Florida: Chihuahua being walked by her owner is mauled to death by two pit bulls

FLORIDA -- A Fort Myers family is shaken up after they say a pit bull killed their Chihuahua while they were out on a walk.

Tina Lather said her dog's name was Emily and she'd had her for almost two years.  "She was so sweet, so loving, a wonderful soul...she gave us a lot of love. Oh, man."

 

 

Lather said she took Emily for a walk the day she was attacked by two pit bulls down the street.  "It was horrific. Within a split second. She's only 4 pounds. They just grabbed and started shaking her. She was screaming for help herself."

She says her neighbors jumped in to help free Emily, but it was too late.  "There was nothing I could do to save her."

The family said this isn't the first time these two pit bulls caused problems in the neighborhood and they believe that if animal services stepped in earlier, it could have been prevented.

 

In the video clip, Emily's owner says these same pit bulls attacked and killed a cat in the neighborhood - and that Animal Control did NOTHING about it. 

Lee County Animal Services wouldn't talk on camera. Instead, issuing Fox 4 the incident report. A spokeswoman said the two pit bulls responsible for the attack are in their custody.

Their neighborhood is concerned they'll let them back out.  "That's an animal murdering another animal and getting away with it."

 

RIP Emily

The owner of the pit bulls didn't want to go on camera, but insists his dogs aren't vicious and they play with other dogs on the street all the time.

(ABC Action News - Jan 5, 2016)