People living in a small B.C. Fraser Valley community say a bylaw loophole has left them powerless against a pair of aggressive pit bulls terrorizing their town.

Cam Davies said she might have to get skin grafts for her 38-year-old horse after the two dogs ripped off part of its face last week.

"The attack went on for 10-15 minutes where I was screaming for the dogs to stop and they were chasing him around and ripping at his face," she said, showing a large spot on the animal's face that is still skinless.

"[The dogs] were covered in blood."

The dogs had dug a hole under the fence to get onto the Davies' rural property in Deroche, east of Mission. They eventually took off after she got into her truck and started honking her horn and yelling. Police visited the dog's owner after she called 911.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Peter Thiessen said officers spoke with the owners and issued a warning.

"Should this incident occur again then there would be further steps taken," he told CTV News.

But Davies, who owns pit bulls herself, says they shouldn't have to wait for the dogs to attack again. The problem is that there is no dangerous dog bylaw in the community of Deroche, highlighting what some say is an unacceptable patchwork of enforcement in B.C. It's up to each municipality to enact a dangerous dog bylaw.

In Abbotsford and Surrey, owners are held accountable if a dog kills or seriously injures a domestic animal, but this isn't the case in Deroche.

"If you're outside of the bylaw boundary it seems you can do what you want," Marcie Moriarty, general manager of cruelty investigations for the B.C. SPCA, said.

The agency says there's not a lot it could do to help. Dangerous dogs are considered a public safety issue, which means the problem falls under the RCMP's mandate.

"We would be in support of the province taking a look at more provincial-wide legislation dealing with responsible pet ownership, including a dangerous dog bylaw," Moriarty said.

Meanwhile, area residents say they feel terrified.

Elisa Solomon said she doesn't feel safe walking her own dogs at night.

"I worry about other people in the family being out in the yard alone," she said.

"Because there's nobody else here and you could scream and scream and nobody could hear you."

Rick Davies has taken to posting warnings signs about the dogs on fences, saying it's the only thing he can do.

"We can destroy dogs only if we catch them in the act of attacking or if they attack a person. In the meantime this is our only recourse to let people know in the area there are irresponsible dog owners who let their pit bulls run loose," he said.

Deroche is part of the Fraser Valley Regional District. A spokesperson told CTV News if the community wants an animal control bylaw they need to ask for one, but so far no one officially has.

Solomon wants a bylaw established in which animals that perpetrate extreme acts of violence are destroyed.

"I'm not for killing animals… but human safety is what's at stake here," she said.

"How can you ever say for certain the next time it does that it won't be against a human being?"

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington