Community Rallies For Dutchess Woman Whose Service Dog Was Killed

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. -- The family of a disabled Poughkeepsie woman is trying to raise money to buy her another service dog after her Chihuahua was mauled to death by a pit bull.

Poughkeepsie resident Rosemary "Rosie" Cole (shown cuddling Honey), who uses a wheelchair, lost her tiny service dog on Friday when it was mauled to death by a pit bull.
Photo Credit: *Provided/GoFundMe*

Carol Reif

01/12/2016 3:30 a.m.

According to a report in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Rosemary “Rosie” Cole was sitting in her wheelchair on Main Street on Friday, Jan. 8, with Honey, when a pit bull ripped the 4-pound dog from her arms and killed it.

A bystander came to her aid, the Journal report said. The pit bull was seized at the scene, and its owner, who walked away after the attack, was arrested on unrelated charges in Newburgh, the Journal reported.

Cole’s son, David, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise $1,500 to buy a new dog.

Honey acted as a service dog for his mother, keeping her emotionally stable, Cole said on the GoFundMe site.

Honey’s death has left the 60-year-old woman “heartbroken and traumatized,” he said.

As of Monday, the campaign has raised $1,415.

Click here to read the Poughkeepsie Journal article.

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