Two more Gainesville residents are struggling after another dog attack.

This time a pet owner had to seek medical treatment after trying to protect her pet from a neighbors dog.

Paula and Edward Kelly lost their best friend Sunday evening after their neighbor's dog ran loose and attacked Paula and their dog Sugar.

"It's a great loss,” Edward simply said.

Paula was bitten as she attempted to shield sugar from the attack.

"My wife having to go through what she went through, has traumatized her,” he added.

After escaping, Paula and her husband went to their next door neighbor Jennifer Glover for help.

"I ended up taking Mrs. Paula to UF animal small hospital and sugar's injuries were so bad, the dog shook her, she had a big puncture wound in her side. He broke a couple of her ribs and I believe her rib punctured her lungs,” Jennifer explained.

Because of Sugar's injuries, she had to be euthanized. She was buried in the Kelly's yard.

The dog that attacked Sugar and Paula is being held at the Alachua County Animal Services Department.

Animal Service Director, Ed Williams advised, in situations like these, it's up to each pet owner to be responsible.

"We need our owners who have dogs, particularly large dogs who do the most damage, to be responsible and to abide by the lease laws and either keep their dogs indoors or in a fenced yard and when they're out walking the animal, they need to keep it on a leash and keep it restrained,” Williams said.

As the Kelly's try to cope with a new world without their little girl Sugar, Edward urged that pit bull owners take this advice:

"Having been a previous pit bull owner and growing up with them my whole life, people that are using them to be guard dogs and all that stuff, they need to be able to restrain them and know how dangerous they can really be,” Edward Kelly said.

Animal Services is still investigating this incident. If the department does find the dog to be dangerous, they will then contact the owner and the owner can appeal and ask for a hearing if they so wish.

If not, the animal is declared dangerous and then the owner has 14 days to comply with the law in having a dangerous dog. As of news time Tuesday, there have been no citations made.