question about a small dog

I have heard a few stories of hawks carrying little dogs away. Although I am not sure how "little" these dogs were. It would probably be a good idea to keep an eye on him when he's outside.

YES MA'AM !!!  Hawks, owls, any prey-driven bird can and will carry off a small dog.  Up to like 10-15 pounds they can snag if they are hungry enough.
 
I'm in Florida and I NEVER leave my dogs out unattended after dark!!  They aren't unattended except in my backyard EVER and even then the bigger dogs are with the small one.
 
I have a friend who breeds JRTs and she has seen owls carry off a full grown JRT (or try).  Even if the bird doesn't carry the dog totally away-- if they get airborne and lose the grip the dog can die in the fall.  So YES YES YES be very careful!!

What a little darling.  Just adding here to reinforce what Callie said, a hawk will absolutely carry off critters up to 10 or more pounds.  We have the privilege of a pair of nesting hawks in a pine tree above our yard.  Last summer the hawk was simply in the neighborhood, this year he returned with his lady love and they picked our tiny plot of land, with the tallest tree in the neighborhood, to set up housekeeping.  I have a 5 pound dog and a 10 pound dog, the vet told me they are both at risk to this Red Hawk... especially the 5 pounder.  And, since it appears these hawks may soon have tiny mouths to feed, they will certainly be on the hunt.  The male has swooped our yard when I have been out there with the dogs, not seeing me because I was in the shadows.  As soon as he saw me, off he went.  My dogs are not allowed in the yard alone.  My husband has strung up an anti-hawk contraption suggested by the vet:  He got a bunch of the shiny disposable aluminum pie plates at the grocery store, pierced a hole in the center of each and ran a string through them, and then strung them about 10 feet above the yard, one side to the other.  I don't know if it'll deter the hawks, but the mourning doves find it a neat perch and it looks like the Beverly Hillbillies have moved in. 

I live in Colorado, and we get a lot of hawks a birds-of-prey around here.  I've never had to worry about them because the smallest dog i've owned was about 50 pounds.  I've never seen a hawk or other bird even try to swoop up a little dog, but i have heard stories.  One of my friends had a neighbor that lost a cat to a hawk.
 
Be careful and keep an eye on him.  You don't have to be right on top of him everywhere he goes, but don't let him wander off, especially in hawk country.

Sort of off-on topic, but speaking of mourning doves,  Winnie was sunning herself on the back porch last year, when she started scrathing furiously at the patio door with a look of panic in her eyes.  We discovered a dove had made a nest in a nearby bush, and Momma dove kept flying down to attack her!

All kinds of dangers in the great outdoors!

I've had that happen.  One of the german shepherds i had a while ago was outside, and she found a dead baby bird.  She just looked at it, and sat there.  Eventually the mama (small-ish bird, not a hawk or anything) came and started swooping down at her.  It was kind of funny because my GSD was completely oblivious, and the bird wasnt actually hurting her or anything.
 
But yeah, lots of dangers outside.  Poisoning, Foxes, Coyotes, Birds, Snakes, you name it.

Dasher is my first small dog as well. He weighs 15 lbs. and when he was a puppy I kept a close eye on him for the reasons stated above. Now that he is older and weighs more I don't worry quite so much but I still keep an eye on him when he is outside. You just never know....