Calvin Austin III
PITTSBURGH – The dog of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Calvin Austin III is alleged to have viciously attacked a man and his dog, leading to a lawsuit.
Austin’s pit bull Sunnie bit into a neighbor dog’s neck, a lawsuit filed this month by Patrick Malloy says. Malloy also claims Sunnie bit him in the hand when he tried to get her off his dog, Santino.
The incident occurred in May and led to a “dangerous dog” criminal citation that was dismissed Dec. 15.
“As Mr. Malloy and Santino approached the premises, Sunnie, suddenly and without warning or provocation, charged them from the backyard of the premises,” the lawsuit says.
“When Sunnie reached them, she lunged at Mr. Malloy and Santino and viciously attacked, mauled and bit Santino’s neck, tearing into and removing flesh from his neck. As Mr. Malloy attempted to pry Sunnie from Santino’s neck, Sunnie continued its relentless attack and bit Mr. Malloy’s right hand, resulting in a deep laceration requiring immediate medical treatment.”
Austin posts photos of Sunnie on social media with endorsements of pet products. In this post, he proudly wears a “dog dad” shirt.
The lawsuit alleges that since Austin trained Sunnie as a guard dog, he encouraged her aggressive and threatening behavior. It also claims Sunnie had attacked someone in the past and “exhibited aggressive, hostile and threatening behaviors towards people.”
Sunnie was off-leash in an area not fenced-in, the suit says. Austin violated Pennsylvania law in allowing Sunnie to travel off his premises, it adds.
“Defendant Austin controlled the premises and knowingly harbored multiple dangerous dogs there, including Sunnie, where they remained unrestrained and uncontrolled,” the suit says.
Chad Shannon of The Shannon Law Group represents Malloy.
