Days after getting the call that her 11 year old Lab, Shilo, had been mauled, Peggy Navarrete is still haunted by watching her family's pet's last moments in a vet's office.

"I don't sleep at night. I close my eyes and I'm back in that vet's office seeing all that blood,"

Two doors down, her neighbor, Cristie Noble faces the same nightmare.

Her dog lingered in a losing fight, his body temperature dangerously low from shock and lying wounded in the snow.

"He was lying on a table, wrapped in a blanket. There was blood on his head and one of his ears was partially torn off."

Noble, her husband and 12 year old daughter had to make the heartwrenching decision to euthanize their 5 year old lab and shepherd cross, Buddy. Navarrete's dog, Shilo, died as the vets worked to stabilize her.

Both dogs had been mauled Monday morning in their neighbor's yard by one or both of their neighbors' pit bulls.

The attack was unexpected, but both families say there have been problems with the pit bulls before.

Navarrete's fence shows signs of an ongoing struggle to keep the male pit bull from tearing holes in it. It's patched here and there.

They say the dog's owners even bought them a number of wooden pickets to keep up with the damage.

It was through the latest hole, now blocked by a sheet of plywood that Shilo apparently entered the pit bulls' yard. No one knows why she or Buddy wandered into the yard.

In fact, no one can explain how Buddy got through the fence. There are no apparent holes big enough for the 70 pound dog to sneak through. Besides, Noble says, Buddy was afraid of the pit bulls next door and avoided the fence that separated them.

"It's a huge mystery," says Noble "and an incredible coincidence that both dogs were in that yard at the same time."

The owners of the pit bulls, who have not responded to our inquiries, have apologized, but insist their dogs are well socialized and safe. They promised to restrain them in the future, but when asked if they would put either of their dogs down, both women say the answer was 'that's not going to happen."

"We appreicated the apology," says Noble, "but it didn't seem like enough."

Navarrete is more direct. "I want them to pay my vet bills and I want them to put their dogs down."

Both admit the pit bull owners are care for their pets and having just lost their dogs they realize what they are asking.

"It's heartbreaking," says Navarrete, "but do you want to have a dog that could kill two dogs in one day?"

Both women say they're also puzzled and angry with the response they got from the Sparks Police Department and Animal Control.

"They sent us one to the other," says Noble. In the end the answer was nothing could be done.

There are ordinances under which a dog can be declared a dangerous animal, but Bobby Smith, Field Supervisor for Washoe County's Animal Services says it only applies if the dog attacks beyond his owner's property. This attack took place in the pit bulls' back yard.

"We're in the midst of a tragic situation," he says, "but our hands are tied."

So there the dispute sits. Both families feel a huge loss. Buddy's bed still sits in the Noble's living room, his collar, almost torn in half rests nearby. Her daughter says she doesn't even want another pet as long as the pit bulls are next door. Noble isn't arguing.

"I don't want anyone else to go through what we've gone through," says says. "I don't want it to be my daughter next or one of her friends who hits a wiffle ball over the fence and doesn't know any better."

Bob Navarrete is no longer greeted in the evening by the faithful dog who filled an emoitional hole when he lost another dog 11 years ago, a dog who them accompanied the family on frequent hunting and fishing trips.

"She'd look for a fish in a mud hole,if you asked her" Peggy Navarrete says.

Navarrete worries about her other thee dogs and what might happen next. "I have to leave my dogs out there and I worry if they'll be there when I get home. It's scary.

Both women say their neighbors take care of their dogs and they realize the difficult decision they may be pressing them toward, but Navarrete says, "I know they love their dogs. I love my dogs, but do you want a dog you can't trust?

"Their dog will die easier than my dog. Mine suffered."