WATERLOO - A Waterloo woman was knocked down and her dog killed when a neighbor's dogs escaped from their yard Saturday morning.

Bernice Wasserfort, 81, of 1020 Kern St., was holding her Yorkshire terrier and walking through her back yard when two Staffordshire Terriers forced their way under her chain link fence at about 7 a.m.

One of the dogs knocked over Wasserfort and attacked the Yorkie, killing it instantly, relatives said. Her son and daughter-in-law tried to fight off the dogs and rescue the Yorkie, but they had to retreat to the garage.

Animal Control officers issued a citiation to the neighbor, Monique Wolf. She was allowed to keep the dogs.

Wasserfort said this was the second time she has been knocked down by the dogs. The first was in the fall when they made a similar grab for the Yorkie.

Wolf said she's sorry for Wasserfort's loss. She pointed out her dogs didn't attack any of the people and said they apparently thought the smaller dog was a toy. She has had the dogs for seven years, and they have never attacked humans, she said.