A pit bull attack in northwest Calgary has left a small dog dead and teenage girl traumatized.

A woman was moving into a new rental property in Briar Hill last weekend when her one-year-old pit bull, Jade, got out of their yard through a broken fence.

A 16-year-old girl was walking her small dog, a bichon frise mixed with a shih tzu, at the time. The pit bull grabbed the dog, shook and killed it.

"It was just so violent and so out of our control. There was nothing we could do to stop it," said neighbour Sherry Loewen, who saw the attack. "It could have easily turned on one of us, and it was just so terrible to witness that."

The teenage girl missed some school and needed counselling, she added.

The owner says she will put her dog down.

"I'm just truly grateful that no human was hurt," said an emotional Rachel, who declined to give her last name. "I feel so, so bad for the little girl. I feel bad for anyone who witnessed it."

'Such a wake-up call'

Lowen and the teenage girl's parents say they forgive the dog's owners, but also say this wouldn't have happened had they been more responsible, especially in a new environment.

"I just feel like this is such a wake-up call to pet owners that we have to be responsible for our pets, if we have any kind of thoughts that they may be aggressive or maybe they might be violent," said Lowen. "We have to make sure we are safe about it because this can happen and it affects so many people."

Calgary bylaw officers seized the pit bull and the owner will need to go to court where she could face a fine of up to $10,000 under the city's responsible pet ownership bylaw.

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