I too own a pit bull. When we picked him out from Saving Grace, he was 11 months old and we were going to be his fourth owners. After taking him to the vet for a check up, she said that it looked like he had be beat by a chain. He had scars to prove it. He is very loyal to our family, children and grandbabies (4). I have no doubt that he would defend us if he felt we were threatened. He sits for the grandbabies to give him bones and only takes them when they release them. He has never gone to the bathroom in the house and only chewed up a couple of pairs of shoes before he out grew that. He loves to go for rides in the car and walks on a leash. Twice he snapped his head around and startled me when I grabbed his collar and by looking at his eyes, I knew it was out of some kind of fear and not aggression. No one is allowed to play tug of war with him, this is an agressive game and I am well aware of potential with all large breed dogs. I use to manage a boarding kennels and my ex-husband is an Animal Control Officer. Yes, any breed can be raised and taught to be mean and agressive and Pit Bulls do have the ability to lock their jaws, but I can tell you that I have seen some serious small dog bites or should I say tears. With that said, I think the owners of and dog should be held accountable and liable for their animals actions.

rgl1345:

Pit bites me, I shoot it and then the owners.period!!

It is highly disturbing that you would be willing to spend significant time, perhaps the rest of your life in prison over a dog bite.  It would be more beneficial to you if you just bit the dog back and the owners as well.

I have had the privilege to volunteer in a Willamette Valley humane society for a few years. There, I have met some of the most wonderful dogs in the world, including many "pit bulls". The only reason why these dogs would hurt someone is if they licked you to death. In fact, I have been bitten by one dog in my entire life, and it was by a chocolate lab, not by a pit.

When it comes to "pit bulls", and other dogs, punish the deed NOT the breed. Punish the people like Michael Vick who seem to take pride and find humor in things such as dog fights. It is people like him that help give wonderful dogs like "pit bulls" a bad name and a bad rep.

I do not feel Pitt bulls should be outlawed at all. There are plenty of animals who attack. We have a big problem with people wanting puppies because they are cute and not taking the time to train them and give them the medical nessesities to become a great companion. The people who purchase animals are the problem. When you get ANY dog, not just a Pitt you need to be stern and train them, neuter them, socialize them with children and other  animals while they are a puppy. I have a Pitt Bull of my own and he is the most  sensitive and caring dog I have ever known. That being said it because we took th proper measures to allowing him to succeed in society. It is the back yard breeders who are putting Pitt bulls out on the streets as fighting animals and as a weapon.

Being a pasted owner of a German Sheapard, we trained her well. Yet, she was more protective of the home and the family and attempted to attack when someone came to close. So it is not just Pitts who have a reputation for behaviors. If the people who end up with these pitt bull puppies stop worring about making a buck and making sure these dogs were in structured enviorments with loving social humans the reputation would not be there. I work full-time as well as my spouse and we make sure our pets our trained, exersized, tame, medically taken care of, socialized and know who the owner is. The government should be coming down on the people who are so careless with making a lifetime commitment to any animal and educate yourself before you look into adding a member to your family and to society for those who want to breed there pets.

Using common sense with animals and providing a safe enviorment for these Pitt Bulls is going to ensure there right to stay in society. I cannot be happier with my Pitt. He is loyal, loving and wanting to be there hand and foot to please if we allow im to. You see people re-homing there pets because they did not think it through and took themto the pound, streets or with someone who is not going to ensure a good life for them. If people do love pits the way I have come to be cautious and know they are going to need finacial attention, and just ATTENTION.

I have a friend who owns a pit bull. He has brought his dog over and it has played very nicely with my dog. Occasionally he has gotten a little rough, but nothing malicious and usually it is a matter of a great difference in mass between them. They are roughly the same height, but his dog weighs a LOT more, so knocks mine over a lot. His dog will also play with my daughter. He first brought him over when my daughter was about 4, and I had no worries about them being together. He has taken great care in teaching his dog that if a child pulls on his ears or tail, he is not allowed to bite back. His dog listens and behaves-better then most other dogs I've seen. His dog is the perfect example of what a pit bull can be if the owner puts the time into training. I think it's sad that because people have abused the nature of an animal, that all of that breed have to suffer. I have had worse encounters by the little yip yip dogs then I have by a pit bull. I had a chiwawa block me from my door once where I lived. It woke up all my neighbors, and the thing darn near bit me several times. Those things can be vicious and yet people carry them around in their purses, take them in the mall and to stores. My dog is the sweetest thing in the world and if I let her off my leash for a minute someone yells at me to put her back on. There is nothing wrong with pit bulls as a group. It's the owners who abuse them by making them into angry vicious animals. It is abuse, and they should be fined and not allowed to have animals. These dogs shouldn't have to be put down for following their masters commands. They should be rehabilitated. It's sad that a possible loving animal has to suffer because their owner was being stupid.
sorry to keep going on, but this really bothers me, and makes me sad.

We live in a society where laws are meaningless.  America is a failure because we cannot hold people accountable for their actions...so there's not much point in outlawing anything.

If we had some means of enforcing the law in our society, I would be in favor of requiring all dog owners to maintain liability insurance policies roughly equivalent to those required for motor vehicles.  This wouldn't necessarily eliminate all maulings, but it would cut down on the number of large, aggressive dogs (most people wouldn't be willing to pay the heavy premiums) and would at least provide financial assistance for the victims.

Of course, we don't have such a system, so if your dog mauls my three-year-old, I'll have to deal with you the old-fashioned way.  Bad for you, bad for me...but on the bright side, you won't ever own another dog, or anything else.

I have read all of the previous entries about this and I agree with the majority of them. As I see it the only way to prevent pit bull attacks is to prevent people from owning them who are not willing to deal with the breed's obvious - and well known - "quirks". New laws are not the answer. We can't prosecute for the laws we have now. Insurance for dog attacks would be useful for the dog owner to be able to pay for any damage the dog does.

I have never handled pit bulls but I have raised and trained most of the common large doge breeds including Doberman Pinschers, German Shepherds, Rottweilers and Labs. I actually had more trouble with the Labs than with the other 3. I have also trained and boarded representatives of most of the other breeds and crossbreeds in the last 40 years. The only dogs that I have ever had consistant trouble with were Terriers and Chihuahuas. I have been bitten several times and it was always by one to those breeds.

I am wondering if anyone has ever done a study to see which dog breeds bite the most? I am willing to bet that most people do not report getting bit by a small dog - just the large breeds.

Back to the subject - Pitt Bulls are a formable breed and I pray to God that the dog fighters do not find a stronger, more ruthless breed of fighting dog. If they do things will just go from bad to worse.

Insurance requirements, as good as they might sound, likely won't work.  The current state of Car Insurance is a good example.  Those that can afford it, do.  If you can't afford it, or don't want to pay it, many just don't.  As long as they don't get stopped or in an accident, all is ok.  But as soon as something like an accident happens, it's too late.  Anyone hit by an uninsured, or underinsured, had better have good insurance themselves. 

It likely would be the same with pet insurance.  Those that can afford it are likely responsible folks to begin with, and would likely be more apt to keep thier pets on a leash, etc.  Those who could not afford insurance would not give up a family member (thier pet), but instead would simply not pay  the insurance.  Again, when disaster hits, no insurance.

I'm sure there would be responsible pet owners who would NOT pay insurance, and there would be irresponsible pet owners who WOULD pay insurance, but that would not be the norm, I feel.

Owning a pet, like driving a car, is a priviledge, not a right.  And both come with responsibility.  But requiring insurance to own a pet makes it too easy to remove responsibility of pet ownership where it belongs: with the pet owner.

I own dogs, drive, and have recently been involved in an accident with an underinsured motorist (lost work hours, lost the vehicle - totalled, and have had 3 surgeries so far - at least I have decent health insurance that has helped ).  I feel the actions of my dogs are my responsibility, and it's my duty to ensure they don't bite, attack, or otherwise harm a person. And my homehowner insurance WOULD kick in if a person was injured on my property by one of my dogs.

Please be responsible for your pets, and try to do the right thing.   I think that specialized pet insurance being required for particular breeds is not the answer.

All of these statement's about  Pit bull's. I havent heard anyone discuss the SO CALLED GOOD ONES, That have attacked thier own family members! where there are many cases, They are simply a very aggressive animal that should in my opinion never be trusted along with a few other's,

The only good ones are dead ones!!

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I belong to PETA...People Eating Tasty Animals

NO! Yes the breed isn't the best breed, but it's not the animals fault it's all in how they are raised! The owners should be the ones getting in trouble for training their animal corectly. Thats the first thing you do when you get a dog, start it's training & rules.

If simple leash laws were used by all, we wouldn't have this problem.  Owners needs to be held accountable for the action of their dog.

Simply put: your dog attacks a person...you get charged with assault.  Perhaps this would make owners take mre responsibility.

 

Everyone needs to visit www.atts.org , which shows national temperament ratings for dogs of all breeds. Pits pass at 84.3%, better than the collie at 79.4%, and the australian shepherd at 81.7%. They are right on par with a basset hound, of which 84.8% passed. The problem is that violent and criminally minded people aren't buying basset hounds. They are attracted to the power, and are not looking to raise a cuddly dog. My pits are goofy and sweet, just like the rest of my family!

I have owned many various breeds over the years.  I believe owners know when an animal is dangerous.  I was given a pitbull once because it ate the backseat out of a newly restored 57 Chevy.  The dog was agressive & eventually had to be destroyed.  I once owned a Great Pyraneese I rescued.  She was 8 & had been chainned all her life.  She bit 2 people & had to be put down.  She was the 1st recorded Great Pyrneese dog bite in Douglas County.  Any dog will bite in the wrong situation.  I think it is the responsability of the owner to recognise the reality that owning a dog is a major responsability & the personality your dog displays when you are around may totally change when you are not.  We all want to think the best of our pets.  There are owners who enjoy & encourage agressive behavior in their dogs only to have them bite an unsuspecting victim.  Did the owner know this dog would bite absolutely.  Oregon has a repeat offender law for biting dogs.  They are requirred to be destoyed.  I think that ownership of dogs should be the same.  If an owner has more than 1 dog who bites his ability to be a dog owner should be in question.  I think this would make it more likely that owners would do more to restrain their pets.  Breeding & temperment have a lot to do with dog behavior.  Personally I would never own another Pitbull but I don't think outlawing the dogs is the answer.  I believe outlawing irresposible pet ownership is.

I agree with the "how they were raised theory'' but you have to admitt ANY dog can turn on you in a heartbeat.