Cassandra Paul, 5, narrowly escaped from a pack of roaming dogs in the Cape Breton community of Wagmatcook. Lucky, the family dog, fought them off but later died from his injuries. (CBC)People in two First Nation communities in Nova Scotia are urging their leaders to step in and prevent a tragedy, as roaming packs of dogs attack children, adults and pets.

In Wagmatcook, a small community on Cape Breton Island, a family dog was killed recently while protecting a five-year-old girl.

Casey Paul said he was watching his sister, Cassandra, playing in the yard when a pack of dogs began to chase her. He quickly called out to their mother.

"I headed in the kitchen and I said, 'Mom, there's seven dogs attacking my sister," said Paul.

Lucky, the family dog jumped in and fought off the pack, said the mother, Tonia Paul, who, armed with a stick, had to jump in and help Lucky.

"I had to help him because … chunks were being taken out of him," she said.

"The were just killing him," said Casey Paul.

Lucky lived for another week before dying. The Pauls buried their pet on Monday. Neither Cassandra nor Tonia was hurt.

The Wagmatcook band council has heard from other residents about dangerous packs of dogs, including from one woman who was badly bitten on the leg.

Joe Oleson won't let his young daughter wait outside for the school bus any longer after their experience.

"About six, seven dogs came at us, and they surrounded us and they decided to go after my kid. So what I did is I put my hands up, and I decided to back them off and I was yelling at them. They were backing off but barking and snapping, and I told her to get into the van. So she ran," he said.

Joe Oleson worries that the dogs will kill a child if nothing is done. (CBC) But the dogs wouldn't give up, said Oleson, and later they even followed the little Grade 2 student.

"She says I was praying all the way down the hill," he said.

Oleson said there are 15 or 20 dogs roaming around the community. Some are family pets running wild, while others are abandoned dogs that may have bred with coyotes.

"You see a new one pop up and you say, 'Who owns that one?' Some of them are hurt dragging their legs, some hungry, sick. And they're always bothering the kids," he said.

Oleson fears it's just a matter of time before a child is mauled to death.

Last week, a 10-year-old boy was killed on the Canoe Lake First Nation in Saskatchewan, and residents there blame roaming dogs.

The Wagmatcook band council is expected to meet Tuesday to decide what to do about its dog problem.

Meanwhile, the Membertou First Nation, which is also in Cape Breton, is dealing with its own complaints of dangerous dogs, specifically pit bulls. It's urging residents to tie up their pets and has instructed its animal-control officer to seize any pit bull found loose.