A dog was stabbed after a “verbal dispute” between two owners on Saturday at around 8:30 p.m. in New York City’s Central Park, the New York City Police Department said.

A man stabbed a dog to death in Central Park on Saturday, following a heated dispute between its owners and another dog walker as they were walking with their two dogs (Source: Daily Mail).

What happened during the incident

A couple was walking their two dogs when they encountered a man walking his three dogs in the park. The owner of a leashed German Shepherd-pit bull mix dog named Eli, and the owner of three unleashed dogs, one was heard to be a pit bull, got into an argument Saturday night at around 8:30 p.m., New York Police District Officer Antonio Antenucci told CNN on Monday.

 During the argument, the leashed dog, Eli, was attacked by one of the unleashed dogs and was then stabbed by the owner of those unleashed dogs in the East 106th Street Entrance of Central Park, a witness named Alexander said, according to CBS New York.

The incident happened during Central Park’s mandatory leash hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

The owner of the unleashed dog was said to have fled on foot, police have not made any arrests in connection with the incident and are still investigating.

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The man pulled out a knife and stabbed, Eli, right, a Pitbull-German Shepherd mix (Source: New York Post).

The 14-year-old pit bull-German Shepherd mix had to be euthanized

 Unfortunately, the injured Eli, had to be euthanized after being taken to a nearby animal clinic. The dog owner, Brian Cornwell said that veterinarians found a cancerous mass during an ultrasound, according to CNN News.

According to Cornwell, he had to make the decision to euthanize the 14-year-old Eli. “I didn’t want him to suffer,” he said.

Eli was rescued by Cornwell about 10 years ago. He said that it was devastating to lose the best dog he ever had. 

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