New Jersey man Louis Nell, and his wife Linda, were upstairs in their Absecon home on Saturday morning when they heard their 10-year-old golden retriever, Chrissy, barking frantically.
The vicious animals pounced straight on Chrissy, tearing at the beloved dog's throat.
'Before I knew it, there were two pit bulls on top of my dog,' Mrs Nell told NBC News. 'I started screaming.'
That's when Mr Nell came to investigate and the two of them struggled to get the pit bulls off Chrissy.
'He tried to get the dogs off, I tried to get the dogs off. We couldn't get them off, she said.
Instead, Mr Nell fell on top of all three dogs and was bitten on the arm by one of the pit bulls.
He was taken to a local hospital where he remains, undergoing treatment for rabies.
During the attack, Mrs Nell called the police who arrived at the scene and shot one of the pit bulls dead. The other was taken away by animal control.
Meanwhile, Chrissy lay dying in the kitchen. She had to be put to sleep because of her injuries.
'They tore her throat completely open. The vet said you could see everything, every part of her anatomy that was in her throat,' Mrs Nell told NBC News.
'This is something from what I would say a worse nightmare. You hear about this. You don't think dogs are going to run through your screen and go inside your house and kill a dog.'
Mrs Nell said the beloved Chrissy was a placid dog and never had a chance.
'She was our family pet. I never even heard her growl. She never even fought these dogs, she just laid there. She couldn't move,' Mrs Nell told ABC News.
She said she was relieved none of her grandchildren had been home when the animals pounded through the door.
The police are investigating the attack and the owners of the dogs, who live at 17 East Lee Avenue, refused to comment to NBC.
(Daily Mail UK - June 24, 2013)
