Turner and Hooch in real life!

Hero Poodle takes bullet... Hero Labrador takes bullet... The fact that it was a pit bull has zero relevance to the fact that this is a dangerous, killer breed. For every person who has lived through an auto accident because they weren't wearing a seat belt 999 were injured or died. The fact it was a pit bull hardly proves anything as almost any dog would react in a similar manner, and does nothing to negate the fact that pit bulls are the #1 dog for killing and maiming innocent people walking down the street minding their own business.

Be honest, just as you would cross the street if you see a suspicious character would you not do the same when you see a pit bull?

Pibbles rock!!!

They are the most loyal and loving creatures.

Sorry about your boogie man fear of these remarkable creatures.

Not: Boogie man's fears??? More likely headlines: Pit bull rips face off three year old, Pit bull breaks free and maims neighbor, Pit bull turns on owner, 300 stitches required, or don't you read the news?

It is NOT the breed, but the owners/trainers of all dogs, that make them dangerous!!!

It is NOT the breed, but the owners/trainers of all dogs, that make them dangerous!!!

No, I wouldn't cross the street. Because I am not a paranoid, fear-mongering person who thinks the worst about everyone and everything. I have owned several pits and not once have I or anyone who has ever been near them, felt afraid or in danger. Yes, the breed is aggressive. But so are stupid Chihuahua's...they just aren't big enough to do anything about it. But I don't see anyone calling for the extinction of that breed just because its small and "adorable" (butt-ugly more like it). The fact that you tried to take away from the the story of a dog saving its owners life and turn it into some propaganda against a breed of dog you obviously have it out for, is pathetic. And with that being said, have a great day. I'm gonna go walk down the street past some suspicious characters...oh wait those are just regular people.

"Hero Poodle takes bullet... Hero Labrador takes bullet..."

Evil poodle bites toddler, evil labrador maims a woman... More people are bitten and and attacked by non-pit bulls every single day than they are by pit bulls. Not as sensational of a story. Keep pushing for breed specific legislation and it might be your dog they come for next. Shepherds, Dobermans, Rots all have shared a spotlight of media scrutiny. If the media wanted to declare labs unsafe, they could easily do it.

Bad dog owners make bad dogs. Breeds aren't inherently good or evil... unless your a media lemming not capable of thinking for yourself.

mwentz - i absolutely agree. being a bad (or clueless) owner can turn ANY breed of dog vicious.

People are ignorant. It's all about the owner and not the dog... true that some breeds are more aggressive than others just because of their tradition and why we bred them in the first place, but the owner has the power to totally erase that tradition. these people that can't do that probably shouldn't own ANY breed of dog in the first place

I agree with Tyson Corley and Fishlore. Pitbulls are an amazing breed of dog...loyal and loving...as a bull breed owner...I am partial to all the dogs in the bull breed. Only responsible owners know that. The smaller the dog...the meaner they can be because people who own them don't think (or want) to have them properly trained. Because they think they're a small dog they can be easily handled. The fact is, an untrained small dog is much more aggressive than a trained one and certainly than a trained large dog. They get the "big dog syndrome" with both other dogs and humans. I've been bitten by these little rats a couple of times in my life. But I didn't get mad at them, I let their owners have it. Bad dog owners do make bad dogs. So...YOU GO KILO!! I hope you get better soon!

I had a pit growing up for most of my childhood and she was the sweetest dog I've ever had the pleasure of being blessed with. She would have protected me with her life if it ever came to it. I've been bit by Chihuahua's on several occasions. It's isn't the breed you close minded spaz, but the owners who breed violence.

What was it Cesar Milan said? "In the 60's they blamed the Shepherds, in the 70's the Dobermans, in the 80's the Rotweilers and in the 90's the pit bulls. When are they going to start blaming the humans?" It's something like that. Any dog that is properly trained can and will be perfectly safe around other humans and animals. Dogs that are not being led by a proper human pack leader are dangerous dogs, but not through any fault of their own. THEY live on instinct. WE live on instinct and thought. It is up to US to care and properly train any animal we keep as pets. Pit Bulls were bred to fight, yes. But once again, is that their fault? No. We humans did that to them as well. And just as they were bred and trained to fight, a proper trainer can turn the dog into a calm and submissive dog who won't attack or threaten anyone. Why don't you learn about dogs before you start spouting sensationalized news headings and try to bring down a dog breed just for being dogs?

I think it's great that this dog took one for his owner, although to be honest, if it had been a small bread then the moron probably wouldn't have shot it. It was likely the bread that caused the shooting. Although, I wish it had been a vicious dog and ripped out the throat of the a$$h0le that was trying to break in.

And if I was with my grandkids and saw a pitbull ahead, I would cross the street for their safety. Any big dog that has agressive tendancies would cause this reaction to anyone with common sense. Same if I saw a group of suspicious hooded gang types. Not that I am for profiling any one style of dress or any type of dogs, but why take a chance and walk into possible trouble? Maybe it's my military training. I don't sit with my back to the door in a restaurant either. <grin>

BTW, my son owned two young pit-bulls, who were great....until they started nipping at my granddaughter when she went near their food/toys/their owner, etc. He did not raise them this way. The were treated well, fed well (Iiames dog food!!), and played with all the time. Needless to say, he sold them to someone without kids, but also told them why he was letting them go. He felt bad, I felt bad. Both of us were relieved that nothing serious happened.

Say what you want, but any dog can turn, even if they are treated well. But a big dog, and especially one with aggressive tendencies, can do serious harm. As a counter point though, I would say that my dad had his nose ripped pretty good by his Pompoo(sp) once. Mean little b!tch!

Hey Norm, I for one don't sit down to read all the stats thrown out there by the media about this bread of dog. My amazing dog is about two and a half years old now and has not demonstrated any characteristics to put her under your "headlines". But I also did my due diligence with her. She has been through obedience classes and has been properly socialized, not just with dogs but with cats as well. I live on 13 acres and have two dogs and two cats. We have a four year old lab that we got from a shelter almost a year before we got the Pitbull. The lab out weighs her by about 30-40 lbs as he is a giant at 110 lbs and a good 4-5 inches taller than most labs we see. But as they do like to wrestle they never get nasty, we have yet to see them inflict any damage on each other, so the idea that some people have of Pitbulls getting carried away or over aggressive when playing is not true. Also she doesn't even mind sharing her food with people, other dogs, or even the cats. A few time we have caught the cat eating out of the bowl with her. Though it is said over and over it is all in how you raise the dog, it is indeed true. I have talked with people and at first they were leery about petting the "ferocious and killer" pitbull and by the time we are done talking and they are done petting her they mention that they wish their dog was as well behaved. Funny and true story, one day I was walking her at the park and she approached a chihuahua they started getting familiar smelling each other then the little guy saw a butterfly go by and he barked and tried to catch it, thus spooking my pup. She quickly ran behind me with her tail between her legs. So not all of them are vicious killers. I feel that it is all in how they are raised much as children. There is no argument that the raising of a child has a large impact on their future or the way they will live their lives, it shouldn't be any different when talking about a dog. I have seen good and bad dogs, but I have also seen good and bad owners. I do not believe that a whole breed should be punished by the deeds of a few, if that were the case we as humans would not be in existence any longer.

All the pit bulls I know never attacked a person. I know many people, who do rescuing, and they are more wary of small dogs, huskies, and retrievers..

norm903...

I noticed your post was collapsed, but I have to respond.

Your ignorance of dogs is apparent. Any and all dogs are nothing more than extensions of the environment they were raised in and the training they receive or lack thereof.

Pit bulls have a bad reputation only because many "trained" them as fight or security dogs. Unfortunately, the idiots that did the training didn't know what they were doing and just made very mean animals out of them.

While I would never own a pitbull myself, it is nice to read a story about how helpful and brave these guard dogs can be. So happy Kilo survived and his owner was not robbed or injured.

Norm is a HATER! I will not waist my time trying to tell him not ALL pits are bad.

I just spent a saturday with 6 dogs up for adotion. 4 pitbulls and 2 pure mutts they got their leashes tangled and there was not one snap or growl from any of them through the whole process of untangling leashes. I have benn bitten by a german shepard, an akita, a yellow lab and a weimaraner during my long history of raising and working with dogs. So from my viewpoint the pit bull when raised correctly is no more dangerous than any other dog. Speedy recovery Kilo.

Ha! It’s not the breed it’s the owner. How laughable. The owner bears responsibility to train the animal correctly, however to say the breed has nothing to do with a Pit Bulls aggressive behavior is a joke, take the blinders off. The breed itself has been breed to be aggressive and as a fighting animal, thus it is in their nature to be aggressive and attack. This can and has happened over and over even with those Pit Bulls that owners say are not aggressive and trained well. You love the breed, great, no issues here, but don’t fool yourselves or try to lie to everyone else that the breed is as domesticated and dossal as a Basset Hound or Golden Retriever.

@PocketClam-20

You know nothing about dogs. Statistically speaking, poodles send more people to the hospital than pitbulls. Those dogs are more aggressive about their "space" than a pitbull is. The only reason pitbulls can be dangerous is if they are abused, hungry, or mistreated. They have a bad rep because they are solid muscle (much like Rotties) and can be used in dog fights. This alone is the reason they are seen as aggressive. They jump up and play like any other dog, just because they weigh more than some dogs, weak individuals in mind and body, like yourself, should not bother owning one.

@ Norm, I don't think that collapse was due to folks being cowards but to keep your dog breed ignorance from being shown to all readers who happen upon this story. I mean really? A medium sized dog is a wrecking machine of incredible proportions? You're really buying the media hype about a medium sized dog? C'mon.

Some facts that might make you worry about something other than pitbulls... doctors kill more people per year due to mistakes than pitbulls. Estimates range from as low as 44k to 98k to as high as 200k a year for malpractice deaths. Dogbite.org lists that pitbulls accounted for ONLY 52 deaths from '06 to '08. Doctors are MORE dangerous than pitbulls!

Cars killed 32,788 in '10. Cars are more dangerous than pitbulls!

Quote BBoy Phoenix "What was it Cesar Milan said? "In the 60's they blamed the Shepherds, in the 70's the Dobermans, in the 80's the Rotweilers and in the 90's the pit bulls."

Yes he said something like that, and he's so right. I was thinking about him and his pit bulls while reading this article, people should visit his website and learn about his dogs, they are so NOT aggressive, they help calm and socialize other dogs. My sister in law also has pit bulls and they are not aggressive at all, they play with the kids all the time and are extremely patient.

As many others said, blame the owners, and especially people who use them for dog fights.

First and most importantly... Speedy recovery to you Kilo!

Next..It is NOT the breed you fools, it is the human scum that train them for bad things! Pit Bulls are a very loyal breed and if it were not for the idiots in this world ( that should be euthanized) they would not get such a bad rap. Please do some research before spouting.
My pom ( R.I.P. Cynder) was a vicious little biter but we loved him...Shadow my Lab/Pit is a goofball that just wants constant love and affection.

Bet you didn't know that Cocker Spaniels CAN be an aggressive breed ( often suffering from "rage syndrome").

@Retired US Soldier:

I just want to point out, that if a dog begins to nip and bite at anyone within the family, it's normally because they don't acknowledge that person nor respect that person as being "above" them in the pack. In other words, to them, the child was a lesser member of the pack, and they were "pulling rank" on her. Though I won't accuse anyone of anything without knowing the full situation, this is what is most likely the reason for all of that.

Also, being treated well doesn't necessarily translate to being treated right. This is a major problem for many dog owners. A dog is a dog, and the way we treat the dog must be as a dog, not as a human, but most people will treat their dogs as humans and not as a dog. So yes, the dogs may get treated well, but without proper training and proper leadership establishment, they're not getting the treatment that they need, only the treatment that we want to give them. And if no one is being a proper leader, it is the dog who will fill that void, and that usually turns into a very BAD problem. Just as most states require someone to take training classes when they purchase a gun, I think it should be mandatory that a person take lessons on how to be a proper leader and owner of a dog, ESPECIALLY with the larger, more powerful breeds.

Case in point, a friend of mine owns a pit/husky mix. The dog is about a year and a half, and weighs in at nearly 90 lbs. NO ONE in the family can control the dog, because the dog views himself as the pack leader. He nips and bites at everyone. Except me. Why? Because the first thing I did when I first met the dog was establish my dominance over him immediately. He NEVER bites at me, and always obeys. I've worked with my friend to try and get him to understand and emulate, but unfortunately he just doesn't really "get" it. This dog, unfortunately, if my buddy doesn't start doing better, WILL turn into an aggressive dog who WILL bite and injure someone or another dog, and WILL need to be put down as a dangerous case. Of course, before then, if my buddy doesn't commit to proper training, I WILL intervene and get animal control involved, but that of course is not something I'd want to have to do. Proper training will always lead to a healthy and happy non-aggressive dog (provided there isn't a neurological or physical problem that unbalances the dog, of course). Poor training and discipline will lead to all sorts of problems.

i have worked as a volunteer at the local humane society, so has my sister in law. both of us have dealt with countless dogs, many have been pit bulls, never once have i been bitten by a pit bull, but i have seen what owners have done to them. One i will never forget was a huge white male pitbull i ran across at the apartments my mother in law was living at. he looked like someone just beat across the head with a rock. he saw me and started to retreat in fear, i sat on the curb and called to him saying that it was alright, that i wouldn't hurt him and he submissively walked over to me and smelt my hand and walked into the grass next to me sat down and leaned against me. i choked up at that, so i got him some water and called one of the guys i had worked with at the shelter, it was sunday and the shelter was closed, told him the story and he jumped in the shelter's truck came right over. The Big white male pit bull was a complete sweetheart, i walked around the apartments while we waited and he stayed with me the whole time. A friends 7 year old daughter saw me came running up and he sat there acted sweet and endearing towards her, and when my friend got there with the truck he didn't act afraid and when i told him to get in the cage he got right in. even licked me in the face while i was closing the cage. If i didn't already have two dogs i would have so taken him home. My dogs would have been like fallen in love with him. I have a Belguim Malinois and a Brendal Pitbull, one guess which one of the two is the sweetheart?

I have only been bitten three time by dogs, one was an all black german shepard, which he didn't mean too, i was riding my bike and he just had a thing for bikes and cars, he was really a sweetheart and i forgave him, the other two were chiwawas...annoying little loco dogs...blah

btw, the big white pitbull is now named Rocky, because he sure has hell took a beating, but still came out the winner, and is living with a family with two other pit bulls and a giant back yard and is fully recovered.

As a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service I have been bitten twice by dogs that are small and large. I have not even come close to being bitten by a pit bull. Most are like all other dogs. I have a problem with dingos, dobies, sharpeis, german shepards, and most tiny dogs that think they are huge.

norm903 you are just a hater plain and simple....I have NEVER been bitten by a Pitbull, and MANY people I know own them...BUT I have been bitten by a dachshund, TWICE...Mean little weenie dogs...AND as somebody else said, Yo Quiero Taco Bell dogs are mean also{chihuahua}

My last post on the subject. Just as elderly drivers don't have the worst driving records as a class (teenagers), they are involved in the most fatalities, and when they have accidents they are usually the worst. You can say that it is the owner, not the breed, but at the end of the day the worst accidents and in the greatest number involve pit bulls. Facts are tough to argue, aren't they?

Sink your teeth into that! Have a nice day.

What a beautiful story.

@BBoy Phoenix: Thank God for people like you!!!

@Retired US Soldier: The dogs needed training with your grandkid, and bonding time. They needed to be trained to accept the fact that the girl was higher in the hieracrchy than them. Problem with most dog owners is that they never keep up with the training. All dogs have to be retrained whenever something new happens in their environmet or if there is a change in the family make up.

I had a hell of a time finding home insurance in Mass because both my dogs were from the dangerous breed list - A German and a Rottweiler. Finally Liberty Mutual send their agent to assess the dogs. Not only the agent fell in love with my dogs (who posed for pictures) but she also wrote me a great deal for my house and the car. And offered to baby sit my dogs if ever needed.

Thank God for logical reasonable people out there.

PocketClam said:

Ha! It’s not the breed it’s the owner. How laughable. The owner bears responsibility to train the animal correctly, however to say the breed has nothing to do with a Pit Bulls aggressive behavior is a joke, take the blinders off.

As longtime volunteer at an inner-city Animal Shelter where the population is abut 85% Pibbles, it's a little bit of both. I have seen dogs that have been abused and grown up in fight situations unable to even growl at a person, while others from secure homes are simply uncontrollable. Dogs are as individual as people, and there is good and bad in dogs as there are good and bad in people.

The breed itself has been breed to be aggressive and as a fighting animal, thus it is in their nature to be aggressive and attack. This can and has happened over and over even with those Pit Bulls that owners say are not aggressive and trained well.

Actually Pibbles were originally bred as nanny dogs; as they were very loyal, smart, obedient and will do literally anything to get the attention and approval of its owner. The problem arose when someone noted they had an enlarged adrenal gland and decided to try to breed them to fight (up until that time Shepherds, Dobermans and Rotties were the breed of choice.

The problem they encountered was that the dog had no idea how to fight. I still see that in a lot of Pibbles that come into my shelter; put them in front of another dog and they either want to play or want to hide. (We had a female come in from a dogfighting ring who saw a crate of abandoned orphaned kittens sitting in the intake hallway and tried to adopt them, curling around them and licking them. She howled when we took them away) The ones who had enlarged adrenal glands were crossed with other breeds like Labs, Presa Canarios, etc. to make them less agreeable and more aggressive. Nowadays, you'd be hard-put to find a true purebred Pibble in a dogfight; the dogs that fight are usually crosses from backyard breeders.

But the one thing that hasn't changed is the Pibble's reluctance to bite a human owner. That's the reason that they've become so popular--rarely do they turn on their owners, that obedience to an owner is ingrained in them.

You love the breed, great, no issues here, but don’t fool yourselves or try to lie to everyone else that the breed is as domesticated and dossal as a Basset Hound or Golden Retriever.

Huh.

Heard about the pack of wild beagles roaming Long Island and terrorizing people? no? People take the pups out hunting, and if the dog doesn't perform well they abandon it. Its a large problem because they form packs and go rampaging though the community and attack people.

What about the pack of chihuahuas who attacked a cop? Heard that one? Cop picked up a woman's son out joyriding in a car and brought the boy home, was promptly attacked by the woman's pk of Chihuahuas. The cop had to get stitches.

Any dog is inherently dangerous by virtue of having teeth and claws. Any human is also inherently dangerous, being in possession of a brain and hands that can either manipulate killing tools or can kill by themselves (martial arts experts.) Every dog, whatever the size from pocket pet to Great Dane, should be taken through obedience classes and good k9 citizen training, and even then, sometimes the owner is simply not right for the dog. It happens.

Dear Norm,

If you goto dogsbite.com and look for the 2011 statistics you will find that while Pit Bulls were indeed the most lethal of all dog attacks in 2011 they only killed 22 people all year. This is out of a total of only 31 dog attack deaths all year. Compared to other more common factors of death in the US dogs as a whole were a drop in the proverbial bucket. This isn't statistically significant enough to be afraid of. Stop fear mongering.

flexmind, a big reason why people have problems with smaller dogs is the owners let them get away wiht things they would never let a larger dog do. Agressive behavior in a smaller bred is "cute" agressinve behavor in a larger bred is "dangoros".Any dog owner has a repsonsibilty to raise their dog in a responsible manner. A perfect example of the good owner/bad owner exsists in my neighboorhood. One neighboor owns a Rot and a Mastif. I have no problem interacting with them, or allowing my pit to interact with them. They are well socialized with people and dogs and have been trained to know what is acceptable behavior. Another neighboor owns a rot that he keeps chained in the back yard. The dog has on interaction with people or other dogs and is not taught anything except fear of his owner. Last fall the rot managed to get out of the yard. The first thing he did was attack my dog. All owners, but especially those of us who own the "aggresive" breeds have responsibiltiy to our dogs and our community to teach our dogs to be social, much like you teach your children proper manners

Pit bulls are not by nature more aggressive, it is just that when they bite they are more apt to cause more damage than smaller dogs. It is up to the owner to be aware of this and treat the dog with respect.

MannToots/Norman-

Just going to play devil's advocate here. Tthe stats you quoted have one breed out of thousands causing 2/3's of ALL human deaths by dogs in 2011. That right there pretty much backs up Norman's case. While it's a very very very small number of deaths compared to the number of dogs and humans living together, you can't ignore the fact that this statistic is way out of whack. Comparing a chihuahau/poodle attack to a pitbull attack is a strawman argument. It's ridiculous.

With thousands of dog breeds to choose from I can't for the life of me think why someone would pick the one that is clearly the most dangerous. I always see that terrible combination of thuggish looking guy with a pitbull and I cringe.

Dogs can and do ignore their training and their owners. It happens. Where I live a family raising dogs for dogsleds had their little baby killed just recently . I have met egotisical owners who think they are in control of their animals when they are not.

FYI - I love animals and I love dogs and I lived with the fattest laziest pitbull in the world (not by choice but he was lovely) but I still would never choose to own this breed.

I have a 5 yr old red nosed pitbull. He is my best friend. We are together 24/7's. I love him dearly.When I read this story of how this dog saved hid owners life it brought tears to my eyes. My dog has a few aggressive tendencies but he has never bit anyone or any other animal. The very first thing I trained him to do was to not bite. His agressiveness I think is what he has seen from my behavior. He is generally very calm. I don't let him run amuck. I always know where he is and how his behaving. He makes me proud. He is a very good companion.

A couple years ago at our shelter we got in a pure white pit puppy , 6 months old, whose owner brought him in on a euthanasia request. He said he'd tried everything he could think of to potty train the dog--yelling, treats, outright abuse like hitting and kicking the dog and he couldn't learn not to pee in the house.

We reserve the right to evaluate all euthanasia requests and not euthanize the animal if the situation didn't warrant it. So our tech took the dog to the surgery and--whaddya know--he was STONE DEAF. Couldn't hear a thing. And after the beatings and everything the bruises on his sides he as SOOO aggressive--darn near licked all of us to death. We named him Chucky.

A month later this deaf older (late fifties) couple came in to adopt a dog. Although they stated on the registration sheet that they were looking for a small dog they could handle, they fell instantly in love with this deaf puppy and begged to be able to take Chucky home. We did, but we were pretty sure that they'd eventually bring him back as too much to handle.

About a year after that our AEOs (animal control) officers got a call from the police who were requesting AC assistance at a residence. When the officer got there she found that a burglar had cased the deaf couple's house, determined they were deaf and so was their dog, and decided to break in and help himself. Chucky must have felt the vibrations in the floor or something while the couple was upstairs sleeping, so he 'greeted' the burglar at the kitchen door, 'escorted' him to the kitchen counter, then 'helped' him climb onto the counter and 'encouraged' the burglar to use the phone. Dude got the hint--he called 911 and turned himself in.

911 got there but the problem was that the couple were asleep and couldn't give him an order to stand down, so he was alternately 'requesting' the officers to stay out (they were only too happy to) and 'convincing' the burglar that it really was in his best interest to stay put. They were in the middle of this standoff when our AEO showed up and Chucky greeted her with a wagging tail and a pathetically relieved "Great, you're here, please tell me what to do?" look. Our AEO (she was familiar with Chucky, she being one of the ones who took him for walks during his quarantine period) told him to wait, went upstairs and got the couple out of bed and the cops wrote an explanation. The couple gave Chucky the order to stand down, Chucky allowed the burglar to get off the counter and 'escorted' him to the cops waiting outside, then enthusiastically enjoyed steak tartare as reward while his owners scrubbed the counter with bleach because the burglar peed himself while waiting for the cops.

Child's play indeed.

ivanho75,

That may be the case, but here is another interesting statistic. The National Weather Service lighting safety site has statistics that say the over the last 30 years (1981-2010) the U.S. has averaged 54 reported lightning fatalities per year. The statistic for dogs I quoted earlier put Pit Bulls at only 22 deaths and Dogs as a species at 31 deaths. This would suggest that Pit bulls, and dogs as a whole, are safer than being struck randomly by lightning. I'll take those statistics and stop fearing man's best friend.

I hate pit bulls and would like to see them all put down, but I hate home invaders even more.

The statistic for dogs I quoted earlier put Pit Bulls at only 22 deaths and Dogs as a species at 31 deaths. This would suggest that Pit bulls, and dogs as a whole, are safer than being struck randomly by lightning. I'll take those statistics and stop fearing man's best friend.

Says the person who hasn't been struck by lightning yet.

MannToots -

I wouldn't play in a lightning storm. Would you? I wouldn't go near strange pitbulls either. I expect owners of that breed to be extremely cautious. However, as I said before, there's that element of society that loves the fear and respect that owning a large pitbull brings. Doubling down, they love to walk with them NOT ON A LEASH, to show how tough they are. It's a problem compounded by the very nature of pitbulls and wanna be thugs.

I love dogs. I'm sure most pit bulls are fantastic. I just don't see any good reason to own that breed. As was pointed out, the stats for fatalities by pitbulls are so far out of whack compared to other breeds that it's a no brainer.

You do realize that using information from dogbite.org is really not a great idea. They are a biased organization whose purpose is to advocate for the removal of pit bulls. Also, they consider pit bulls to be A pit bull type dog is a combination of dog breeds that includes the American pit bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, American bulldog and any other pure bred or mixed breed dog that is a combination of these dogs. So their numbers will always show that pit bulls are more dangerous since they are combining four breeds or lumping in any dog that someone thinks has a physical trait of any of these dogs.

Pitbull attacks are higher then most other dogs. But lets think about why. More pits are owned by poor, uneducated, and carless people than any other dog. If these people all owned labs then labs would be the dog to fear. This whole thing that the dog its self is the problem is bull@!$%#.

If "it's the owner", then I'm staying away from all pit bull "owners" because I don't trust how they've "trained" their pup. Also, all pet owners should be held fully accountable for the actions of their pets. That means jail time and heavy fines.

Meanwhile, your pet can meet my pet anytime. His name is Sturm Ruger.

Bullets for pit bulls...I love it.

For many years I had a Bull Terrier. For you who aren't familiar with the breed, this is the "Spuds MacKensie" dog. They also used to be fighters and though they don't have the reputaion of the Pit, these are hard as nails tough dogs, and as terriers, pretty intelligent, and just a bit willful.

She was the most wonderful dog. Gentle, in a bull-in-a-china-shop sort of way, with a tail that could give you a heck of a whack when it was wagging. What a love she was. But people often would go out of their way to avoid her and sometimes I'd hear whisperings, "Oh, stay away from that dog, it's one of those mean pit bulls."

She lived a good long life for the breed and I still miss her like crazy. I'm not aware of her ever biting anyone except me, playing around, and I believe had she ever seen anybody abusing a child I'd have been in trouble because she'd probably charged right in there to put a stop to it.

My point is don't judge breeds. The only three breeds I've ever been bitten by were a Chow, a Collie, and a sneaky little Pomeranian.

Pitbull attacks are higher then most other dogs. But lets think about why. More pits are owned by poor, uneducated, and carless people than any other dog. If these people all owned labs then labs would be the dog to fear. This whole thing that the dog its self is the problem is bull@!$%#.

Couldn't agree more - these loyal, intelligent animals get a bad rap too often. Obviously this one is owned by someone who "gets" him.. Hurray for the nanny dogs!

To good Sarcasmo I'll be chucklen every time I think about this today. Thanks. Have a great day USA.

Every dog I've ever had would bark at strangers at the gate. It is part of their territorial instinct. Large dogs tend to scare people who are taught fear by their parents. When a dog is in a fenced yard why are you entering without permission in the first place? I had a chowchow who would protect my child from strangers even other dogs including the female we were allowing to breed with him.

lonereb: "Large dogs tend to scare people who are taught fear by their parents." Thank you...so very true!

I totally agree. My son was attacked by a medium sized mutt at the age of 2 years old. Had to have 7 stitches to the back of his head and 3 under his eye. The owners refused to let me have the dog boarded at my cost to make sure it didn't have rabies as the dog had never been taken to a vet. Had to contact an attorney and the sheriff and go through a lot of red tape but managed to get the sheriff to pick up the dog and take it to a vet to quarantine the dog for 10 days just to make sure. Some people should never own any type of animals.

At the age of 6 my son was again bitten by a friend's dog while at his dad's for the weekend. My ex went completely off the deep end and verbally attacked the friend then told her that when I found out I would probably sue. When I got to the ex's to pick up my son, every one was in hysterics. My son was in tears. I promptly checked the back of his leg where the dog bit him. His jeans weren't even torn and all he had was a quarter size bruise. I managed to get my boy calmed down and when he realized that he was not actually hurt every thing was ok. He was only reacting to his idiot father who was making a huge scene for absolutely no reason. When I asked the friend to see vet records she produced them proving the dog was current on it's vacinations which is my main concern after making sure my child is not harmed.

Said all that to say, my son is now 25 years old and, to this day, will walk up to just about any dog without fear.

By the way, neither dog was a pit bull!

All dogs only mature to the level of a juvenile wolf. It is how we became the alpha dog in their lives. Having seen a wolf and his half wolf offspring grow I saw the difference. At three the wolf was a mature alpha male. At three the pup was still greeting me as a juvenile male would the alpha. Unlike a male dog he kept the mate for life and raise the pups mentality. Since he didn't have pups he raised the kittens of the barn cat that died, with wolf manners though just as his father had taught him.

That's seriously interesting, lonereb, thanks!

Rick, maybe that's the problem with you. Seriously.

Mine is 5 years old...and he will always be my pup!

That's right FRF... My 14 year old pup died last year and it breaks my heart every time I think about it. She was and always will be a puppy to me. Doesn't matter that she was 14.

My only other question was what is a "regular person" doing naming their dog Kilo? Methinks the owner has that dog for a reason... Maybe stopping people from trying to steal his kilos!

Names don't mean what we always think from our perspective. Neither do phrases. The phrase get er done came up yesterday and somene said it was sexual but where the phrase comes from all it means is get the job done. So one I would ask if that meant weight or was a short form of something else.

My 9-year-old black flat-coated retriever is, and always will be, a pup. Even with his gray muzzle and eyebrows. :)

Scott, my thoughts were that Kilo may have been trained to sniff out kilos... as one of the good guys. Hence, the name.

I thought the same thing about it not being a pup. The owner may think of their dog as a pup at any age, but a reporter should report better.

And the name Kilo can also be in reference to weight/size. I knew a horse once named Kilo and she was huge!

And in regards to nature vs nurture with the aggressive tendencies of a pitbull I don't believe that is all in the way you raise/train them. I have helped to deliver newborn foals (horses) that were the sweetest most loving things from the moment they popped out and I have also had the ones that came out with their ears pinned back biting and kicking from the first second. I would guess the same would be in dogs.

My 2 cents.

Our children are always our "babies" even if they are adults. Our dogs are always our "pups", until their last breath is drawn.

Or his "package?"

10,000?!?!

Really?

10,000?

Chau chaus and german shepherds both have just as high if not higher bite rate as pit bulls. So you'll need to eliminate those breeds as well, by your logic. It's not the bread, it's the owner.

I would rather YOU be banned than this specific breed of dog. It's not the breed, it's the owner. I have never met a mean pit, they are very kind, loyal dogs that just want a little loving!

@Brokinarrow: Too true! A friend of mine had her homeowners suspended when she got an Akita. She fought them, and presenterd them with emergency room stats that said the biggest bite offenders are: Cocker Spaniels... I have met many a pit (rotties, shepards and akitas as well), and they have been well behaved dogs that their owners have trained properly.

Ignorant people ( such as yourself) should be banned! Do you realize how blatantly stupid you sound by spouting off statistics without proof? You say 10,000 pit bulls kill anyone within reach? Can you please supply the documentation of this? I mean after all this is a huge secret being kept by 10,000 animal control agents, 10,000 people whose family members have been killed are keeping this secret too. Shouldn't the public be allowed to know that this frightening deadly epidemic is going on within every pit bull household?

I have a lab/pit mix that has never killed a single child or adult. My neighbor down the street has an older deaf pittie that lays out front and the neighborhood children play with her, she has not killed any of them. You must be mistaken about every pit bull killing people within reach.
You are a BUFFOON!

10,000, seriously? Do you have any data to support this claim? Hyperbole such as this just makes people more afraid of pit bulls. Some naive person will read this comment and take it seriously, thus creating more fear and paranoia.

Those of you who don't like pit bulls will never be convinced of their goodness. Those of us who love them will never be convinced that they are evil.

lgough,

pleeeeaaase don't put more2bits into the same category as catpeople. Somebody like him should not have ANY pets.

Nice to seee a GOOD pitbull story in the news.. Wonderful breed.. Blame the Owner, not the breed for the disposition of their dogs.

I am Owned by an English Mastiff.. HUGE dog at 3 he currently weighs in at 165 lbs of pure muscle. Once he gets his bulk on should be between 200 and 260.. People already walk across the street when they see me coming because of his size. Lets just forget the fact that he is the biggest slober monster, I would rather you pet me then anything else, cuddle dog you will ever meet.

Its not the breed its the owners.

Jeremy; you think your dog's big--we currently have a Presa Canario/Great dane mix at our shelter who is 6 months old and 130 already--and he's not done growing yet!

Those "facts" depend on which completely biased website you look at, especially since eyewitness accounts are notoriously unreliable. Truth of the matter is, pit bulls are no better and no worse than any other large breed dog.

Right now, a large amount of stupid people buy pit bulls because they are big and scary looking. They don't neuter them (95% of all dog bites are from un-altered males), they chain them up (chained dogs are more aggressive), or they let them run loose in the neighborhood unsupervised (ANY loose, unsupervised and uncontrolled animal is dangerous).

I volunteer at an animal shelter. We have a big sign in the hallway talking about pit bulls and pit bull behavior. If you want a guard dog, DON'T get a pit bull. They're so friendly and human oriented that they tend to do a lousy job. They have to be really abused to fight; all they want to do is playplayplayplayplay... which in and of itself is dangerous, of course, because we're talking 60lb dogs, here! Training is vital.

We have a policy that dogs who have bitten are not available to the public. Notices are placed on the kennel cards of those animals, since they are available to rescue groups only. You know what breeds have those notices...constantly? Dachshunds and Chihuahuas. Now THOSE are aggressive dogs!

hwilson:

I volunteer at an inner-city shelter--we get more VDHB cases (Vicious Dog Hearing Board) from Chihuahuas, poodles and Chows than Pibbles. We get more returned adoptions on those dogs too!

Of course I don't have to feed my guns.

lol so true! But then again our guns won't wake us up if someone breaks in, so I guess it's still best to have both.

I think golden retrievers are slightly ahead of pits for bites.

I hope Kilo has a rapid and pain free recovery. They should have posted a pic of him.

I had a pit bull and it was fantastic. It is nice to see a Pit Bull story without a negative, but rather positive, as it is in reality, story. Funny how when you say Staffordshire Bull Terrier, every who doesn't know it, says 'oh what a cute dog'. Those who do know, say the same thing, knowing full well that the only difference between a Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the 'mean' Pit Bull, is the name. The genetics are the same, so........................... duh...