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Pit Bull Mauls Toddler in Bensonhurst Apartment


By

John Del Signore

Published Apr 5, 2010

Modified Apr 5, 2010


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Police remove the pit bull.

 


By

John Del Signore

Published Apr 5, 2010

Modified Apr 5, 2010


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So horrible: A 20-month-old boy is in serious but stable condition today after a pit bull mauled his face. Police sources say the dog became agitated when Elliot Korenblyun's parents were arguing on Sunday morning, and that she abruptly tore into the boy. "I don't understand how this happened," mother Olga Volovnik, 24, tells the Daily News. "She suddenly attacked the baby, and then we were fighting to get her off."

A stunning Daily News photo of Volovnik depicts her covered in her son's blood. Elliot needs reconstructive surgery to both sides of his face, but according to his dad, "Luckily, his eyes were saved." Elliot's father also said the dog, Gucci, was trying to defend Volovnik, who had raised her voice during the spat. "I was coming in from church, and I heard the lady yelling for help," one unidentified neighbor tells the Post. "The [flesh] was hanging in three big pieces ... The baby looked terrible."

Gucci, who is three years old, was taken to Animal Care & Control of New York City. His fate is uncertain; he'll be monitored for 10 days and then either returned to the family, returned with restrictions, or put down, the Post reports. And there was a second pit bull attack yesterday in Queens, where a 28-year-old man was bitten by his pet. Details are scant, but the News reports that he's in stable condition at New York Hospital Queens

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John Del Signore

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Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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