Community Corner

Poodle Drowns in Prospect Park Lake

Dog dies after chasing bird onto icy lake yesterday morning.

A poodle drowned in Prospect Park yesterday morning after chasing a bird onto the icy lake, a witness said.

"We couldn't even see the dog because the fog was so dense … but you heard the dog barking ... then it stopped," said Tony Chiappelloni, president of Fido in Prospect Park, a dog-owners activist organization.

According to Chiappelloni, park police came to help, but there was nothing they could do to save the dog. Her body has not yet been recovered, according to Chiappelloni, who was at the park walking his dogs.

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Because of the fog, the owner didn't realize how close she was to the lake, Chiappelloni said.

"The woman who had the dog was being responsible, but you couldn't see anything," he said, adding that the owner is now "insane with grief."

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"It's a terrible, horrible thing that happened," he said.

Chiappelloni cautioned dog owners to stay far from the lake in icy conditions.

"Don't get him near the lake when it's frozen," he said.

The poodle was named Pasha and was 3 or 4 years old, according to Sean Casey, founder of Sean Casey Animal Rescue, who knows the poodle's owner.

The Parks Enforcement Patrol, Prospect Park's police unit, has not yet returned a phone call.

The NYPD also came to the scene, according to Chiappelloni, but a police spokesman couldn't confirm the information because reports are not always made on incidents involving animals, he said.


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