Pitbull terrier
Pit bull shot dead after it killed 3-year-old - Representational image Getty Images

A pit bull was shot dead after it attacked and killed its owner's three-year-old daughter in Duncan, Oklahoma.

The animal attacked Rylee Marie Dodge on Sunday, 14 January, when she was at home with her grandmother. Her father, Jason, was not at home at the time of the incident as he had gone to meet his brother.

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Jason told KSWO that he received a panicked call from the toddler's grandmother. "I got the call, you know, 'your daughter and the dog' is all I heard," he recalled.

He added that when he reached the scene, he found his mother trying to separate Rylee from the dog's jaw but she failed in her attempt. Then Jason took the charge and finally managed to rescue the girl.

"When I came in the house, my mom was laying on the dog, I picked her up and carried her right out the front door. I threw her in the passenger seat to go to the hospital, then the ambulance came and took her out of my truck," Jason said.

But after several attempts by the doctors and the emergency responders, the young girl could not be saved. "There was nothing they could do, absolutely nothing," the father added.

The dog, named Remington, was killed after the attack. Jason said that he had brought it home five days before the incident. He said that the dog had not shown any signs of aggression before attacking Rylee and was friendly with his son.

"I was very cautious about it because I don't just bring dogs into my home. Took my son over there, the dog didn't attack him. It loved him, gave him a hug and licked him on the face.

"Brought him over here, my son came outside all day long and played with him, didn't do nothing to him," Jason was quoted as saying by WLWT5.

Paying tribute to his little girl, the father described Rylee as a fun-loving little girl who loved to play with cats and dogs. "I'm so sorry this happened to you baby girl I know I promised you I'd never let anything happen to you and I failed at it I will always love you that's a promise," he wrote in a Facebook post.

Jason also wrote another Facebook post informing people that the funeral service is on 19 January at 3pm local time (9pm GMT).

The latest incident comes days after a Louisiana woman was killed by a pit bull. Laura Ray was killed by the dog on 9 January, however, it was not immediately clear what prompted the attack.