Fate of dog to be determined after death of man, 59, in mauling on Staten Island

UPDATE: The dog is alive and on a rabies hold at the Animal Care Centers of New York, according to a spokesperson for the agency. Law-enforcement sources previously provided incorrect information that the dog was euthanized.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A dog suspected of fatally mauling a 59-year-old man at a home in New Dorp remains alive while authorities determine his fate.

The large breed male dog is on a rabies hold at the Animal Care Centers of New York, according to spokeswoman Katy Hansen.

The centers are waiting for instructions from the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene about next steps for the dog, the spokeswoman said.

She was unable to provide information about the breed and name of the dog, which previously was referred to as a pit bull by law enforcement.

Law-enforcement sources previously provided incorrect information that the dog was euthanized.

The cause and manner of Frank Monte’s death are pending further study, according to a statement Tuesday from the medical examiner.

Monte was dead when officers responded to a 911 call around 4 p.m. on Sunday at 608 New Dorp Lane, police said.

The victim lived on Mill Road, about a half mile from where he died, according to police.

The investigation continued on Tuesday into the circumstances surrounding the death. No arrests have been made, according to a spokesman for the NYPD.

The pit bull caused multiple severe bite wounds on Monte’s body, police said.

An NYPD Emergency Services Unit removed the dog from the home and transported it to Animal Care Centers of NYC, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.

A separate law enforcement source told the Advance/SILive.com on Monday that Monte was playing with the dog when it “turned on him.”

That source said other people inside the house witnessed the attack and called 911.

Police confirmed that no one else except Monte was bitten by the dog.

Was ‘getting life together’

Monte, who had several prior brushes with the law, had been sober for several months at the time of his death, according to the man’s partner, a 62-year-old woman who was interviewed by the Daily News.

“He was getting his life together,” the woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily News. “What happened to him with this dog is a tragedy.”

The woman told the Daily News that Monte was waiting for a prescription to be filled at a neighborhood pharmacy when he stopped over to visit someone he knew at the home on New Dorp Lane.