CANADA -- For Kristen Roberts and her family, little Rosie was the centre of attention.
The 10-month-old Yorkshire terrier was constantly by the college student's side, even making trips to visit her grandfather in his care home.
But that all changed two Sundays ago near a Coquitlam park.
The 10-month-old Yorkshire terrier was constantly by the college student's side, even making trips to visit her grandfather in his care home.
But that all changed two Sundays ago near a Coquitlam park.
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| Kristen Roberts holds the ashes of her Yorkshire Terrier, Rosie, who was killed by a pit bull |
Roberts' boyfriend Arey Karasin had taken Rosie on a puppy play date to a friend's house near Ranch Park on April 29.
When the date was over that evening, Karasin decided to walk Rosie one last time to give her a bathroom break before the ride home to Langley.
But as Karasin walked up Daybreak Avenue near Saddle Street, a dog he believes to be a pit bull appeared out of nowhere, with no leash or owner in sight.
That's when the evening went terribly wrong.
Karasin described to The NOW what happened next.
The large dog immediately attacked Rosie, clamping its jaws down on the much smaller puppy.
Karasin yelled for help as he fought off the attacking pit bull in an effort to save Rosie.
"I was just screaming for help, getting bruised up on the [ground]," he said.
A struggle ensued for five minutes, with Karasin sustaining his own wounds to his knees and arms in the melee. The attack only ended after Karasin's friend heard the pleas and came out to help.
The pit bull eventually let Rosie go. "It was a long fight. Once it got her [Rosie], it was a struggle to get it off," he said.
Karasin and his friend immediately took the puppy to the Central Animal Emergency Clinic, but it was too late.
Rosie's heart stopped beating. "This is tough for both of us and anybody that knew her [Rosie]," a still very emotional Roberts said.
"It's been devastating. She was my companion every day. She went everywhere with me."
Now Roberts and her family want to find the pit bull and its owner to make sure a similar attack is prevented.
The family has plastered posters throughout the area of Ranch Park in hopes that someone will recognize the dog.
"I realize at this point there is nothing they can do for the dog, but it is a risk to society," Roberts said, adding she doesn't want any harm to come to the pit bull.
But the 24year-old does have some words for the unidentified owner of the dog.
Roberts said people with large dogs like pit bulls need to keep their pets on a leash or properly secured in their yard.
"If owners acted more responsibly and didn't abuse these dogs, maybe this wouldn't have happened," she said. "As a small dog owner, I don't think we should live in fear of big dogs. We should be able to coexist peacefully."
Roberts also reported the incident to the City of Coquitlam's animal control department.
City officials told The NOW they were still in the early stages of an investigation and were evaluating what the next steps of action, if any, would be.
Roberts said she was told by the city it had no record of any other similar complaints in the neighbourhood.
And the days since Rosie's death have done nothing to help heal the family's pain.
Karasin, who admits he wasn't a dog-lover until Rosie came along, said he took two days off work in the wake of the attack and has had nightmares since, while Roberts has slept near Rosie's dog bed as a reminder.
At some point the couple intends to get a new puppy, but they're just waiting for the right time.
"We do miss her [Rosie] a lot," Karasin said.
(Coquitlam Now - May 9, 2012)
