Joe Columbus waiting to go into the court room on Thursday. Photo by Julia Shipley.
By Julia Shipley
Joseph Columbus, the accused owner of two pit bulls that attacked multiple dogs on the Upper West Side over the past year, was arrested in a New York County courtroom on Thursday for civil contempt due to his failure to surrender the animals after a court order to do so.
The arrest comes after Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond ordered Columbus to surrender the two dogs, Rambo and Zooey, in October.
“You’ve taken no responsibility,” Perry-Bond said on Thursday. “My order was clear.”
Judge Perry-Bond ordered Columbus to be incarcerated for 90 days, starting on Thursday, or until he complies with the court’s order. That order requires Columbus to provide the location of the dogs, Rambo and Zooey; to provide contact information for whomever has the two dogs; and to get the dogs into the custody of New York City Animal Care and Control.
Before his arrest on Thursday, Columbus told the judge that his second cousin picked up Rambo shortly after the attack last May on Penny the chihuahua. According to Columbus, the cousin took Rambo to Canada. Columbus said Zooey, the other pit bull, did not belong to him but to his ex-girlfriend, who took Zooey to an unknown location.
“I’ve got no dog to give,” Columbus told the court. “I’m being treated worse than a murderer or a pedophile. I want my life to come back to normal.”
“This is an extreme measure,” Columbus’ attorney, Ikiesha Al-Shabazz said of the ruling, “I’m shocked and appalled.” She told WSR on Thursday night that she was filing an immediate emergency appeal.
Columbus added he had been in a scooter accident that required surgery that also had made it difficult for him to comply with the judge’s orders. Columbus appeared at only two of the nine court dates set between May and October in the civil suit against him. Among the court dates he failed to keep was one on October 22, when the judge declared the two dogs “dangerous” and ordered Columbus to surrender them within three days.
The prosecution reminded Columbus of an interview he did on June 17, 2025, in which both dogs are seen, indicating that Rambo was not taken to Canada shortly after the May attack.
“We hope people find comfort in seeing that no one is above the law and recourse is available if you or your pet is attacked by another dog,” Mollie Swears, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs in the case against Columbus, told West Side Rag. “However, in my opinion, it’s also made clear that there’s room for improvement in this area. If there’s indisputable evidence that a dog seriously injures or kills another dog, it shouldn’t take six months and hundreds of hours of work by attorneys to have that dog declared dangerous.”
Lauren Claus, the co-owner of Penny, told West Side Rag that she was “beyond thrilled with the judge’s discernment and making sure justice is served.”
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