A Vancouver woman is sharing disturbing details after her mother and their small dog were attacked by a large dog in South Vancouver Wednesday evening.
"We were screaming and yelling, there was nothing we could have done," Purvi Sharma told CTV News Vancouver.
Sharma and her mother were walking their three-year-old Yorkshire terrier, Hugo, along East 57 Avenue on Wednesday night when the attack happened.
She said once they reached Main Street another dog jumped out from the front yard of a house, first attacking her mother.
"He attacked my mom directly, and was trying to go for my mom's face," Sharma said. "She had Hugo in her arms and she was trying to shield her face."
Sharma says the large dog then came for Hugo.
"He picked him up by his teeth and kind of swung him around," Sharma said.
Sharma says the larger dog's owner heard their screams and tried to help.
"The dog was attacking the owner as well. She did manage to get him off," Sharma said. "My dog was just laying on the grass. He wasn't moving."
"It just happened so quick that we didn't even get a chance to react or fight."
Drivers and neighbours who saw and heard the attack stopped to help.
Sharma's mother was taken to hospital, while a neighbour drove Hugo and Sharma to a nearby vet.
"They told me to put him on the table, and the doctor checked his heart and said he wasn't alive anymore. It was all so fast," Sharma said.
Sharma's mother has been released from hospital but is still covered in bite marks and bruises from the attack.
The family is now trying to cope with the loss of Hugo, and the circumstances of how he died.
"It was a dog this time, it could have been a child, it could have been another human being," Sharma said through tears.
CTV News Vancouver has reached out to the owners of the dog that was allegedly involved in the attack, b ut they did not wish to comment.
Vancouver police say they received a call about two dogs fighting in the area on Wednesday night.
"It appears a dog owner was walking in that area when her dog and a neighbour’s dog started barking at each other. One animal bit the other, causing fatal injuries," Const. Steve Addison said in a statement.
Police say their investigation has ended and the City of Vancouver animal control department is investigating.
