if golden eagles can kill wolves/coyotes/deer then a twelve pound dog is nothing to some types of hawks. i was talking to a salesman once (he was admiring my dogs thinking they were American Bullies, and he happens to own one) he told me the sad story about his first American Bully pup... the poor thing had no end of bad luck. when he first got him he fell down the stairs and broke some bones, got attacked by a hawk once (swooped down and clawed him) while out on a walk. had to get patched up from that..... Then... While on the mend he was out in the backyard while his owner was watching him from the house talking to his wife on the phone. another hawk swooped down, picked the pup up, carried him about twenty feet before dropping him. that fall ended the bad luck pup's life sadly...
The guy got another pup later on, he's grown now, but through the whole puppy stage this guy would NOT put his dog down outside unless it was to do business... and he would stand over him the whole time. once the puppy finished he would pick him up and carry him back inside... imagine a giant 6'6" tough guy carrying his pit bull puppy all over the place like Paris Hilton carries her chihuahua!! the dog now weighs about 80lbs... but i can imagine the stress his owner went through just trying to make sure he made it to the 30lb mark!!
thankfully i've never had a problem with hawks.... and we have some "big'uns" out here!! and the other day i thought i saw a bald eagle... it was too far away by the time i got my binoculars, but i swear the head and tail were white!
Safest bet is to just be on top of your dog when out and about. or keep your eyes peeled for signs of birds. thats how prey animals do it! and they have been dealing with hawks, eagles, and owls a lot longer than we humans have.
Those who will not reason, are bigots, those who cannot, are fools, and those who dare not, are slaves.