NEWBERG, Ore. -- An adult pit bull and her two puppies attacked and killed a rare pet wallaroo in Newberg, police said Wednesday.

kgw.com/family photo

The walaroo named Percy is shown in a family photo with her owner, Brit.

A wallaroo is a type of small kangaroo.

"More than anything, we are sad,” the pet's owner, Matt Johnson, told kgw.com. “For him to meet this end is gut- wrenching," Johnson said.

Percy, a two-year-old wallaroo, died after an attack on October 18th. Witnesses told police the three dogs broke through a fence in the backyard where Percy lived with the family's own two dogs.

The pit bulls are being held at the city animal shelter, but a decision on their fate will not be reached until Newberg police and the city attorney complete their investigation.

Investigators said the pit bulls attacked the kangaroo about an hour after running away from owner Karen Hoar. The dogs had been riding in her car. Newberg police fined Hoar $1,650 for allowing the dogs to get free.

Hoar’s daughter, Sarah Henry, owns the pit bulls. Police fined her more than $600. She said she's more concerned about never seeing her dogs again than she is about paying a fine. She’s afraid they will be euthanized.

“They did a horrible thing,” Henry said, “but is it fair to kill three for one?”

Henry had reported them missing earlier in the day.

"It's really scary to think there's loose pit bulls running around here killing," said neighbor Deanna Paul. "If they killed one of the wallaroos, that's terrible."

Percy’s owners own Critter Cabana, a pet store in Newberg. They let children play with the wallaroo and took him to local schools. They first took him in when he was a baby.

“We bottle fed him 3-6 times a day for over 4 months,” Johnson said. “He knew and loved us as parents."

  What exactly is a wallaroo?

Johnson said much of the community knew Percy.

  Read family statement about wallaroo death

"Percy has had an impact not just on us but on the entire town of Newberg. We carried him everywhere with us and he made lots of friends," Johnson said. "He made numerous field trips to schools all over the Portland area where kids were able to scratch his head, see him hop around their classroom and learn all about wallaroos, raising animals and caring for unusual pets."

(kgw.com reporter Teresa Bell and Antonia Giedwoyn also contributed to this article.)