By DAREH GREGORIAN and KAVITA MOKHA
May 22, 2008
A Manhattan man is suing a swanky Upper East Side pet spa for $200,000 after a pit bull nearly turned his schnauzer into Wiener schnitzel.
The dog-almost-eat-dog tale happened last month, when Diesel, a 10-pound pooch, was staying at Biscuits & Bath on 82nd Street and First Avenue.
He was getting ready to go out for a walk when an "approximately 65-pound pit bull, without provocation, attacked" Diesel, biting into his hind leg and "almost removing it from the dog's body," the suit says.
The unidentified pit bull "bit and shook Diesel like a rag doll, digging [his] sharp teeth into Diesel's body, putting enormous pressure on Diesel's bones, dislocating his hip and causing massive bleeding," the suit says.
Now Diesel's owner, lawyer Jeffrey Tullman, is suing the spa - which offers fur treatments, hair exfoliation and weight loss programs for dogs, and refers to animals as "children" and their owners as "parents" - for negligence.
The suit also names the pit bull's owner, John Doe, whose real name the spa is refusing to disclose.
"They were more interested in protecting the name of the owner of the pit bull than in assisting us as owners of the victim," said Tullman, 64.
Manager Jason Christmas said all "parents" sign liability waivers before their "children" can stay at the facility.
The 5-year-old dog, who had stayed at the facility before, was getting ready to be taken out for a walk when an employee was coming back in with the pit bull.
The big dog broke free from his handler and went after Diesel "without provocation," and had "enough time to bite, maul, attack, claw and throw around Diesel" before the attack was stopped, the suit says.
Diesel spent two weeks in the animal hospital and had to have his hip replaced.
"The good news is he's doing pretty damn good for a dog that nearly had his hind leg ripped off," Tullman said.
Christmas said he'd previously reached out to Tullman and his wife, and did not charge them for a month's worth of services - about $2,000 - because of the incident. As for the pit bull, Christmas said only that "the dog that mauled Diesel is no longer a member of the facility."
