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Yuri was an assistance dog who helped a woman with autism navigate her daily life, a therapy animal who comforted palliative care patients and an integral part of his Vancouver family.

That all ended Saturday afternoon when the miniature pinscher was eviscerated by a pit bull in what Yuri’s owner describes as an unprovoked attack.

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Mia Johnson and her daughter were walking Yuri and a second dog on-leash when they encountered another dog owner at 10th Avenue and Dunbar Street. The other woman was walking a Staffordshire bull terrier, one of the breeds commonly referred to as pit bulls.

“The dog was straining on its leash and it went right for our dog,” Johnson said.

“I saw it had a muzzle on but everything happened so fast. The muzzle came off and it went after one of our dogs.”

The bigger dog’s jaws locked onto Yuri. People nearby who witnessed the sudden attack ran over and began hitting the pit bull, poking its eyes and pulling on its ears, but it wouldn’t let go.