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Family Stunned Following Dog Attack Caught On Video In Bay Ridge

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Brooklyn neighborhood was torn apart this weekend by a vicious dog attack that was caught on surveillance video.

As CBS 2's Steve Langford reported, a black lab named Fiona, a precious family pet, was attacked by a pit bill from across the street.

Surveillance video of the attack shows the lab being thrown around like a rag doll, its throat then gripped by the pit bull's teeth.

"I saw this thing charging directly at my dog for no reason," said Anita Bolognese. "I love her with all my heart. My children adore her, we all love her."

Bolognese struggled to describe the moment the violent attack shattered the calm of the Bay Ridge street.

Her husband was no less grief-stricken.

"My wife and my kids, it's heartbreaking," he said.

A contractor working nearby who happened to also be an animal control officer rushed to help subdue the pit bull, Langford reported.

"I got the hose and just started shooting water in the mouth, let her choke a little so she would release. Eventually she released, but she had already done some damage," he said.

"It's really serious and it's not likely she's going to survive at this point," the veterinarian said.

The owners of the pit bull told Langford they don't want to discuss the attack.

"I don't want to talk to you. (Why not?) Because I dont want to," the man said.

Neighbors said they live in fear of the dog.

"My son told me he didn't want my grandkids to come over because they like to play in the yard and he's deathly afraid of that dog attacking his kids," said one neighbor.

"My beautiful dog right now is in the hospital fighting for her life," said Bolognese.

Bolognese said the police told her family nothing could be done about the attack.

An attorney suggested it is a civil matter, not a criminal one.

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