Judge Rules in Favor of Owners of Attacked UWS Dogs in Joe Columbus Case

Dog walker Karen Kramer (left), Lauren Claus and her chihuahua Penny (center), and Jacqueline Barrett (right), who videoed one of the dog attacks. Photo by Julia Shipley.

By Julia Shipley

A New York civil court judge on Tuesday issued a decision officially declaring two pit bull mixes “dangerous,” nearly six months after the dogs attacked a chihuahua on a Columbus Avenue sidewalk at West 85th Street.

The ruling by Judge Phaedra Perry-Bond came on a case brought by the owners of the chihuahua and another owner whose dogs were earlier attacked by the same pit bull mixes, Rambo and Zooey. The dogs belong to Upper West Side resident Joseph Columbus, who was ordered by the judge to pay one of the plaintiffs for medical expenses incurred by her injured dogs.

The court ruling was a victory for Lauren Block, whose shih tzu mix dogs were attacked in January in Central Park by the pit bulls. Block’s co-plaintiffs are Lauren Claus and Devon Allen, owners of the injured chihuahua, Penny.

Although the judge did not order Columbus to pay for Penny’s veterinary treatment, Claus told West Side Rag “We’re pleased with the outcome.” But, she added, “It’s hard to be fully relieved, because there’s a long road ahead.”

Judge Perry-Bond ruled for Columbus to be served with her judgement at his “last known address” via overnight express mail by Friday, October 24.

Then, within three days of being served the court’s order, Columbus must contact his local precinct to arrange the surrender of Rambo and Zooey, to New York City Animal Care and Control (ACC).

If he does not surrender the animals voluntarily within this three-day period, the judge has authorized NYPD or other law enforcement officers to “seize said dogs” by “any appropriate means necessary, consistent with the law” – and deliver them into ACC’s custody, court documents read.

Once the dogs are in the “permanent custody” of the city of New York, via ACC, the judge mandated that the dogs be neutered, spayed, microchipped, and “evaluated by a certified applied behaviorist and board certified behavioralist or another recognized expert in the field”– at Joseph Columbus’ expense.

“The court reserves the right to make a finding for humane euthanasia,” Judge Perry-Bond wrote in her decision.

WSR reported on the May incident when Columbus’ dogs mauled a 16-pound chihuahua named Penny; on a subsequent town hall meeting with City Council member Gale Brewer; on the NYPD’s unsuccessful attempt to carry out the judge’s order to take Columbus’ dogs into custody; on the continuing court case; and most recently, the Rag’s Q&A with an NYPD officer who is trained in filing dangerous dog reports.

Prior to the May incident, UWS resident Lauren Block’s shih tzu mixes, Chuckie and Grover, were seriously injured by Columbus’ dogs in a January 2025 attack. Grover was euthanized due to his injuries. Block’s combined veterinary and euthanization bills totaled $21,697.26, for which Judge Perry-Bond’s judgement has now found Joseph Columbus liable.

However, the judge ruled that because Penny’s owners, Claus and Allen, have pet insurance as well as the proceeds from a Go Fund Me campaign that raised nearly $44,000, Columbus was not found liable for Penny’s veterinary bills which have amounted to $12,392.95 as of early October.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Upper West Side’s [Go Fund Me contributions], it [this court case] was never about the money,” Claus told the Rag in a phone interview. 

As Claus testified in June: “We’re looking to make this [behavior] harder to get away with in the future. We’re going to use that money to…get better laws passed for dogs.”

Judge Perry-Bond wrote in her decision that “draconian measures” needed to be taken on behalf of Joseph Columbus’ dogs, to “ensure protection of the public.”

The judge also noted that of the nine court dates that transpired between May 27th, when the plaintiffs filed their complaint, and October 2, when the judge scheduled the lawyers’ summations, Joseph Columbus, though repeatedly summoned by the judge, appeared only twice.

Columbus’ lawyer did not immediately respond to the Rag’s request for comment.

His last appearance in court was in early June, and Columbus never testified under oath in the case.

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