By Rebecca Henely
The NYPD said an Astoria man who allegedly killed his helpless Chinese Shar-Pei dog by throwing him out the window has been charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and reckless endangerment.
The crime has incensed one animal rights activist, who wants the man punished.
“This could have been stopped,” said Sloane Quealy-Miner, 37, a Manhattan animal rights activist and rescuer who runs the blog BSL News.
Milan Rysa, 30, was sent to Elmhurst Hospital Center for evaluation after allegedly tossing his dog Brooklyn from his third-story apartment, at 30-59 Steinway St. in Astoria, police said. The officers discovered the dog in front of the apartment when they arrived around 8:30 p.m. Sept. 12, police said.
When the officers approached Rysa’s apartment, Rysa initially refused to let the officers in, police said. After he opened the door, EMS took him to the hospital at 79-01 Broadway, police said.
“He’s being treated as an emotionally disturbed person,” an NYPD spokesman said.
On his Facebook page, the beefy Rysa seems affectionate to the adorable pooch. He has two albums, one named “MY LIL BAD BOY” filled with pictures of Brooklyn as a puppy and as an adult. One photo shows Rysa cuddling the dog while shirtless.
But Quealy-Miner, who rescues animals and whose blog fights against laws banning specific dog breeds, said she had heard much darker reports of Rysa’s behavior. She said she heard the dog was often left on the hot roof of Rysa’s apartment building and sometimes had burns on the bottom of his paws.
“There’s a lot of stories like that going around in Queens,” she said.
After hearing about Brooklyn’s death from a friend of hers who lives in Astoria, another animal activist and rescuer, Christine Drakatos, said Friday she planned to hold a vigil this week for the dog outside Rysa’s house.
Quealy-Miner said she hoped the vigil would encourage neighbors to speak up if they see an animal being mistreated and put pressure on Queens District Attorney Richard Brown to prosecute Rysa to the furthest extent of the law. She said she also condemned Rysa’s neighbors who did not alert authorities to Rysa’s reported mistreatment of the dog.
“We need to respect [animals] and do whatever it takes to keep them safe,” Quealy-Miner said.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
