Dog owner knew ‘Kojo’ had ‘dangerous tendencies’ when it mauled a 2-year-old boy playing across the street

Amy Willi (Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office)

A 45-year-old New York woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to reckless endangerment after her dog escaped from her house and attacked a 2-year-old boy playing across the street.

On March 14, 2023, Amy Willi opened the door of her Long Island home and her dog, Kojo, got loose and dashed across the street where the “unsuspecting toddler” was playing in his front yard, said the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The boy’s uncle, who was supervising him, picked him up to protect him, but Kojo bit the man in his left forearm, causing him to drop the boy.

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Kojo then pounced on the boy, biting him in the face, head and leg. The boy suffered gashes to his right eye, cheek, scalp and leg, prosecutors said. Other family members came to the boy’s rescue and were able to get the boy to safety. They rushed him to the hospital where he received stitches to treat his injuries.

Willi admitted to cops that Kojo was a “dangerous dog with violent tendencies,” prosecutors said.