STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A series of vicious dog attacks on Staten Island has prompted law experts to question the archaic laws surrounding dog-bite incidents in New York.

However, the issue of dog-bite attacks has long plagued Staten Island, with numerous brutal incidents being reported within the last two decades -- including one that left a man fatally injured.

Here is a look at some of those cases:

Watch: Video shows pit bull attack on woman, Chihuahua pups in Sunnyside

A pit bull attacked a woman and her two Chihuahua puppies while she walked them in her Sunnyside neighborhood, according to a video obtained by the Advance.

The woman said she was out with her two 5-month-old Chihuahuas, Lulu and Cita, on Little Clove Road at around 10 a.m. Sept. 7, 2018, when she noticed a man who appeared to be in his 60s staring at her while holding his pit bull on a leash.

"It was kinda weird," she said.

The man told her she'd "better pick up her dogs," according to the woman.

The larger dog somehow got free of its owner, and footage from a surveillance system in the neighborhood captured the black pit bull -- now unleashed -- charging the woman and her small dogs out of the frame. The woman said she let go of their leashes in an attempt to let them run away from the attack.

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Watch: 2nd Sunnyside dog attack caught on video; is it same ‘menace?’

On Oct. 3, 2018, a 71-year-old Sunnyside man said he and his pet were viciously attacked by a big, black dog -- and the victim and residents believed the aggressive canine was a neighborhood menace involved in the Chihuahua incident just weeks earlier.

The man, who declined to have his name published, said he was walking his dog, Hercules, near the corner of Renwick Avenue and Oswego Street, when he saw a neighbor walking his pet at around 7 p.m.

The neighbor’s dog, which the victim said is a pit bull, slipped out of its leash and lunged at Hercules, he said. The black dog got its teeth into Hercules’ neck before he intervened.

He said the black dog’s owner did not attempt to help him separate the dogs.

According to a Department of Health spokesman, the owner of the black dog signed a stipulation with the agency that included mandating the dog be neutered (if not already), vaccinated for rabies, licensed (if not already), receive obedience training, and be leashed and muzzled in public.

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James W. McNair

Veteran, 90, dies after being attacked by 2 dogs; owner charged

The owner of two pit bulls who savagely attacked a 90-year-old World War II veteran in Port Richmond left his dogs "out to run free," prosecutors charged in 2009.

James W. McNair, 28, of Newark Avenue, admitted to police that he didn't use leashes or crates to contain the two dogs, according to a statement presented by prosecutors during McNair's arraignment in the former Stapleton Criminal Court.

"I don't use a leash or a cage,'' McNair allegedly told police. "I got them a collar, but it doesn't fit. I was going to get a fence and a contractor came by yesterday to give me a quote. I've heard one or two complaints from the neighbors."

McNair was ordered held on $255,000 bail in connection with the dog attack. His two pit bulls, Popeye and Brutus, mauled Henry Piotrowski just after 11 a.m., practically eating him alive in his John Street backyard. The dogs were euthanized as a result of the attack.

Piotrowski was initially in critical condition at Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, but later succumbed to his injuries.

In October 2009, McNair pleaded guilty in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree assault, stemming from the attack. He was sentenced in November 2009 to up to three years behind bars.

The family of Piotrowski filed a lawsuit against the city, but it was dismissed by State Supreme Court Justice Thomas P. Aliotta, who said that a municipality can't be found at fault in such instances unless the individual attacked establishes a "special relationship" with it to provide protection "beyond that owed to the public at large."

In this case, neither the victim, Piotrowski, nor a member of his immediate household had lodged any of the nine complaints about the dogs to police, the judge said.

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Eugene Charles of Grant City and his wife, Anne, are pictured in front of their Grant City home after he sustained wounds as his dog was mauled to death by a pit bull. (Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo)

Death-row reprieve for pit bull who fatally mauled Chihuahua, hurt senior citizen

Eugene Charles suffered bite wounds while trying to save the life of his beloved Chihuahua, who was fatally mauled in a horrific attack by a pit bull near a school in Grant City in 2016.

Eugene, 77, and his 10-pound Chihuahua named Charlie, were no match for the 85-pound pit bull that charged out from behind a nearby home with "anger in his eyes," according to Eugene's wife, Anne.

"Charlie lasted maybe two minutes, that was it," Eugene said. "The pit bull was thrashing Charlie back and forth like he was a little rag doll. He just ripped Charlie apart."

Bandages on Eugene's hands covered deep puncture wounds suffered when the Grant City man unsuccessfully tried to force open the pit bull's jaws that had a death-grip on Charlie. After failing to release the teeth by hitting, grabbing and pulling the pit bull's jaws, Eugene said he put his hands inside its mouth.

Caesar, the pit bull, gained a death-row reprieve thanks to an agreement between his owners and the city Health Department.

Douglas Panattieri, the owner of the pit bull, told the Advance Caesar would be allowed to return home under several "stringent stipulations." They included further training and a good citizen certificate from the American Kennel Club.

The dog would be required to wear a muzzle, and the Panattieris would need to install a new automatically-closing safety gate at their home, he said.

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Charles eventually sued the dog's owners.

That case is still pending with motions scheduled for May 17.

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Pit bull attacks dog in New Springville; owner left with $2K medical bill

It was 10 seconds of terror for a New Springville resident as the 71-year-old watched helplessly while his beloved dog was mauled by a pit bull.

"I was walking my dog, not far from my home," Arnold Roth said as he recounted the incident involving his 6-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Kasey.

Roth said he was near the corner of Merrymount and Shiloh streets at around 9:30 a.m. in December 2017 when "I heard a dog barking and I saw a young lady who looked like a teenager with two dogs; one was a pit bull."

Roth said the young woman was across the street from him when one of her dogs broke free and darted toward him. "Before I knew it, the pit bull was all over my dog," he said.

Kasey required emergency surgery for punctures near the lungs and racked up a $2,000 medical bill.

Because Kasey was considered Roth's property, police told him that he could not file a report about the incident. Instead, he would have to locate and sue the dog's owner, who he didn't know -- a burden he told the Advance at the time he didn't plan to undertake.

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Mariners Harbor girl needs surgery after dog attack

A 6-year-old Mariners Harbor girl who was mauled by a pit bull in a neighbor's apartment was on the road to recovery after undergoing surgery for multiple puncture wounds in May, 2001, the Advance previously reported.

Alexis Burke was treated in what is now known as Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton. The little girl, who was bitten on both of her legs, her arms and her face, was in stable condition.

Doreen McCain, 34, who was baby-sitting Alexis at the time of the attack, initially faced a criminal charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

The attack happened at about 4:30 p.m. in McCain's apartment on South Avenue. The dog that attacked the little girl — a female pit bull named Princess — had given birth to a litter of puppies just eight hours earlier. Princess, the puppies and another dog living in the apartment were later in the custody of the Health Department.

It was not immediately clear how the criminal case was resolved.

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Great Kills dog attack leaves senior, her poodle hurt; residents concerned

A 75-year-old Great Kills woman is afraid to take her beloved poodle out for a walk after she and her pet were injured in a chaotic dog attack in her neighborhood, her daughter told the Advance.

Two dogs, believed to be an English bulldog and a pit bull, who live at a home in the area, got loose and attacked the senior and her 27-pound poodle near Oceanview Place and Eleanor Lane on Feb. 25, 2019, leaving her in a desperate fight to save her dog and herself, according to her daughter, Jeannine Barlotta.

The 75-year-old woman, who wished to have her name withheld from publication, attempted to fight off the dogs by pulling them away from her injured pet.

She ended up on the ground, Barlotta said, holding each by the collar until police arrived.

The NYPD confirmed that they responded to a call for a 75-year-old woman with puncture wounds on both hands, bleeding and in pain. She was transported to Staten Island University Hospital in Ocean Breeze.

The poodle suffered multiple puncture wounds in the incident as well.

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Watch: Dog attacks woman, puppies in her own backyard -- then barges into her home

A pair of loose dogs barged their way into a Great Kills woman’s backyard before one of the dogs latched onto the homeowner’s puppy -- and then actually fought its way inside her home when she attempted to make it through the door in a desperate bid for safety.

The canines who invaded the yard were the same ones who attacked the senior and her poodle around the corner several months later, according to the Health Department.

Natalie Santiago, a resident of Holly Avenue, said she was in her backyard in 2018 when she heard her 1-year-old dog named Lady and her Yorkipoo named Bo begin to bark toward the driveway.

“When I looked, the big dog was there looking at us,” she said.

Santiago said there is no gate leading to her backyard from her driveway, and that the dog walked from the street right into the backyard.

Nervous, Santiago grabbed her dogs and attempted to go toward the back door of her home, but it was too late.

The Health Department is investigation both incidents.

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65-year-old Lucille Fundaro is shown in her hospital room at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, after she was attacked by a pair of pit bulls in Dongan Hills. (Staten Island Advance/ Ryan Lavis)

Pit bull attack in Dongan Hills leaves Staten Island woman severely injured

A neighborhood barbecue in Dongan Hills marking the end of summer turned into a bloody scene in 2013 when a pair of pit bulls allegedly attacked a 60-year-old woman as she crossed the street, said the victim's family.

The victim, Lucille Fundaro, had her arms and hip badly mangled. Thick chunks of flesh were ripped from the underside of her forearm, exposing her bone, and she was left screaming for her life in the middle of the street, said family members.

Moments before the incident, Fundaro, whose home in New Dorp was badly damaged during Hurricane Sandy, had been attending a backyard barbecue on Dumont Avenue with friends and family.

She left the party at around 4:30 to say hello to a friend who lives on that same street. As she crossed the block, that's when two pit bulls belonging to a neighbor who also lives on Dumont apparently attacked the unsuspecting woman, severely injuring her. It's unclear how the dogs managed to get out onto the street.

Fundaro was later in stable condition and recovering at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, said relatives.

Fundaro sued Helaine DeSilva, who owned the property where the dogs were housed, along with residents Britney and Carlos Novoa, her lawyer said.

She received a $450,000 settlement, according to Advance archives.

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Horrific video shows pit bull kill beloved Pom before helpless owner’s eyes

A 16-year routine for two dog owners from Eltingville ended in horror after the couple’s Pomeranian was brutally attacked and killed by a passing pit bull who overpowered the child who was walking it.

The couple, who spoke to the Advance under the condition their name not be published, said that their beloved dog would commonly follow the female homeowner without a leash as she took out the garbage for the evening.

It’s a routine “he’s always done for 16 years of his life,” the husband said.

The couple’s dog, as shown in the dramatic and gruesome video captured by the family’s Ring doorbell on March 16, 2019, follows the homeowner and walks to the curb a few feet away before urinating by a mailbox.

Shortly after, a pit bull being walked on a leash by a small grade-school child crosses paths with the family pet.

The pit bull viciously and unexpectedly latches onto the Pomeranian “like a chew toy,” the homeowner said, “and threw him around.”

The Health Department is investigating the incident.

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3 youngsters taken to the hospital after dog breaks free from woman picking up child at PS 57 in Clifton

A rampaging pit bull terrified hundreds of fleeing schoolchildren in 2004 at PS 57 in Clifton, "hunting" down shrieking youngsters at dismissal time both inside and outside of the building and inflicting minor bites and scratches on three kids ages 6 to 10.

"It was unbelievable," one teacher, who asked not to be identified, told the Advance at the time. "The kids were screaming and running. They didn't know what to do."

The dog, which broke free from a woman about to pick up a child, had to be subdued twice by Principal Frank Campisi, who was aided by a teacher and parents, according to witnesses, according to Advance records.

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(Photo courtesy of Anthony Lehmann)

12 rabies shots for woman bit at Wolfe's Pond Park

A Rottweiler bit a Staten Island woman's index finger down to the bone in July of 2014, nearly severing it from her hand, as she tried to break up a scuffle between three dogs at the dog park inside Wolfe's Pond Park, according to police.

Authorities say the woman's pit bull and a poodle belonging to another person began to fight inside the dog park at Wolfe's Pond Park at approximately 11 a.m. on a Saturday. A third dog, a Rottweiler, soon entered the picture, biting the woman's hand as she apparently tried to separate the fighting dogs.

The victim, Linda Lehmann, 55, was left with her right index finger hanging on by its tendons.

While there was disagreement between the victim and dog park advocates as to whether Lehmann got in the middle of the dog fight, or if the dog attacked her, Lehmann underwent surgery to repair her tendons.

Doctors at Staten Island University Hospital in Prince's Bay administered 12 rabies shots to Lehmann, her husband said, because neither he nor the authorities could locate the Rottweiler's owner in time to find out if the dog had its proper vaccinations.

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