‘Dog racism’ behind move to evict pit bull, lawyer claims
New York Daily News
By: Victoria Bekiempis
30 June 2017

Luna, a pit bull, allegedly attacked Kinje, a Havanese mix also living in the W. 18th St. condo. (Handout)

A 63-pound pit bull its owner claims is a therapy dog "savagely attacked" an eight-pound pooch that visits pediatric cancer patients outside the owners' Chelsea condo, a new lawsuit claims.

Now the condo board is suing to evict the pit bull—a move the owner's lawyer slams as "dog racism."

Pit bull Luna went berserk in front of the Chelsea Modern on W. 18th St. near 10th Ave. and "viciously attacked and mauled" Kinje, a Havanese mix that looks like a tiny shih tzu, around 12:15 p.m. on May 31, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court. Both dogs live in the building with their owners.

"There was a tremendous amount of blood," according to Jo Lynn Sorenson, Kinje's walker, who filed an affidavit that's part of the lawsuit.

Kinje, who volunteers with the Good Dog Foundation, a charity that brings pet therapy to area kids' hospitals, "suffered multiple bite wounds around her head and between her eyes," Sorenson claimed in her affidavit.

When Sorenson brought little Kinje into the building's lobby, Luna's owner, Gregory Carteron, "became belligerent" when she didn't want help, court papers state.

"Gregory Carteron began screaming at me that 'it wasn't my dogs fault' and 'these things happen' and 'it was just an accident,'" Sorenson claims.

Kinje was "viciously attacked and mauled" by Luna, the lawsuit says. (via Instagram/Kinje)

Gregory Carteron is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, which instead targets his wife, Michelle Kelban-Carteron, who owns the condo.

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The condo board's lawsuit seeks to kick Luna out of the building "in order to protect the safety and well-being of building residents, children, passersby and other dogs," the suit says.

The Carterons' lawyer, Adam Leitman Bailey, claims Kinje's injuries were minor, requiring a "band-aid," and said his clients had paid the pup's vet bills.

Bailey also insists Luna is a therapy dog who has helped Gregory Carteron since he had a serious bike accident.

Herbert Cohen, a lawyer for the building, said during an emergency hearing Friday that Carteron was "service dog shopping" - pointing out that Carteron only filed a doctor's note about Luna's role as a service dog days before the building's lawsuit.

Cohen also claims the therapy dog certification provided by the Carterons' lawyers was just a sketchy document from the internet.

Bailey told the Daily News Luna is a not a "fly-by-night service dog" and that his owners only requested a doctor's note now because her presence in the building had suddenly become an issue after living there several years.

He also said the dog is a registered therapy dog. The city says service dogs "must have a valid dog license issued by the Department of Health."

A spokesman for the Health Department said they were looking into whether Luna is registered with the city as a service dog.

Luna is a four-breed pit bull mix rather than a full-fledged pit bull, according to Bailey. He insisted Luna's troubles stem from one condo board member who's a "racist against pit bulls."

"It's dog racism," Bailey said. "What is it—like you don't like someone because of the (color of the dog's) skin?"

At the emergency hearing, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Baum ordered Luna to be muzzled at all times outside and barred the pooch from using common areas while the lawsuit is pending.


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