BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- For many years, people have debated the age-old question of nature versus nurture.

Some dog owners are split over the issue.

Gary Pereya got an up-close and personal experience over the weekend when a neighbor's pit bull attacked and killed his Chihuahua.

"I saw my fiancée crying, and that's when I noticed something happened," Pereya said Tuesday.

He later saw blood trails down the sidewalk, but it would be a day before he could retrieve the Chihuahua's body from the neighbor's backyard.

Witnesses say the pit bull stuck its head under Pereya's fence and grabbed the 11-year-old dog named Baby. Initially, the neighbors denied it was their dog but later admitted their guilt to police.

Pereya, who owns two pit bulls himself, said he feels that the blame falls with the dog's owner and not the dog itself.

"I honestly think that it's how they train these dogs," Pereya said. "It's just like any other dogs. However you train them they're going to react."