The large cat apparently “went naughty” (to use the North Pole vernacular) went he spotted dogs visiting Santa at the nearby Santa Paws event. It then became Benny vs. Bebbington in a throw down in Jersey. Bebbington got his ho-ho-ho handed to him apparently.
It would make for an interesting tort case. A domesticated animal does get “one free bite” unless the owner had knowledge of his vicious propensity. Of course, Santa as a client can be challenging. While he is used to contingency contracts (for people who remain nice), he is known to disappear for most of the year and runs a suspected sweatshop at the North Pole with undocumented elves. It may be better to simply have Dasher and Vixen visit Benny in Jersey “to send an X-Mas message.”
If Haughey needs proof of the plaintiffs conduct, here is a video of Santa’s effect on children.
This still worked out better than the recent story of “Bat Boy Scares Santa” reported by that reliable journalistic institution Weekly World News.