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BAY VILLAGE, OH - A fatal pit bull attack in Bay Village has an entire neighborhood on edge.

One year ago, an 8-year-old cocker spaniel mix was viciously attacked by a pit bull who ran out of a home on Pellet Drive in Bay Village.

This past Saturday, there was another attack by dogs that lived inside that same home. But this time, the victim would not survive.

"She looked at me and I knew it was done," says dog owner Thomas J. Moran.

He fought back tears as he talked about his beloved Yorkie-shitzu mix Charlotte.

The two-year-old was attacked by the neighbor's dogs while in Moran’s arms.

Moran says, "I noticed the two pit bulls running straight out of the house across the street and they were making a straight dash towards me. I grabbed her lower half and was pulling down on the dog or just actually his weight pulling down as he grabbed the dog. It was pulling me down as well, and then the other dog jumped on me."

Moran’s wife Gail added, "He had blood all over his shirt and the dog was bleeding profusely out of her back, the whole back of her body was ripped open."

Thomas suffered cuts and bruises to his arms and hands, but he, along with his son-in-law and a passing biker could not fight the pit bulls off in time to save little Charlotte.

Police say the dogs are owned by Marijana Simiceric-Marlin.

She did not answer the door for comment, but did speak to Bay Village police and animal control investigators who arrived on the scene as FOX 8 cameras were rolling.

The pit bulls involved in the attack were brought to the Bay Village police department by their owners immediately following the attack on Saturday. The dogs will now be turned over to the Cuyahoga County dog warden as the investigation continues.

Cuyahoga County dog warden Deborah Conway says, "A dog that bites and causes injury or kills another dog under the state law can be deemed dangerous. And anytime that a dog bites, it has to be quarantined for ten days for rabies."

As the Morans wait for the results of those rabies tests, they are thankful Thomas wasn’t seriously injured.

But they are still grieving the loss of a cherished family member.

"She was the only one here a lot of the times, so she was my sole companion."

Bay Village shut down its animal control offices four years ago, due to budget constraints.

Neighbors say although charges were brought against the owner of the pit bull who attacked the dog last year and the dog was removed from the home, if these breeders were closely monitored, last Saturday’s tragedy could have been prevented.

Criminal charges against the owner of this most recent case are pending.

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