SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

In lieu of photos of the neighborhood’s loudest dogs, we bring you Biggie the Harlequin Great Dane, the neighborhood’s dreamiest dog. Photo courtesy of Albert Dashevky.

There is a dog that lives across the street from my apartment building. I can’t see this dog, and I have no idea what it looks like, and despite this, the dog and I have a very intimate relationship. Every time a truck rumbles by, or a police siren wails, or thunder crashes, this invisible dog barks incessantly for the next 45 minutes. In the back of mind I always wondered if this was the worst dog in existence, but now I know that he is not.

The honor for loudest dogs in the city belongs to two dogs living in Marine Park. The 9-year-old German Shepard Maxwell, and his next door neighbor Buddy, a five year old Beauceron, have racked up close to 20 complaints in recent years. The owners of the dogs have both received warning letters from the Department of Environmental Protection.

“I think its ridiculous,” barked Maxwell’s owner Joseph Butrico, to DNAInfo. “They have tickets for everything. They just make it up as they go along.”

“When someone invades their space, they are gonna bark,” said Buddy’s owner Ann Winters, equally strident in defense of her noisy pooch.

In case you are wondering if Maxwell and Buddy were both the source of each other’s maniacal barking, being that they share a fence, it couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Ann.

“[They] see each other through a part of the fence, and they kiss each other,” she said.

Obviously these two dogs have formed a mutual friendship based on driving their neighbors crazy.

Months after the February rescue of 23 Shetland Sheepdogs from a duo of Sheepshead Bay animal hoarders, the canines can now be adopted.

Since the initial bust, the dogs have been held as evidence against the couple. The dogs have been housed at several Animal Care & Control shelters and foster residencies throughout the city. The cost for the care of the dogs at AC&C totals around $85,000.

The couple struck a deal with prosecuters, pleading guilty to a single count of abuse, as opposed to 23 counts. As per the deal, the couple will forfeit all of the dogs over to the state, seek therapy, and never possess another animal again.

Continue Reading »

Biggie the Harlequin Great Dane. Photo courtesy of Albert Dashevky

We received an email from reader and Sheepshead Bay native Albert Dashevsky, whose somewhat oversized furry companion is apparently quite the celebrity in the ’hood.

Albert emailed us some photos and, we definitely agree — Biggie, a one-year-old Harlequin Great Dane, definitely has star power potential. According to Albert:

He is pretty famous in south Brooklyn! He turns heads, causes traffic, and creates crowds! I figure I might as well use his celebrity and put him to work lol. I’m wondering maybe you guys can help net him a commercial or something of that sort? I read news on this site all the time so I figure[d] I’d ask.

What do you guys think? Is Biggie ready for Hollywood? Or maybe a viral video on YouTube?

More photos of Biggie are below the fold.

You don’t want to miss these photos!

Worried about Mercedes, the poor little kitten who was stuck in a car engine on Ocean Parkway a few weeks ago?

The video above shows that Mercedes, who was rescued and adopted by Antonio Rosario, is playing around and enjoying her new home. Life With Cats says that she is  feeling fine.

After the rescue, Rosario took Mercedes to the vet and discovered she had conjunctivitis and some other minor issues. However, she fortunately was not suffering from any serious illnesses. After resting and eating well, Mercedes has recovered and appears to be enjoying her new home.

The video, taken by Rosario, shows Mercedes running around the house, kicking and chasing a small purple ball. Much better than squealing and crying, squished up in a hot car engine don’t you think?

The adorable kitten in the picture above was rescued from the engine of a car on Tuesday and adopted by her savior, who made her a star by telling the story over on his blog.

Antonio Rosario, the small kitten’s savior, and his wife Elizabeth were cruising down Ocean Parkway towards Brighton Beach, when Antonio, who was in the passenger’s seat, suddenly heard what he believed to be a cat’s cry. When they stopped at a red light, he heard the the poor little cry again.

“I look out behind me and out the window and in the adjacent lane is see a Mercedes s550 with its left front turn signal light missing from the housing,” Antonio posted on his blog. “In this housing is the little face of a kitten crying.”

Continue Reading »

One of Berger's 45 cats. (Photo: Katherine Gonzalez)

It was back in March that we first told you about Barbara Berger, a Brighton Beach cat hoarder who faced eviction if she failed to offload more than 40 of her feline friends. At the time, Berger teamed up with the Brooklyn Animal Umbrella to put as many as 20 of the cats up for adoption at a Bensonhurst Petco.

Through that event and others, Berger was able to give up 22 cats, but must lose 12 more by June 5 or be evicted. A friend of hers, and frequent reader of Sheepshead Bites, Andrew Kent sent us the following plea:

A 51 year-old disabled Brooklyn woman, who has been struggling to comply with a Housing Court stipulation allowing her to keep just two cats from her original 45, is down to the wire and due back in court on Tuesday, June 5, at which time an already issued warrant of eviction, stayed pending her compliance with the agreement, may be sent to the City Marshal for execution.

If the warrant is executed, she will become homeless, and any cats left in her apartment will be taken by the City’s Animal Care and Control Shelter (AC&C), where most, if not all, will be euthanized for administrative convenience because they are less adoptable than the cats lucky enough to make it to the shelter’s infamous “Kill List” from which rescue groups select the kittens and cats they deem most deserving of a second chance.

Barbara Berger, 22 of whose cats have already been placed for adoption, with another 8 of the 10 she wants to keep being fostered until she can find and move to a pet-friendly building, says she is eager to surrender the remaining 12 to individuals, rescue groups, sanctuaries, or other refuges willing to accept them and not kill them.

If just a fraction of those reading this plea can each take just one or two of these cats, either by June 4th, to prevent Barbara’s eviction, or before the Marshal comes, to prevent seizure by AC&C, these cats, too, will have a second chance.

If you can help, know someone who can, or have any links, suggestions, or advice, please contact:

Andrew Kent
ASKent@msn.com
(347) 374-3903 home
(718) 791-3628 cell

Sheepshead Bites received the following note from a neighbor:

LOST DOG – SHIBA INU – FEMALE – NAMED “NAMI”

LAST SEEN: Friday on Ocean Avenue and Shore Boulevard, running towards Oriental Boulevard.

Please call (347)933-1641.

She is skittish and is not easy to catch. Please call if you see her.

Large reward if found.

One of Berger's 45 cats. (Photo: Katherine Gonzalez)

Bensonhurst Bean has a report about Barbara Berger, a Brighton Beach cat hoarder ordered by her landlord to give up all but two of her 45 feline friends or face eviction. Berger has teamed up with Brooklyn Animal Umbrella and Bensonhurst’s Petco at 2601 Stillwell Avenue to hold an adoption event all weekend long to place 20 of the cats in new homes.

Courier Life was first to report on Berger’s plight, in which her fed up landlord has threatened to give her the boot from her rent-stabilized Brighton Beach apartment if she can’t offload the cats. Berger heads to court next week to find whether or not she’s been granted a reprieve.

To adopt one of Barbara Berger’s cats, contact Josephine Marrero at Brooklyn.Rescue.Umbrella@gmail.com or visit Petco at 2601 Stillwell Avenue (corner of 86th Street) anytime over the weekend.

Photo by nolastname.

Following complaints from neighbors that the home used by a dog hoarding couple busted by the city still stinks after several weeks, contractors were dispatched over the weekend to haul away hazardous garbage and trash that was crammed into the home.

The couple hoarded 23 dogs – mostly Shetland Sheepdogs – in two Sheepshead Bay dwellings. In addition to their primary residence at 4215 Bedford Avenue, the couple had a second home at 2713 Avenue Y that housed 10 of the pups without heat, electricity or running water.

When city officials entered the home on February 16 to recover the dogs, they said the home was filled with garbage and waste and deemed it hazardous. To ensure the authorities’ safety, firefighters had to access the roof to look down into the home and guide Animal Care & Control workers through the residence.

As of late last week when we checked in with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, charges had not yet been filed against the couple and dogs remain in the city’s care for observation. Once their condition has been fully assessed, the DA will determine whether or not to charge the couple.

The Brooklyn District Attorney has not yet filed charges related to yesterday’s multi-agency rescue of 23 dogs living in squalor in a Sheepshead Bay couple’s two homes, though the city did issue a slew of health- and safety-related violations.

The DA’s office is still investigating the case, and the dogs are in the custody of Animal Care & Control.

“The dogs need to be evaluated to see what condition they’re in, and that can take up to two weeks,” said a spokesperson for the DA.

The city first needs to determine the severity of the treatment before it can raise animal cruelty charges, the spokesperson said.

Sheepshead Bites broke the story yesterday of the rescue of 23 dogs from a Bedford Avenue couple. The duo kept 13 dogs in their primary residence at 4215 Bedford Avenue and 10 dogs in a second home at 2713 Avenue Y that had no heat or running water.

An on-scene investigator mistakenly told us that the couple was facing 20 counts of animal cruelty. We have corrected the original report to reflect the latest update.

According to the Tri-State Shetland Sheepdog Rescue organization, which the DA noted was involved in bringing the case to their attention, the dogs were malnourished, anemic, flea-ridden and unvaccinated.

Apparently, the city agrees. The Department of Health gave the couple violations for owning dogs without rabies vaccine certificates.

At the Avenue Y address, the Department of Buildings has issued violations and ordered the couple to clean and make repairs within 30 days or face a vacate order. They also cited the couple for an illegal apartment in the Bedford Avenue home.

The FDNY issued violations for blocking exits at the Avenue Y house.