An Edmonton woman who lodged a formal complaint about a neighbour's dog five months ago is now mourning the loss of her beagle, who she says was killed by the same dog last week.

"I feel that if my first complaint was taken seriously this would not have happened," said Angela Ferrari-Gibbs.

"I wrote in (in my complaint), I fear the next time we won't be so lucky. And that next time we weren't."

Ferrari-Gibbs said her husband was taking their dog, Riley, for a walk last Wednesday night. But the pair didn't get farther than the driveway of their southwest Edmonton home.

When she heard screaming, Ferrari-Gibbs ran outside and saw a commotion and two other dogs. She ran to scoop up her pet, but one of the dogs jumped at her and she fell to the ground.

Angela Ferrari-Gibbs says her 14-year-old beagle was attacked and killed by a neighbour's pit bull despite an earlier complaint against the animal. 0:47 "I pushed my body on top of (Riley) and that dog came inches from my face and just lunged with all of his force onto Riley's ear. And he just tried to pull him and shake him," she said.

"I could feel the dog's breath on my face. Literally, he was trying to pull Riley from under me."

Her husband and a neighbour were yelling at the dog and hitting it, trying to get the dog off her. Ferrari-Gibbs described the dog as an American Staffordshire terrier, one of several breeds commonly known as pit bulls. The owners were not present.

At the vet's office later that night, the couple learned the puncture wounds to Riley's ear were severe. Because of his age — Riley was 14 — they were wary of putting their pet through surgery that could possibly lead to infection and more pain.

"It was the most gruesome scene. I was shaking, his little tongue was hanging to the side. His eyes just said, 'mama, I can't do this, let me go,' " said Ferrari-Gibbs.

Angela Ferrari-Gibbs poses with her dog Riley. The dog was 14 when it died in an animal attack in March 2018. (Supplied/Angela Ferrari-Gibbs.) "I knew he couldn't take it. He was so strong, but he couldn't have survived that."

Animal care and control investigating

The city's department of animal care and control confirmed it is investigating.

"Dog attacks are the most important files that we deal with," said peace officer Sabrina Bergin. "And we're invested in making sure the outcome of the investigation reflects the severity of the incident."

The dog is still at its owners' home. Bergin said in the case of a dog attacking another animal, peace officers can seize the dog during the investigation — but only with the owner's co-operation.

In this case, it appears the dog's owner denies the animal was responsible for the attack on Riley. Bergin said she is still waiting to speak to the owner as part of the investigation.

"My understanding is there is some denial, and that's not uncommon in these types of cases," she said.

Edmonton has seen numerous fatal dog attacks over the last several years. Those attacks reached a five-year high in 2016, when 30 pets were killed by dogs, double the number of the previous year. As of September 2017, nine pets had been killed in dog attacks.

City statistics show that American Staffordshire terriers were responsible for 23 of the 81 fatal attacks reported between 2013 and 2017, while a variety of more than a dozen other breeds were responsible for the rest.

'That was our fur baby'

Ferrari-Gibbs said she was familiar with the dog that attacked Riley. The dog would often snarl, growl, and "lose its mind" when it went past her house.

One day in November, she was about to take Riley for a walk when the owner of the other dog was taking it for a walk on her street, she said.

The dog broke away from its owner, Ferrari-Gibbs said, jumped a small garden wall and rushed her front door.

Ferrari-Gibbs said she slammed the door shut, and reported the incident to Animal Care and Control officers. But the owners disputed the story, and the bylaw officer issued a warning.

Ferrari-Gibb said she is saddened about the way Riley's life ended.

"People plan that to be peaceful," she said. "Just the way it all happened. And how it's dismissed like, it's not a human, so who cares. To us that was our fur baby.

"I do not blame the complete breed. I blame the owners who do not take the time to change what can be changed when they're behaving this way."