Oh dear heavenly God!
Please, whatever you do you must forgive yourselves.
i'm not telling you what to do, but it was NOT YOUR FAULTS in any way whatsover!

Sorry about Commie. RIP little boy.

i too, have had experience w/ people trying to keep animals separated in a house w/ bad results. it just cannot be done. you did not know this animal had this propensity tho. i did and do take responsibility for it.
in our case, the female pitbull's owner who was my housemate's girlfriend, didn't know that my guest, who hadn't been to our home before, would open a door w/she was specifically asked NOT to. i do not blame anyone, though i told this dog's owner several times not to bring her dog into my home again, but being my roommate's girlfriend thought she knew better and told me she'd keep her locked in the room and on a leash, not in the backyard. grrr. (my housemate was king of the roost). but the potentially dangerous dog did maul my dog for a good 15 minutes. afterward the owner did put the dog down. before it happened again to a child. she couldn't care for her and couldn't find anyone to.

i do not know how to express my sorrow and compassion to you today.

these horrible things do happen in our world unfortunately.

i hope now that the woman's dog has tasted blood, that she'll consider some serious steps; having the dog put down, confined to a kennel in her yard, or something quite pro-active at least.

As a cat owner. i can't imagine this pain.

you are all in my prayers, including your angel, of course.