Owners of small dog killed by pit bull in Santa Monica speak out

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - The owners of a toy poodle who was mauled to death by a pit bull while out on a walk with its owners in Santa Monica over the weekend are calling on the pit bull's owner to come forward after he left the scene with his dog without rendering any aid.

According to police, the attack happened on Friday, April 11 around 5:30 p.m. near Main Street and Strand.

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The small toy poodle, Dublin, was on a walk with its owners, Christopher Dietrick and Allysa Kluge, when the fatal attack happened. 

"This is a walk we take three times a day, it's in our neighborhood, just about a block and a half from our home," said Dietrick. "We're walking home with Dublin and as we were walking, a man was not paying attention.. he was leaned into a passenger side window of a car and his pit bull mix lunged across us, got a hold of our Dublin." 

Dietrick called the attack "very violent," saying there was "a big scuffle" before "we got tackled into."

"Dublin ended up not making it, and the man got up and took his dog and took off running," he added. 

Dietrick was also bitten by the pit bull when he tried to intervene.

The pit bull's owner fled the scene on foot with the dog, and his image was captured by security cameras, police said. Witnesses reported the owner and dog ran into an apartment building in the Ocean Park neighborhood.

Authorities are asking for the public's help identifying the owner of a pit bull who fatally attacked a toy poodle in Santa Monica on Friday, April 11. / Santa Monica Police Department

Dietrick and Kluge went on to thank a good Samaritan who stepped in and brought them and Dublin to a nearby veterinary emergency group. 

"We did everything right, we did everything that we could. It wasn't our fault," Dietrick said. 

The couple said they've received tips on the identity of the owner and his pit bull and thanked the public for their help, saying they feel "pretty confident" police will catch the man soon.

"Part of being a pet owner is taking some responsibility. We're not looking for any kind of harsh vengeance or anything like that, but we really need to find out who this guy is in order to get some information so that we can start some of the processes," he said. 

Kluge said she first got Dublin more than 11 years ago - on St. Patrick's Day - when he was a puppy at 10-weeks-old. 

Through tears, Kluge called the pit bull's owner a "coward," saying the responsibility as a pet owner is to take care of your pet from hurting you and other people, other animals - something "this gentleman failed." 

"He had a responsibility to hold that pit bull tight, to hold him and pay attention, and he did not. We had our Dublin on a leash. He had his dog on a leash. He was not paying attention."

FOX 11 has reached out to the Santa Monica Police Department for an update but has not heard back.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Santa Monica Animal Control at 310-458-8595.