‘It’s Heartbreaking': Son Speaks Out About Killing of Mother’s Service Dog

Rose Cole had just purchased a lottery ticket Friday night when her luck took a turn for the worse. While the Poughkeepsie woman was in her wheelchair, her service dog was torn from her hands and killed by a pit bull.

It happened Friday evening on Main Street in Poughkeepsie. Rose was just a block from her home, when her son David Cole tells Hudson Valley Post, “her four pound service dog, Honey the Chihuahua, was ripped from her hands by a pit bull.” According to Cole his Mom tried to stop the dog but was knocked from her wheelchair. David says her mother was then on the ground screaming, “Please don’t kill my baby!”

“My poor disabled Mother. It’s heartbreaking. Honey was like a child to her, he said.” Rose Cole is disabled with one leg. Her son says she’s been diagnosed as a manic depressive and Bipolar. “My mother is emotional; the only thing that could stop her from crying was that dog. It was her life, which was ripped from her hands in an instant.”

According to City of Poughkeepsie Police, during the altercation the pit bulls owner, a tall black male who’s name hasn’t been released, attempted to pull his dog off the little dog with no success. A witness was able to separate the dogs. The man then fled the scene with his dog. The woman was helped up by bystanders and her dog was rushed to a vet where it was pronounced dead.

The following day the owner of the pit bull turned himself into police. He’s being held on an unrelated warrant in Newburgh. The dog was seized and is being kept at a local animal hospital. Police say charges will be filed at a later time.

Since the incident many are blaming the incident on the attacking dog’s breed. But David Cole believes it’s the owners fault and not the pit bull breed, “Not about a pit bull, about an owner who couldn’t control his dog. The guy had had a 6 foot leash and couldn’t control his dog. He should have had the sense to see an elderly woman in a wheelchair. The smart thing to do is pull your dog away!”

David’s goal is to raise awareness and help his mother overcome her loss. He set up a GoFundMe Page. “This was the only thing she had. She lost her leg, she lost her home, her boyfriend died. She hasn’t stopped crying,” he said.