People and their dogs enjoying the 105th Street Dog Run in Riverside Park.
On Saturday, July 30, an elderly woman suffered a severe dog bite — which required 30 stitches — while trying to break up a scuffle between her dog and a husky. We’re told the incident occurred at 8:30 a.m. under a bench at the Riverside Park Dog Run at West 105th Street.
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We have an image displaying the extent of her injuries, though discretion is advised as it may be upsetting to some. Please click here if you wish to view.
She’s trying to make sure this doesn’t happen again, but the owner of the other dog has allegedly been hard to find.
“Normally, I don’t go into the dog run,” said Joan Adler, 74, of West 108th Street. “That particular day it was hot, so I went in to cool my dog off with a hose.” Adler, retired with a hip replacement, told us she took a seat to rest as her dog was off-leash in the dog run.
“Around my waist I carry a little pouch with treats in it,” described Adler. “So, I sat down, gave my dog a treat.” At this point, Adler noted that there were two other dogs, both off-leash, that came over to her at the bench she was sitting at. One of them was a husky. Adler remembers giving the husky a treat as her almost 2-year-old Bernedoodle went under the bench to play with a ball she had brought for him.
Joan’s dog, Hesh, celebrated his second birthday on August 12.
“The next thing I knew, I heard a commotion underneath me and it was this husky attempting to get this ball from my dog,” said Adler with distress, adding that the husky “was really attacking my dog.” Adler went to break up the tangle by pulling on the husky’s harness, but then “the dog turned around and bit me.” She started screaming “Get the dog, get the dog!” in desperation. Her dog did not suffer any injuries, as she was able to pull him away in time.
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Adler’s husband, who was with her in the dog park, was the first to point out how “mangled” her arm looked from the bite. In the heat of the moment, she remembers seeing the husky’s owner on the other side of the dog park.
“There was no conversation in terms of him offering help or concern,” said Adler. On her way out of the dog run, Adler recalled approaching the husky owner to find out if his dog had its rabies shots. “Without question, he never offered any interest in my well-being.”
Joan Adler (bottom left) confronting the owner of the husky and his girlfriend.
Adler recalls a heated dialogue with the husky owner as they both exited the park. The owner of the husky, a young-looking male in his 20s or 30s, gave Adler his first name — Isaiah — and his phone number. But he would not disclose his last name.
Adler filed a police report, hoping this kind of attack doesn’t happen to anybody else, especially if the dog has a history of biting people. Adler’s priority is to have the husky “muzzled.”
Days later, one of Adler’s friends, Darcy Dennett, sent her a text message describing the same husky attacking another dog, a Basenji, at the same dog run. “The husky had its jaws around the Basenji’s neck and wouldn’t let go. I was afraid it was going to kill the dog,” wrote Dennett. “The [Basenji’s] owner was bitten trying to separate the dogs. I believe the Basenji was not neutered, which of course is also an issue.”
The husky owner returned to the 105th Street Dog Run several days after the attack, we’re told.
In an attempt to track down the husky’s owner, Adler started a thread on Nextdoor telling her story. Currently, there are more than 280 comments, but nobody has been able to ID him. Here’s the thread — though we should advise the first image may upset some readers: https://nextdoor.com/p/JnsqXM2g5bMx/
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Adler shared the husky owner’s phone number with ILTUWS. On Sunday, August 14, somebody picked up the phone and told us, “I think you have the wrong number” when we asked if we were speaking to Isaiah. ILTUWS followed up with a text message explaining that we were investigating the incident and his input would be welcome.
Isaiah responded with this statement:
Hello – happy to provide the following:
It was a very unfortunate accident that happened, and we hope for a speedy recovery. It is always regrettable to see dogs set up for failure, especially when it can be avoided. There was sadly a high cost of this particular failure, but I don’t believe either dog is aggressive by nature. It is tough to socialize a dog with resource guarding issues, especially in high energy environments, when treats and/or toys are around. An overstimulated dog can become unpredictable and, when provoked, can attack, which leads to fights. Unfortunately, in this particular case, my dog decided to fight back and a bad injury resulted. Dog bites are serious and, as every dog owner knows, are much more likely to occur if sticking a limb between two fighting dogs.
Our dog has a very sweet disposition and is great meeting adults, children, and other dogs on a daily basis. We receive great reports from the dog walker every day about his personality. After the incident, we returned to the park to see if we could catch Joan for a chat, but I was instead met with a large group with many different discussion points being put forth, so I was unable to relay what happened. As a happy resident of the upper west side, we would never seek to upset the community. As such, we have avoided Riverside Park out of respect for Joan’s request that my dog not be brought there. He continues to be a happy boy who loves to meet new dogs, and I have every confidence that an incident like this will never happen again.
Dogs, and other pets, are most often lovable when obedient to their owners. However, some dogs become feral and disobedient when unleashed among other dogs. Watching a dog run is a lesson in how dogs change from human-oriented beloveds to competitive animals out to show which is master among their kind. Dog owners cannot rely up how their pet behaves when with them as a guide to how they behave with other dogs. Owners need training along with their pets on social behavior, perhaps leashed to their dogs when inside dog runs.
Husky’s owner, Isaiah, should be a stand-up guy, a decent citizen and a real human being (for a change) and at least offer to help pay for 50% of whatever the emergency care and after-care costs associated with his dog’s vicious attack on Joan Adler. What kind of goon is he NOT to offer this on his own without being guilted into it? Clearly had she not intervened when and the way she did, his happy-go-lucky husky would have probably done some real damage to her dog and Isaiah would be on the hook in any lawsuit that evolved from that.
Grow up, Isaiah, enter the human race and stop being in insect on its margins, OK?
30 something, Grateful Dead T-shirt, long hair, not working at 9am, doesn’t apologize.
Meh. Many don’t work on a Saturday morning. You’re barking up the wrong tree.
I have made it a habit/rule to never use the dog run on weekends and especially in the summer. Conscientious dog people consider this amateur hour. People who use dog walkers during the week have no idea how their dogs behave, and often don’t want to know.
Lastly, when you’re in the run stop looking at your phone or engaging in conversation to the point where you are not monitoring your dog. It’s your responsibility to maintain control of your dog.
In no way supporting the bad behavior of Isiah and his dog. He should recognize his dog does not belong in environments like dog parks. This happens all the time. I hope Joan has a quick and healthy recovery.
However, I do think you are doxxing him by sharing his Facebook profile and other information. I don’t think you’d like it either.
Other than showcasing that dog parks are high stimulating environments and we all should be careful, the endgame of this article is unclear to me what you’re after – even sharing his name. If you’re asking for an apology from Isiah, that’s between him and Joan.
Agree with this completely. What’re you doing here, ILTUWS?
ILTUWS, please remove this person’s last name. You are doxxing them and it’s completely inappropriate and unnecessary. I understand and applaud your investigation regarding this incident but this information should have been shared with the victim and the victim alone so she could use that to share with authorities or whatever she feels necessary to do regarding the attack. His last name does not add anything to this story, and he has yet to be charged publicly, so this is private information you are sharing without their consent.
I agree. Why are you setting this guy up to be ostracized and attack by the public. It’s an unfortunate situation, and he should have apologized, but Joan got involved in a risky situation. It’s not like the dog was off leash in the park, the dog was in a dog run and they have since not returned. He doesn’t need to apologize to the public, just Joan.
An unfortunate situation? I hope you don’t get attacked by a dog when you are in your seventies. And stop blaming her. What was her other option? Letting the husky shred her dog to death? Isiah didn’t even attempt to intervene as he should have. And, he should have done more than just apologize, he should pay for every cost associated with the injury. What he needs to do is to man up and stop blaming Joan and her dog. Even though he doesn’t owe an apologize to the public, he needs to get the dog proper training before he takes it out unmuzzled or off-leash. I don’t buy this dog hasn’t done something like this before; it sounds like it reacted as a practiced biter would, and it attack at least one dog that we know off. If there is no professional training, I bet will be hearing about Isiah again
Isiah shared his number and not his last name. Is that a crime? What’s the point here?
Agree with others above. What is the goal of doxxing him ILTUWS. Do you regularly dox other vagrants whose behavior you find uncouth. Where do you draw the line between reporting news and sanctimony. Stop being a puritanical warrior and cover the neighborhood by sticking to facts and objectivity.
Wait, so he did give her his number and came back to try to talk? That doesn’t sound like someone being difficult to “track down.” Kinda wish there was a follow up on that rather than focusing on his last name. I’m sorry this woman was injured but this reads more like an airing of dirty laundry than a news article. Please be better.
I have played with this husky (who is actually a malamute) many times and he is nothing but sweet and friendly. The owner is attentive and actively trains his dog while at the park. The better lesson from this is this: THIS is why there should not be balls and sticks and toys at the dog park. Dogs get territorial and aggressive over toys. It sounds like the “husky” was only acting in defense as the other dog attacked him while under the bench. Joan should NEVER have put her arm or limb in between two fighting dogs, especially not in a tight place like under a bench. All of this could have been avoided has Joan not allowed her toy aggressive dog to have a toy at the dog park. It is an unfortunate situation that happened and I am so sorry she got hurt. However the answer is NOT to blame and ostracize the husky and his owner. This is part of the risk that happens when you go to a dog park. Bottom line- don’t bring toys into the dog park and don’t stick your arm in between two fighting dogs.
Also no one is mentioning that she brought treats into the park and was actively feeding her dog. Most dog parks have signage that state food is not permitted as some dogs get territorial around food.
All dog parks state that aggressive dogs are not allowed. And don’t tell me that a dog that sent a women to the emergency ward for thirty stitches is not aggressive. I have been to many dog parks where there are treats being given out, right or wrong, and balls and other toys are used, right or wrong, but I have never seen someone’s arm ripped apart. You can blame Joan and her dog all you want, but it is Isiah’s dog who did the attacking and the biting and he didn’t do a damn thing about it. It’s like blaming a woman for wearing a short skirt and drinking for getting raped. Ultimately, it is the dog’s owner who is responsible for watching it and monitoring its behavior, and Isiah failed big time. Why did he even let go under the bench in the first place?
Huh? Since you are obviously friends with Isiah, please just tell him that no matter how he justifies this dog fight, he has the obligation to at least apologize like an adult human owner of a dog, and also offer to pay for any damages. The other owner is the one who got hurt by his dog. This is just normal behavior.
@NpP Huh? It’s clear from the article that Joan’s dog is not “toy aggressive.” He was under a bench and happily playing with his own toy when the Husky decided to squeeze under the bench, corner Joan’s dog, and steal the toy. When Joan’s dog defended himself from the Husky’s attack and the Husky did not get what he wanted to steal, the Husky viscously attacked Joan. And still NP thinks that Joan’s dog is the aggressive one.
The victim-blaming commentators seem to think that dog runs belong only to territorial, aggressive dogs and that well-behaved dogs should stay home.
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Initial contact with phone with isiah was a deflection attempt- wrong number.
Many comments sound structured and lacking substance or remorse.
Whatever happened to “If you cause damage, pay for the damage”?
Rules exist for a reason and if you can’t abide by the social contract of “do no harm” and “take responsibility for your actions” then perhaps city living is not for you.
I think this story was reported neutrally and well. Cameras are ubiquitous in NYC and simply by being out and about New Yorkers need to be aware they can be photographed at any time, which might be inconvenient (or embarrassing). That’s life in 2022. ILTUWS has done nothing wrong here.
Sigh. Longtime owner of sport dogs here. Not victim blaming here, but a little common sense is in order, may have prevented this. Read if you have a dog: I’ll put on my King Lear hat and “Never never never never never” bring treats to a dog run. Squeaky toys a close second. And if someone does it, call them out and tell them to leave, or just leave yourself. I skedaddled from the 72nd St run one Sunday a few months back when 4 Brooklyny-looking 20-somethings were on a bench feeding a large bag of beef jerky to 60-80 pound pit mix. AND the dog was on a leash (I asked-leashed was because he got “real excited:” around other dogs. They were like “OK, boomer”, so I split. Heard a loud commotion few minutes later. European couple ran out with their dog complaining about Idiot Americans correct in this case.
The rule is to run over and help with
Your dog. And offer to pay half. Been coming to park for 14 years and that’s what they used to do.
There are always balls and treats around. A dog who bites like that is aggressive. Anyway cops should get involved. End of story.
Wow, I wonder the true story. So many people are quick to blame the Husky owner, who in fact is a Malamute not a Husky(it would be wise for the editor to change this as they are different breeds, while both being North), you can tell this even without the comment as the picture obviously is of a Malamute not a Husky. Additionally, why is another dog owner feeding someone else’s dogs treats? Or bringing a toy like that in? It sounds like the old lady does not have much experience with larger dog breeds. I also do not necessarily believe her story 100%. The story makes it seem like she was not to blame at all, but from what I’m gathering she enticed said Malamute with treats, doggo was probably really happy with treats, and saw another little friend to play with. Friend(the Bernedoodle), had a toy, and the Malamute wanted to play with the dog so it started grabbing the toy as in tug of war. Old lady was scared of a larger dog and got in the way of a dog playing and got bit. There is nothing about the little dog getting bitten, never put your limbs in front to stop ANY dog, large or small. If you can’t understand that concept do not go to a dog park where there are larger dogs, or simply stay in the small dog section. IF the Malamute wanted to attack your dog, your dog would have been dead, he was playing, you got scared, did something stupid and put your arm between two dogs playing and you got bit. Quit blaming the dog when it was your own dumb self. Malamutes and Huskies are EXTREMELY friendly dogs to other dogs and like to play with them, to the point where old ladies can think their energy and playfulness is an attempt to attack one’s dog.