NANAIMO -- An afternoon of blackberry picking in Nanaimo turned tragic Sunday afternoon after a four-month-old puppy was allegedly killed by another dog. Now, the owner of the puppy is pleading for the other dog’s owner to come forward.

The incident happened around 3:30 p.m. along a trail between Northfield Road and Masters Road in central Nanaimo.

Lynette Hleck was blackberry picking with her puppy, an Australian Shepard named Fern.

Fern was on a 20-foot leash at the time when a man who was walking with his two dogs approached them, says Hleck.

Both of the man’s dogs were off-leash and one of them charged at Fern. Hleck says she heard the man yell, “Pick up your dog!”

But it was too late, Hleck says the dog chased Fern into the blackberry bushes and got a hold of her in its mouth and was shaking Fern.

“The owner did his very best and grabbed the dog and pinned him and tried to open its mouth,” says Hleck. “He kept shaking and he had the locked jaw.”

Eventually the dog released Fern and Hleck says she scooped her up and rushed the dog to a nearby veterinarian. Fern was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Neither of the two dog owners got contact information from one another and now Hleck, along with Nanaimo Animal Control Services, would like the owner of the dog who allegedly attacked Fern to come forward.

“I know my family hurts a lot for losing our puppy and know his probably does too,” said Hleck.

Animal Control Services in Nanaimo along with Nanaimo bylaw officers are investigating the incident.

The bylaw service says that all dogs in the city of Nanaimo must be on leash at all times, unless it’s a designated off-leash area.

“If you called out that I needed to pick up my puppy, you know that your dog is aggressive,” said Hleck.

“You should have had some kind of backup, whether it’s a longline or muzzle or just something to stop them,” she said.

Hleck describes the man as tall with a thin build. He was well dressed at the time and was wearing beige clothing.

His dog that allegedly attacked Fern is described as tanned coloured with a heavy-set build. It was wearing a tactical-style harness with a big handle on it at the time.