon...

Someone stole this dog

Mona was stolen from West Fourth Street and Christopher... flyers up now in the East Village...

Photo by Bobby Williams.

'Desperately seeking a dog'

Spotted these flyers around this past weekend...

Bobby Williams took a photo of this one today on Avenue B at Ninth Street.

This man's dogs need help

A reader sends along the above photo, taken on East 14th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B today. The reader has seen the man, who is likely homeless, and the dogs around the neighborhood and in other parts of the city.

The reader is concerned about the man's well-being... as well as worried about the dogs.

"[The dogs] look like they are eating, but the smaller one's coat is a knotted, tangled mess. And as dog people know, it's actually physically uncomfortable for a dog with longer hair to be covered with all of these knots," the reader said.

The reader saw the man earlier today with the dogs on Avenue B. "The little one is in dire need of a shave, and it's hot out, and he doesn't have any water for them. As I passed on his left side, he started calling me a motherfucker. Then he started yelling at the poor dogs who hadn't done anything wrong. Obviously, this man is mentally disturbed and not capable of caring for himself let alone these poor animals, who I suspect might have been someone's pets at one time."

The reader called ASPCA to see if anything can be done. However, they are too overwhelmed with calls now to respond to this situation given that the reader didn't see any outright physical abuse.

An ASPCA rep told the reader to call 911 the next time the dogs appear to be "in a bad situation."

Per the reader: "I feel so helpless. I am wondering if there might be an independent animal rescue group who could come in and take a look at these dogs and try to help them."

Hot dogs to adopt in Tompkins Square Park

The first annual Adopt NY event took place earlier today in Tompkins Square Park... there were some beautiful dogs on hand... and EVG Canine Correspondent Bobby Williams was there to take some photos...

Read more about Adopt NY here.

Previously.

Dog adoption today in Tompkins Square Park

Noon to 4 p.m., per the official flyer...