Family Claims Dog Was Stabbed by Stranger During Walk on N.Y.C. Street

A family dog is recovering after an alleged stabbing in New York City.

N.Y.C. resident Orly Nhaissi claimed to the New York Post that she and her 13-year-old son, Elijah Sherinsky, were walking their dog in Union Square at around 7 p.m. local time on Friday, Dec. 26, when a man jabbed their 1-year-old dog, Hazel, with a knife.

“He stabbed Hazel, right there in her butt,” Elijah told the Post. “I thought at first it was a vape [that he jabbed her with]. But then I realized it was this pink sheath, black blade. It was a little bigger, I think, than a pocket knife but not a kitchen knife.”

Elijah told the outlet that he saw the man smile right after the attack before running off. The teen recalled, “I thought he was going to stab me, but he didn’t.”

The 13-year-old said he then attempted to run after the man, but stopped after his mother shouted at him to return. The pair took the injured dog back to their building’s lobby, but by then Hazel had been “bleeding a lot,” Orly, 46, told the Post.

“The blood was gushing in the lobby,” she recalled, adding that the doorman helped by giving them paper towels and a rag for the bleeding, and neighbors took Hazel to a nearby pet hospital for emergency surgery.

“It’s really devastating,” Orly added. “We’re lucky that he didn’t harm us, but it just kills me. Who stabs a dog, you know?”

She said they called 911, and police responded two hours later to obtain information on the crime. A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) told the Post that they’re investigating the incident.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

As for Hazel, she underwent a several-hour surgery to stitch up her wound and returned home to the family at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, the Post reported. The family said they spent $3,200 on the procedure. 

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Photos the family shared with the Post showed the dog with stitches in her butt area, several bandages wrapped around her torso and a bag collecting blood draining from her wound through a tube. 

The family told the outlet that Hazel is expected to recover in three months, but they remain devastated by the incident.

“This is our first dog,” Orly’s husband, Joe Sherinsky, said. “She’s the best. She’s pure joy.”