STATEN ISLAND — A pit bull blamed for the deaths of a Chihuahua, a Maltese and a cat has failed to win a reprieve from death row.
Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Barbara Jaffe upheld the city's decision to euthanize 7-year-old Caesar the pit bull after he killed the Chihuahua in May and injured its owner, the New York Post first reported.
Jaffe wrote in the ruling that the city was responsible to determine if the dog was dangerous to the public and that she didn't have the right to intervene, which the dog owners' lawyers had argued for in a lawsuit.
"We are pleased the court agreed there was no legal basis for this suit," a spokesman for the city's Law Department said in a statement.
"Public health and safety are the city’s primary concerns in this matter."
The lawyer for Caesar's owners, Kristina and Douglas Panattieiri, plans to file an appeal against the decision and the animal's death will be stayed until that concludes.
"It's a poorly thought out, not particularly scholarly opinion that really doesn’t deal with any of the legal issues," the lawyer, Richard Rosenthal, said.
In May, Caesar escaped from the Panattieris' New Dorp yard, fatally mauled a Chihuahua named Charlie and left his elderly owner with 16 puncture wounds, the New York Daily News reported.
Caesar was also blamed for the deaths of a Maltese dog in 2015 and a cat in 2010, the News reported.
Since the most recent attack, Caesar has been held in "solitary confinement" without exercise or human contact, Rosenthal previously said.
Rosenthal, dubbed "The Dog Lawyer," plans to file a federal case against the city over the shelter conditions.
