Eaten Alive

"Two pit bulls mauled a 90-year-old Staten Island man yesterday, leaving him with at least one amputated leg, authorities said.

Henry Piotrowski was walking in front of his house at 94 John St. in Port Richmond at 11 a.m. when the vicious canines set upon him from a neighbor's yard, police said.

Cops said a 10-year-old boy had left the gate open, letting the dogs out.

"It was a sickening situation," said neighbor Reginald Bell, who chased the dogs away with a butcher knife when he happened upon the bloody scene.

"He had no defense whatsoever - he was not being mauled by these dogs, he was actually being eaten," Bell said.

"It was horrible. I could not believe these dogs were eating this man like lions on a gazelle. This is not Zimbabwe. They were eating this man alive."

The nonagenarian was taken to Richmond University Medical Center, where he was in critical condition with severe bites on his arms, legs and body. His left leg had to be amputated at the knee.

"There was nothing but bone, blood and cartilage," Bell said.

When police arrived, they found the dogs, named Popeye and Brutus, in a neighbor's yard.

A spokesman for NYC Animal Care and Control said the animals, both about 2 years old, were euthanized at a Brooklyn shelter. Their bodies were being tested for rabies.

A pregnant woman at the house where the dogs were found was taken away by cops, but no charges had been filed as of late yesterday."

Poor Henry lives in NYC. Where no one but cops and politicians and celebrities are allowed to protect themselves with firearms. And isn't it a crying shame that our elderly are left so unprotected as to be worth nothing more than dog food.