The horse was named Spud, a 29 year old horse which thorough out the years participated in 4H programs, parades and the Arizona State Fair.
"Spud was really a cool horse, he was a quarter horse, he was this ex-cutting horse, he had big expressive eyes, just a cute horse for kids," Carolyn Knowlton, Spud's temporary caretaker said.
Knowlton said Spud made a huge impact on the community's youth.
She said Monday's pit bull attack on Spud should be enough to remove the pit bulls out of their neighborhood.
"My husband said there wasn't even excitement, the dogs weren't wired, they weren't angry, or in a frenzy," she said. "It was just eating the horse and that's what freaks my husband out. It was just there...eating the horse."
Knowlton said after her husband chased the dogs away, the pit bulls also attacked one of her dogs.
She said her dog blew a disk in its back.
This video shows the aftermath of the pit bull attack.
It happened on the 11-thousand block of Shadow Avenue.
The horse suffered puncture wounds to its legs, stomach and mouth.
The Yuma County Sheriff's Office said the two pit bulls got out while the owner was helping his son who was stuck in the desert.
A veterinarian had to euthanize spud three hours later.
"In all fairness there are a lot of pit bulls in our area but these dogs...there's no question they did what they did on Monday and in March they did same thing to another horse," she said.
However, she said that horse was lucky enough to get away.
Yuma County Animal Control cited the pit bull owner for dogs at large but allowed the owner to keep the dogs.
"Lets wait until a kid in the neighborhood is running and screaming and playing and the dogs think oh here's another one, they can do whatever they want....its ridiculous," she said.
She said giving the pit bull owners a citation is not enough for this type of incident.
Neighbors in the area said they are worried about what the two pit bulls are capable of.
Knowlton said she wishes for harsher laws that would prevent these type of incidents.
(KSWT-TV - Nov 9, 2012)
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