Quick-thinking mother sets pit bull on thieves attacking family

The dramatic moment a quick-thinking mother from Brazil unleashed her pit bull on thieves attacking her family was captured on surveillance footage.

A family had just returned to their Penha District home in the Brazilian city of São Paulo from a shopping trip at around 8.30pm last week when their evening quickly took a terrifying turn.

As the mother approached the front gate of her home, she turned around and was met with the sight of two thieves manhandling her husband outside of his taxi across the street - all while their child was still strapped in the back seat.

The shocking video footage captured her bolting into the house as a third thief jumped into the driver's seat of their car - demanding the keys from the cabbie who refused to hand them over.

But just as the husband was being more aggressively grabbed by one of the late-night criminals, the mother appeared with her pit bull at her side - letting her stocky pet loose once she was close enough.

One thief ran to the opposite side of the car while his accomplice immediately sprung out of the driver's seat before they both fled down the road.

The loyal dog was captured chasing one of the thieves that took off in the opposite direction of his crime-crew while the family attended to their crying child still strapped inside the car.

The thieves were only able to snag a bag with documents along with two mobile phones, but the incident highlighted a bigger issue of increasing burglaries and overall crime in the district - leaving locals fearful for their own security.