Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
"Puppy-Kicking" Band Spotted in Prospect Park
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 19, 2009
Modified Aug 19, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 19, 2009
Modified Aug 19, 2009
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
According to a poster on the Brooklynian message board, around 7 a.m. today, "during the off leash dog hours, a music group was doing a photo shoot in the Long Meadow of Prospect Park. A golden retriever puppy, being naturally curious, wandered over and interrupted their photo shoot. One of the band members grabbed the puppy by its collar and kicked it." While there's no photographic evidence of the vague incident on the board, if this is true, it is our duty to find out who this band, and photographer, are. Anyone know anyone who wears vests and goes four buttons deep unbuttoning their shirt?
UPDATE:The band is called Surefire, and they haven't yet responded to our request for comment.
UPDATE II: The band's singer, Ben Rice, has responded. His full comment is after the jump, wherein he explains that there was a golden retriever, but claims they only gave its owner a hard time.
“No member of my band kicked or would ever kick a puppy or any animal for that matter. This is a case of a sad man looking to get a rise out of people and put a little excitement into his mundane life and we want nothing to do with it. A golden retriever did come over and join us while we were doing a photo shoot, as did a number of other dogs and we all enjoyed their company. Every other dog owner in the park had the common courtesy to call their dogs after their dogs had a proper chance to sniff around, while this dog owner did not.
When the golden retriever wouldn’t leave we called to the dog’s owner who was standing smugly across the field asking him to call his dog at which point he came toward us shouting at us about it being off-leash hours and how the dog was a puppy, telling us to get out of the park and repeating “what are you going to do about it?” I specifically told the dog’s owner, “Yes, it’s a puppy, you’re a human being, use your brain and just call your dog.”
Someone who appeared to be the dog owner’s lackey took the photos that you see and I think they clearly demonstrate how shocked we were by the absurdity of the situation and having someone running up and putting their iPhone in your face looking for an altercation at 7am in the morning.
I hope that people who see this can understand that this has nothing to do with us or any sort of aggression towards dogs and is simply a bitter man, who knew he was in the wrong, throwing a low blow by relying on people’s responses to shock and awe type news stories trying to slander us.
Again, as a dog owner myself, I can assure you, I, and no member of my band would ever kick a dog. I hope this clears up any confusion and that we can all move on to more pressing issues.”
Tagged
abuse
band
brooklyn
dog
kicking
prospect park
puppy
Surefire
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Why New Yorkers should care about bats beyond spooky season
As Bat Week begins, state wildlife officials urge New Yorkers to protect bats, which play an important role in the environment.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 25, 2026 at 6:44 p.m. ET
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
News
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
Early voting may have kicked off in New York this weekend, but Serbian immigrants seeking to vote had a much tighter window on Sunday.
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
Retired NYPD detective charged in George Washington Bridge killing out on $1M bail
By
Michael Sol Warren
Suicides decline in NYC, but inequities persist across groups
By
Jill Webb
Cuts to rural healthcare become key issue for upstate votes in race for NY governor
By
Samuel King
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .