A pit bull that attacked and killed a small dog in Los Gatos last week had a history of aggressiveness as well as a previous designation as a dangerous dog.

The attack on Mowgli, a 10-pound, one-and-a-half-year-old Maltipoo, was sudden and brutal, and his 14-year-old owner could only look on in horror and disbelief.

Now Kailash Gupta-Verma learning the pit bull that killed his beloved pet had attacked before but was no longer classified as a "dangerous dog."

Kailash was taking Mowgli for a walk Thursday, when the pit bull darted into the street out of nowhere. He said the pit bull seemed like any other dog they'd meet during a walk.

"I thought it was friendly, so my dog Mowgli was playing with it a little bit, but then it latched its claws onto his midsection and it just started ripping away," Kailash said.

On Monday, candles and pet toys marked Mowgli's burial spot.

"He was like our little guy, and we loved him so much," Kailash said. "I wasn’t able to accept the fact that he was gone, so I was kind of a wreck."

Kailash learned the pit bull had attacked another dog four years ago and was deemed "dangerous" by Animal Control. But it lost that designation after going three years without a follow-up attack.

This time around, Animal Control put the pit bull down, and Kailash had a change of heart.

"I just felt bad that not only did our dog die, but their dog had to die too, and I kind of felt like an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind," Kailash said. "So, I didn’t want us to have to take revenge on their family."

Now Kailash is calling for a public registry of dangerous dogs and that the designation stays on forever.

"If a dog has attacked another dog, it shouldn’t just be a temporary record; it should be permanent, for life, so people will know that it has happened before ... so that it doesn’t happen again," Kailash said.

Animal Care officials said if a dog is deemed dangerous, the city is required to post notices warning the public. They said they might consider a public registry down the road.