Help Penny Recover from Brutal Dog Attack

UPDATE FROM LAUREN, PENNY’S MOM:

Hello everyone! I just wanted to apologize for not updating you all on where your money is going. We have been working really hard and your money is helping to affect change for dogs in New York!

Firstly we are using the funds for Penny’s vet bills for the rest of 2025. The insurance we have had a cap at $7,500 and our bills were over $12,000. We used the money from the GFM for the difference, but also we have no more insurance for Penny for the rest of the year. Your money will help get Penny veterinary care for the rest of the year!

Secondly we are using the money to affect change! Penny’s Law was drafted and sent to the NY Assembly. We hope to bring it to a vote before the end of session, so we have been working hard to lobby lawmakers to support Penny’s Law. You can read more about the bullet points of the law here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uMwOvJSjS3L5kMeFfbLwIacgc02OTvjo/view?usp=drive_link

Or you can read the actual bill here:

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A8462/amendment/A#:~:text=2025%2DA8462%20%2D%20Summary,all%20dogs%20must%20be%20restrained

Thirdly, aFter this year when we have insurance back and have hopefully made meaningful legislative change, we will donate the rest of the money to No Kill Shelters, starting in the Upper West Side.

This is our plan!

I want to be a good steward of the money you so graciously blessed us with. Your funds have already helped us pay off Penny’s remaining vet balance and helped to bring our coalition to Albany so they can lobby for Penny’s Law, so thank you so much for that. I hope that I can make all of you proud. If we can make meaningful strides in making this world a little bit safer for our furry family members, I’ll feel like we’ve done some good. Thank you for being a part of making that happen.

#JusticeForPenny

ORIGINAL POST:

On Sat May 3 at 7:30pm, Penny, a 16lb chihuahua mix rescue, was brutally attacked by two American Bully dogs on the Upper West Side. The owners not only did nothing during the attack to help, but they also fled the scene, dragged a fellow bystander who was trying to help away from the dogs, AND intentionally smashed someone’s phone when they tried to record them.

Penny was rushed to the ER and had to have three hours of emergency surgery. Thankfully, she’s out of surgery with a lot of stitches, but as of this afternoon, she’s still in the ICU on heavy duty pain meds and being monitored. And we’re still terrified.

After more research and the help of eyewitnesses, FB groups and other UWS forums, we found out these dogs killed another dog in January in Central Park and the owners fled then, too (we have photo evidence that it’s the same person and dogs). There’s also a dangerous dog report on these dogs already and nothing has been done.

I know Penny's owner wasn’t in a mental place to set anything up, but I’m putting this out there incase, whether it be for unexpected medical bills (Full Disclosure: Penny DOES have pet insurance, but the owners had to pay $7,000 upfront just to start the procedure and 18 hours later another $4,000, so there was concern about what the end total will be and if there will be any portion that wouldn't be reimbursed), or any legal fees (the police say because dogs are “property” in New York, and there was no attack on humans, all we could do is file a civil suit, but we want to hopefully find a way to get these dogs off the street and hold these people accountable so no other owner or pup has to go through this terrible situation).

Thank you so much in advance for any help you could give. And more importantly, regardless of any donations, thank you to anyone and everyone who has given their support over the last 24 hours, whether it be around the neighborhood or online on Reddit and Facebook, thank you so so so much for just being there. You have no idea how much it all means.

We’ll keep you updated as we get more information and as Penny progresses.