A "worried" Dr. Andrew Madeiros, president of the Bermuda Veterinarian Association, has called a recent pit bull attack where the dog crashed through a neighbour's screen door an "extreme response".

"It's bad enough for a dog to come onto your property," he said, "But for a dog to actually go into someone's house is pretty appalling - that should make people nervous.

He was referring to an incident in which a woman watched her neighbour's pit bull kill her mother's seven-pound terrier Buffy, and then had to physically restrain the dog for 25 minutes to prevent it from attacking her own German shepherd.

Michele Morris-Demes, the owner of the German shepherd Max and whose parents owned the Yorkshire terrier Buffy, said: "I contacted the media because news reports were incorrect. The matter has not been resolved, we will be pressing charges.

"This dog is still a potential threat. And I just hope next time there's not a child in the way. People have to start being accountable - turning a blind eye won't help."

Ms Morris-Demes had gone home for lunch when she encountered the neighbour's pit bull dog off its lead and roaming the steps of her mother's apartment. She attempted to lead the dog away, but when Buffy began to bark from inside the house the pit bull broke loose and crashed through the screen door, attacking Buffy. He only let go when Buffy was dead.

"There was blood everywhere, all over the place," said Ms Morris-Demes. "And then I was fearful for Max."

She said she held the pit bull while another neighbour attempted to track down both her mother and the owner of the dog.

"Max kept coming over - I kept telling him to go away, because the pit bull was starting to get agitated again.

"I was sitting on the ground with him. Finally Max left."

She said it was about 25 minutes before the dog's owner could be found. Ms Morris-Demes said that she has only heard from the dog's owner once since the incident occurred, on Wednesday night, after her story was aired on ZFB news.

"They went over and were very angry, and confronted my mother," she said. "I feel very sorry for the dog - this whole thing could have been avoided if the situation had been addressed."

"Any dog can be dog aggressive... if not properly socialised when young," said Dr. Madeiros. "But (this behaviour) is a pretty extreme response.

"It does worry me. We are a society with lots of people and lots of animals in a small area. An anti-social pet can be a real liability, and it's really very unfair to the people who are responsible about their pets."