He didn't come through the gate, he came over the fence.
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BAYARD, Iowa -- Jack Smith said he felt helpless as he watched his dog take its last breath.
"He was just something else. He's irreplaceable." said Smith.
The two were walking down the alley behind the Smith's home when the unthinkable happened; a pit bull living two houses down jumped the fence and attacked Jake.
"It had my dog by the neck. Thirty seconds, and the dog was dead," said Smith. "We had a tussle. I was afraid he would mutilate the dog, and I didn't want that."
Smith struggled with the pit bull for about five minutes, trying to free his lifeless dog. Smith said the pit bull bit his hands as he tried to grab Jake from the dog's mouth.
"This is probably what's so hard for me to take. I was right there and I could hear the bones cracking. It's different if you walk out and find your dog dead, but I was in the middle of it and I couldn't do a thing."
The pit bull is being quarantined for 10 days and then will be released back to its owner.
The owner of the pit bull declined a request for an on-camera interview, but called it an unfortunate situation for both families.
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Compiled from various sources, including KCCI8 Des Moines,