As some idiots will post here soon, it's all in how they are raised. Well, this guy just let them run natural. Hmmmmm.............

Of course, we don't really know if these are "pit bull" dogs or one of the many cross bred dogs that the media rushes to call pit bulls. Any time you've got a situation involving multiples of unaltered adult dogs, you've got a recipe for disaster. "Pits" have specific breed behavior and while they can make wonderful pets, people need to educate themselves regarding training/handling. Clearly, the owners were ignorant, neglectful idiots, and now someone else has paid the price.

According to dogbites.org (1982-2011), pit bulls, rottweilers, their close mixes, and wolf hybrids account for:

77% of attacks that induce bodily harm
73% of attacks to children
81% of attack to adults
68% of attacks that result in fatalities
76% that result in maiming

Lots of other dogs bite, but because they're smaller or less powerful, their attacks cause less damage.

Amen AG99 - Should be illegal to own or breed pit-bulls in America. They were breed as fighting dogs NOT pets. Breed the aggression out then we can talk.

weak chris-2252558... humans..dogs..there is a difference

@rmann81 - Yes there is a difference, a human should know how to treat other human beings... A dog doesn't know any different from what the owners teach them!!!

The owner of the dogs should be brought up on negligent homicide charges. He had to know that these dogs were a potential danger and he did not keep them under control. Even places that do not have explicit leash laws require that your dogs be kept under your control. Obviously these dogs were not under anyone's control at the time they killed this person. If you are going to own animals you need to take responsibility for their actions and behavior. If you are not going to do that, then do not get the animals.

Right on, Pedestrian-in-SF! Owners were ignorant and neglectful. 4 pitbulls, 6 pitbull puppies AND two other dogs???? I am all for fostering and adopting pits and pittie mixes, but unless you have an environment conducive and effective for this many animals, it does more harm to them than good. And, I agree that unaltered animals-especially that many together--is a recipe for disaster! I am sorry for the loss of that man's life, but the owners needs to be held accountable!

chris-2252558 I had a friend who had a pit, yes it was registered as a pit through CKC, and the damn thing went bat crazy on his wife. These dogs are breed to be hostile and fight and if you are lucky you may get one that it has been breed out of. I say make the owners carry a serious amount of insurance and hold them reliable for anything that happens.

According to the neighbor, these same dogs killed his dog a month earlier.. yet they are still running around? Did he report the incident, and if so, what did the animal control office do?

Chris, you start by saying "then with your logic..." and then you go on to state some of the most illogical thoughts I have seen in a long time... I think you're just trying to argue.

Well said.

As the neighbor said these dogs had killed his dog. These dogs were a threat to the neighborhood. Any owner of a dangerous dog/s that is let to run loose should not be surprised if his dog/s never comes home.

You don't let pit bulls loose on the neighborhood, ever. Many areas and a few states penalize owners heavily for that.

They might be sweet pets for the owners and smart but they have fighting on their genes.

One of our neighbors have a pit-bull and a rottweiler much bigger and stronger. The rottweiler is very gentle and avoid the pit-bull, but the Pit is always provoking and fighting him and getting real hurt and bloody all the time. The reason why he haven't got killed yet is because the rott respects his owner even when he's not around.

You don't let dog packs run loose in your neighborhood. Four adult pits, six puppies, two others? And I'd guess all had not been neutered. This is a pack, and they're going to act with a pack mentality. This owner is most definitely at fault and should be brought up on charges. But, why had there been no previous calls to animal control? If my dog was killed I'd surely be reporting it. If I was unable to get out of my car due to a hostile dog pack - I'd be dialing 911 from within the car! I have a rott mix, a pit mix, and a husky mix. All great, loving dogs, but also trained to know that humans are their leaders. Dogs that roam free in packs are a hazard to all!

A pit bull is an aggressive animal by nature, so it goes that despite training them from birth that they'll eventually follow their nature. This story racks up more evidence as to why these dogs have no place in our society.

This has very little to do with the breed of the dog. All dogs have teeth, and can be a danger to babies or children or adults--[except those useless little dogs that have centimeter wide legs that have been bred for pigheaded owners]. This owner was negligent and willfully ignorant of the danger his dogs posed in the community. He should be charged with second degree murder or manslaughter at the very least.

The article states that authorities didn't reveal whether the owners would face charges.

The owners must ABSOLUTELY face charges! The owners are the ones who harbored dangerous animals and, whether intentionally or negligently, allowed those dangerous animals to escape into a public area, where they wound up killing someone. (Does anybody out there wish to deny that these dogs were dangerous?)

If these owners are not charged with felony manslaughter, then it must simply be...okay for one's pet to killl someone.

Michael, you're kind of special aren't you? Pitt bulls , or ANY dog breed can become vicious, and can be trained to be vicious. If the owner was not a good person, and encouraged rough, violent behavior, then that would be why.

Rottweilers are scary too, but they're not in the news as much anymore. When I was a kid, I was cornered by one, and had I not had my Spitz with me, I imagine it would have tore me to pieces. Do I like Rottweilers? Yup. Won't own one, but I don't judge all based on a few isolated events.

It all depends on how the owner raised the animal. Period.

Thank God it wasn't Chihuahuas again.

Agree 100%. The people who owns these animals should be charged with negligent homicide. Any dog breed that has a history of being aggresive towards human being should be outlawed from ownership except in the case of commercial guard animals. My neighbors have three of these dogs annd I have told them in no uncertain terms they had better hope their animals never harm anyone on my property or even if they are walking down the street. Pitt bull dogs are the ones you most often here about when it comes to hurting anyone including their owners and their family's.

Dumb, I have one, a mix, and she is sweet as sin. So docile that at the park I have to watch her so she doesn't get picked on. It's down right embarrassing, but that's what love and kindness does. Dogs that kill are products of neglect and abuse and the owners should be responsible when cause harm, especially if they have a pack of them.

These people had 12 dogs, pretty sure that is more likely the root of this than the breed. Put enough big dogs together and neglect/abuse them and they are going to hurt someone. Pitts unfortunately are far better designed at killing stuff than most, so when they attack, the odds of a death are much greater.

Bah - Ok how many people who were then attacked by their own dog said in articles just like this "That I have one and it is just sweet as sin. Must be the owners". Wake up people its not the owners its the DOG. That's like being surprised if a shark takes a bite out of you when your in the ocean with it. Must be the owner then right? Face it you can be "nice" to it and it may never do anything. Problem is they can also go off like a powder keg and all the people that want to come on here and say "Not my dog" I graciously say your full of crap.

Dan said:

Wake up people its not the owners its the DOG.

I am a longtime volunteer at an inner-city animal shelter that is about 60-80% pits at any one given time and also worked dispatch for my municipality's animal control and a court recorder for VDHB cases (Vicious Dog Hearing Board). I've seen good and bad in every breed of dog. I've seen good and bad in every owner. When bad dog meets bad owner that's where problems happen.

Poor genetics and poor ownership are the leading causes of human/animal bite fatalities. I'm not going to lie and say I haven't seen some aggressive pits, but neither will I say that I haven't seen some of the nicest, quietest, most loving dogs also be pits.

I have only had two dogs come in on a bite case that were licensed, registered, purebred , pedigreed dogs whose parents were carefully selected for intelligence, even temperament and affectionate and loving natures. The two pedigreed dogs who came in on a bite case were Cocker Spaniels. (they even have a special name for it: Cocker rage.)

EVERY pit type that we have ever gotten in front of the VDHB on a bite case (haven't yet had a human fatality in my five years of volunteering at the shelter) has been a backyard-bred dog whose parents were selected for the enlarged adrenal gland, then supplemented by leaving the male intact and assisted by massive doses of steroids and illegal drugs.

These ghetto breeders temperament test each puppy, pick out the most aggressive, then sell the other puppies to a family as a family pet without warning them that the puppy's parents had a higher aggression index than normal. It is these puppies who, while they may have grown up in a loving, caring, nurturing home with plenty of exercise, can have mental instabilities.

And it's not the dog's fault, it's the dog's genetics; it is what its parents' owner bred it to be. If we humans don't like the traits the dog exhibits we can have the dog euthanized or sterilized to keep it from passing on bad genetics, thereby removing the behavior from the genetic pool.

Instead of going after the dog for becoming what we humans made it to be, let's go after the humans who made it what it is.

Dogs that are caged or in any other way not family oriented are potential killers. I doubt that any state on a per capita basis have more Pit Bulls than we have in Hawaii. It is clear that those that are family dogs do not attack anyone unless a member of their family is threatened. On the other hand, there are far too many people here that treat their dogs poorly. Those dogs are killers.

My last dog before the one I have now that is part pit, was a Rot. We used to put the infant of the next door neighbor on the living room rug and the Rot would patrol the area and make sure no one stepped on the baby. That dogs father was a trained guard dog by his master that was a prison guard. That dog almost tore his cage apart when it saw me and the owner says he cannot let it near his children.

I'm not saying there is a way to make all dogs harmless but we sure as hell need to blame the owners if their dogs do harm.

Another thing about Pit Bulls, and most other dogs, if there are more than a couple of them to a family, they tend to get to their pack mentality. They may resort o hunting for food and people are great food for dogs.

This is just info and not DOGma, if I may make a pun.

Was the pack being bred for the fighting trade?

If so are the prosecutors interested in developing the facts of a case? Breeding for the fighting ring?

There are many good dogs of the bull breeds,there are dangerous dogs of almost all breeds. Crossing aggressive terriers with large body Bull types?

Ancestors of the official English Bulldog (the low squat one with lots of medical problems) looked like today's Pits and Staffordshires?

David, most of the time in these cases people are breeding for profit. Many of these pitbulls wind up in dog fights or working for drug dealers, but these breeders don't care as long as they get their couple hundred $ for the pup.

Same old story. Dogs bred to fight doing what they are bred to do, followed by the pit bull apologists.

This line from the article caught my eye:

Liberty Animal Control Services, which handles pet issues in the area, said it had not received any earlier calls about the pit bulls.

Liberty is a for-profit privatized animal control company. If they had gotten prior calls about this particular pack and these owners, they would not come straight out and say so because they could then be liable for not doing more to keep the death from happening.

I would investigate the claim that no prior complaints had been called about the pack. If, as was reported by the neighbor, another dog had already been killed by this same pack, that incident should definitely have been reported, if not to the animal control service then to the 911 operator for that municipality.

One other thing to consider: as a private company they would be responsible for their employees' medical bills if hurt while on the job (their employees trying to impound these dogs.) That may have been a factor in the company either getting a report and choosing not to respond, then wiping all record of complaints so they wouldn't be held liable later.

starderup;

It takes a very specific set of genetics and circumstances to develop a pit-type pup into a fighting dog. Let me give you an example.

Meet Manny, named for the boxer Manny Pacquiao. Before he is six weeks old his owner has hit him to see if Manny will protest. When Manny bares his teeth and growls at being hit, the owner separates him from his mother and the rest of his brothers and sisters. Manny lives in a dog crate kept dark and quiet; his only contact is with his owner. Over the next year, Manny is kept isolated, injected with massive doses of steroids and other illegal drugs to raise his testosterone and adrenaline level, tied to a treadmill and forced to run for hours in order to bulk up his muscle and increase his size.

Then one day his owner doesn't feed him. For a week Manny is given the barest minimum of food to keep him alive. He gets hungrier and hungrier. One day his owner opens the crate takes him out, and puts him on a floor inside a dogfighting ring. There is a smaller puppy in there--one of his brothers, but Manny doesn't know that. All he can smell is the raw meat tied around this other puppy's (called a bait dog) body, and all he knows is that he is hungry and this is food. He tries to bite the raw meat.

The puppy tries to defend itself, biting, scratching. Manny, angry that his food won't hold still for him to eat it, kills the puppy and eats the meat tied around it. His owner praises him, puts him back in the crate. Another week, it happens again. And again. Soon the owner graduates to not tying the meat around the 'bait dog' anymore but presents it as a reward after Manny kills the bait dog. Manny quickly learns if I kill the other dog, I can eat.

Then one day he fails to kill the other dog. His owner swears, curses, grabs a wooden bat and beats Manny. Manny is thrown back in his crate bleeding, and no food or medical attention is given. He is left alone until the injuries heal, then is presented to the same dog to whom he lost the fight. this time Manny kills the other dog, and get petted, praised, and finally gets food.

But Manny can't win them all, and one day he loses again--this time, the other dog inflicts terrible injuries on him. His owner, who has a lot of money riding on the bets that Manny would win, loses his temper. H grabs a bat and beats Manny as Manny lies on the floor unable to get up; blood is everywhere. Eventually he stops, but he's gone too far; Manny can't move because his owner has broken his legs. The owner raises his bat and brings it down on Manny's head. It takes several lows because Manny's head is massive, a result of the injected steroids, but eventually the owner caves in Manny's skull. Manny's body is then dragged out of the fighting ring, out to a nearby woods, and left there to decompose while his owner goes to find another fighting dog.

(Yes, we got in a 'Manny' at our shelter, a dog that a hunter found in the woods whose skull had been crushed but was still alive. We euthanized him as quickly as we could so he wouldn't suffer anymore but an animal autopsy (called a necropsy) performed by a local vet turned up steroids, artificial testosterone, amphetamines and a whole host of other illegal drugs, plus old wounds like fractured ribs.)

I love animals and never blame them for their behavior, I only blame humans for being irresponsible.

Pit bulls are an intentional mixture of the most aggressive breeds with the purpose of fighting (in case some still don't know, dog breeds have been created and developed by humans, from wolves. Some breeds very gentle, others, aggressive).

"In April of 1989, legislators in Miami-Dade county enacted an ordinance that made it illegal to own or possess a pit bull dog while living in the county".

Killings not only of other animals or dogs, but very many humans by pit bulls have been documented all over the U.S. and the world. The reason why many pit-bull laws exist.

If you own pit bulls, as well as if you own firearms, that is your choice. But you're responsible for your choice, always.

Manslaughter charges coming??????????

Four pits all together?? That is what guns are for. In city or out. 12 gauge with 4 shot, end of story!!

Were it my driveway, the 5-cent solution would provide an explosive conclusion to the potential problem of the neighbor's 'cuddly' pit bull going postal. In my absence, my wife knows how to aim and shoot also.

I'm thinking of getting myself a nice docile Siberian Tiger. I'm pretty sure he won't hurt me or anyone else. It's just not in their nature !!

Michael Vick moved to Fresno?

those weiner dogs... they are kill'n machines...the deadly weiner dog...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cklyufn2_Ak

I actually live in Central California and the pit bulls most people have here are gangster dogs. They are not the finely bred pit bulls (AmStaffs, I believe) that so many tout as gentle family pets. Many of the Central California pits have been bred from the "baddest" female to the "baddest" male to get the baddest of the bad pup. Somehow it is a badge of honor to have a fighting pit that is willing and able to kill. These dogs (the California dogs) are time-bombs just ticking, waiting for their moment to prove their "worth."

I personally can't imagine why, after the one man's dog was killed that something wasn't done, that the authorities weren't called. Selma is a rather small town and a little "redneckish" (no offense intended) so perhaps the owner of the killed dog was just not willing to cause trouble.

Many homeowner's insurance agencies in California specifically ban pit bulls ( and some other "power" dogs) and they absolutely won't give coverage. I have never owned a pit and I never will if it is a California dog. They are just too unpredictably predictable. The man who died was just another statistic of poorly bred, backyard bred California pit bulls. The baddest of the bad.

Central California is gangster heaven so it is no surprise that pit bulls are so popular. I travel through Bakersfield every December on the way to my Mother's home in Monterey. They have to barb wire the signs on the freeway overpasses to keep the gangster graffiti off. Prisons all over. I don't own a gun but I'd own a couple if I lived in Central California. My sister lives in Sacramento. Bloods, Crips, Nortenos. AB's. They all love pit bulls. It would take about 100 Lhasa Apsos to take a person down. Yep, I love my Lhasas.

For all of those commenting on how pitbulls are aggressive by nature...thats not true...in fact its quite the opposite....they are very affectionate and loyal if raised in a proper environment. Pitbulls are made aggressive by the owners...and thats a fact. If you do any research, you will find that pitbulls need constant attention and caring owners....its the neglect, chaining them outside, beating them, starving them, etc that turns them aggressive....but thats true with ANY animal.

Join the group on Facebook: Demand truth is dog bite reports. Then read everyday how a dog bites, mauls, etc a human... and oh gasp.... it isn't a pitbull doing it...All dog breeds do this, all the time, all over. It is the owners responsibility to take care of their animals....these are animals....

ONCE AGAIN, IT'S NOT THE DOG IT'S THE OWNER. PERIOD. I have raised many breeds of pitbulls. I have a Rottweiler right now. If you take a dog, any dog, and beat it until it bites it will bite. If you train a dog to kill it will kill. This isn't just about Pit Bulls. Colby,Dibo,Mason/Staffordshire terrior. It doesn't matter. If you breed a dog to it's sister who happens to be his mother well it isn't a very good dog. Inbreeding is a problem. These gangsta dogs are the unhappy result of ignorant fools who think they know breeding. They don't know &rap. These fools who are members of gangs are not very intelligent in the first place. I hope the owner of these four dogs goes to jail for a very long time. This is his fault, not the dogs. These dogs were created monsters, not born that way. Even an inbred dog can lead a happy normal life. It may act like kid on a reality show. "Show me the money". What does a child yell when she is calling for her daddy. On some of these popular reality shows it would be "Uncle Bob". Lets face it. If a dog is trained to fight in a pit then all it knows is death and pain. Period. I just wish these fools would realize that.

Of course if you don't care if you live or die then you probably don't care about your neighbor. Gang bangers should not be allowed to own a dog. I wouldn't have sold a dog to someone of that ilk for a million dollars. This is why here in Southern Illinois so many dogs are shot on sight. We have leash laws. If a dog is running loose it's dead meat. Sharpei, pit bull, or any large breed. Period. This is why my dog is with us 24/7. If we go somewhere without it we make sure the doors and windows are locked.If I take my dog to the park we don't turn our back on it. We throw the frissbe and when we are done we put a leash on her. If some other large dog comes up and causes problems then I take care of it. Not my dog.

Anyone who owns a dog who has been trained for the pit and lets it run loose is not just a fool but a criminal. This guy is responsible for what these dogs did. It's obvious that these dogs were trained in an unethical manner. Dogs can be trained for protection by professionals. They can be trained as a "Schutzhund". These dogs are perfectly safe as long as they are supervised. You won't see a police officer turning his dog out at night. Period.

buckwheat elvis all California Urban areas have gangs. As most of Americas urban cities have gangs. Hell they even have Crips in Utah. Salt lake city. No BS

Selma is a smaller town near Fresno. Not as bad but close to Fresno. And Id say LA has a bigger gang problem than the Central Valley. As for Sacramento there are more regular people than gangs. Nice place really.

Bottom line? No matter the breed, if your dog, or dogs, attack, harm, injure, or kill another human, you will be held accountable both criminally and civil. Small dogs who are off-leash and run into traffic can cause accidents, etc. Doesn't matter what the breed is, or the size of the dog, you are still culpable. If you can't handle the responsibility, and the possibility of the consequences, then don't have dogs.

Just euthanize the stupid owner and the animals since they are beyond repair due this idiot's lack of care.

Sorry pit lovers, but for every feel good story you come up with that shows just how loving and peaceful your pit is with your children, I can find you 10 other examples of pits suddenly going bat@!$%# and killing other pets, kids, and/or adults.

The thing is, there is no genetic predisposition for violence in these dogs, science has already disproved that theory. In fact the top 3 biters are actually Dachshunds, Chihuahuas and Jack Russell terriers. Any animal can suddenly turn and bite the hand that feeds it. The difference is, if a Chihuahua goes bat@!$%# and attacks you, the chance for major injury is small. That is not so in the case of a pit.

As with just about every other subject that comes up for discussion on the net, there are
SO many ignorant people who have no business commenting, other than to spout off with their scared or uninformed crap.

For everybody's information, the history of this breed precludes violence toward humans. Starting back when these dogs were bred for actual fighting several hundred years ago, (yes this goes to before the colonization of this continent) The breeders/owners were not the pit handlers, which required someone other than a person that the dog was aquainted with to climb in the pit during the heat of battle for various reasons. Due to this fact, the breed was actually very carefully bred to not exhibit ANY violence toward humans. So much so, that the slightest indication of any inclination of aggression toward humans garnered an immediate destruction of the dog, even if just a puppy not yet weaned. This was done for hundreds of years and the tendency was for all intent and purpose bred out of them.

For this reason the Pit Bull breed was actually considered one of the best family dogs to exist for many many decades. I personally was raised with a couple of them over the years and even raised my children with one who just happened to be the most loving animal we have ever had. Forget the whole gaurd dog thing, for that she was worthless, but she was a great companion to us all.

With all of that said, I will try once more to explain the dynamics of this issue for those too lazy or illiterate to research this for themselves. This was not an issue with this breed until certain dispicable people decided to start inbreeding this dog. As with any animal which is inbred long enough you start to get undesirable traits, one of which is aggression and a retardation of the abilities to control these emotions or instincts. Yes this even happens in humans. Now when you take the parasites who have inbred these dogs for profit, and who raise them to be aggressive then you have a recipe for disaster. (Gang Bangers and Drug Dealers are infamous for this) The problem for the average person who happens to aquire one of these animals is that they are ignorant of this fact and quite often come accross one of these inbred llines several generations down the line. The dog may very well be sweet one day, and then just turn on its owner the next. Just like the Doberman which was known for turning on its owner or a family member. The reason for this is partly due to the cross between a large skull dog breed and a small skull dog breed, which made the brain too large for the skull in many of them. Add to this the extensive inbreeding which was necessary to "refine" the breed and you have the Dr. Frankenstein recipe for disaster. The key to a good pet is to research and vet the line of the dog and confirm proper breeding. So many people like to get this breed on the cheap by buying unpapered pups, but all that does is invite a very powerful animal into your home that can not be varified as to proper breeding, which does invite the potential for aggression.

You all must also realize that the miscreants who have created this mess are not exactly the brightest or the most educated, and their ignorance of genetics is the glaring cause. Add to the mix a selfish desire for profit at all costs and this is what you get. This is a fact.....And they think it's cool.

Then you add into the mix, the aggressive training of some jerk wads and one day voila', you have a tragic death.

So, before we go off half cocked and call for the genocide of a very beautiful breed, how about we legislate regulations on the breeding of these animals requiring every owner to present proof of good lineage. Those who can't present automatically have their dogs altered and those who can provide proof are the only ones eligible to breed. Make the fines/sentences stiff enough to seriously curtail the desire to participate in this kind of activity. That way we don't have to do like the ignorant asses in the past and try to make an animal go extinct.

Chris from Yucaipa

Your assertion that you can provide ten stories of the breed going batsh-t crazy, for every one of the loving family dog stories is absolutely bu7llsh-t. You are obviously somewhat informed as to the genetics of the breed and their non-propensity as a breed for biting and aggression. Your statement however is nothing but pure exageration and you know it. So just knock it off. OK?

studied a bit of geneology in the past,lost hope in it because I was pretty confident that the milkman or the mailman or the plumber or the tax collector must have seemed pretty hot to some of the women in my past many generations.

But I digress,perhaps animal breeding is a much more manicured process.

I think I'm a fairly good guy, I just hope I don't start collecting taxes all of sudden for no apparent reason

GET A FREAKING POODLE OR A COLLIE OR ANY OTHER BREED!!!!

I'm trying to reply & your stupid website won't let me. Pit Bulls are not the problem, it's the owners

Amanda-2017567, you are in the small percentage of the intelligent comments on this thread...and I thank you for that. I continue to be amazed at the stupidity (although I shouldn't be) of most of the comments made on here about pits. I have worked at 2 humane societies and know exactly what you are saying.

Bigdogmom1, you too have got it right. It's a shame that gansters, drug dealers, dog fighters, and "those" kind of people are even allowed to own an animal...and I mean ANY race or nationality. It would be nice if there was a crystal ball that could tell us who all those people are so they couldn't be allowed to be close to or own ANY animal. And of course the media doesn't help matters either when they report this stuff.

Those dogs in this story AND the man that died are the victims in this situation. If those owners are not held responsible for this man's death, something is truly wrong with law enforcement in that town.

In my opinion, people who treat any animal bad will answer to a higher authority in the end. God bless all the precious fur babies in this world~~

I have 3 pitts of my own & they would never hurt anyone unless someone was to try to hurt me! I sick of the media putting negative info on our breed of pitt bulls

Contrarian001

Chris from Yucaipa

Your assertion that you can provide ten stories of the breed going batsh-t crazy, for every one of the loving family dog stories is absolutely bu7llsh-t. You are obviously somewhat informed as to the genetics of the breed and their non-propensity as a breed for biting and aggression. Your statement however is nothing but pure exageration and you know it. So just knock it off. OK?

Point out the exaggeration please. It doesn't take much thought to know that the bite of a Chihuahua is going to do less damage than the bite of a Pit Bull.

My neighbors had a pit bull, pure breed with documentation. They had it from a puppy, treated it with love, fed it, cared for it, let it sleep at the foot of their bed. When they had their son, the first summer they were out in the back yard and the infant was in an outdoor crib. A moment's inattention and the dog ripped the child from the blankets and tore him apart, killing him. It was said that the dog became jealous and wanted to remove its competition for attention. It was such a loving animal up until that point.

Once again AG99 is wrong on his own facts. Go to his source and you will see he took fact they listed and chose only what he wanted to list. Those totals he listed are for mixed breeds and not PIT BULLS alone. First of all, thers no such breed as a "pit bull", there called American bull terriers.

Speak the truth.. You are full of it..

Denver Colorado won't allow a PIT BULL in the City. I wonder if those people are crazy or have the sense

to know what will kill. GOOOOO Denver.

Pitbulls have been interbred to the point that they are vicious no matter how the owners train them.This man that was mauled to death was from Mexico(illegal immigrant) and the authorities are searching for his family.This family in Selma,who owned the pitbull's,were breeding them to sell.they should be held in prison on manslaughter charges.The news up here already has forgotten about the guy who was killed by this pack of dogs.It is unacceptable to me that people posting here will defend a dog over a human beings life.

I could go around and around about good/bad dogs, breed specific, etc. I have goldens, have for 20 years, and I know the badly bred ones are vicious little buggers. I see one on a regular basis on the beach and hate that dog.. Bad owner there, no sense for training him, socializing, stopping bad behavior, thinking his possessive alpha behavior with people he liked was cute. My golden boy did not, and they have tangled and my dog is not a fighter at all, just gets annoyed with alpha behavior like this golden's... the only time he bears his teeth actually. Likewise, I have a friend who fosters pit bulls, has 3 now and one cattle dog. I was guilty of breed fear with the pits, but am hopelessly in love with these furries, and all have ugly backgrounds. One of them is quite a flirt and my golden boy is in love with her...

Having said all that, read the posts, my thought is this: if its true that these same dogs killed a neighbor's dog a month ago, WTF time is it in his head that he did not get the owner arrested then, dogs removed or, if he did report it, and the animal control or police did nothing, sorry kids, this is when I take matters into my own hands.. Let the owner sue me... Arrested? probably, but once it hits the news that a grief-stricken neighbor took matters into his own hands, there will be no sympathy for the pitties owner.. None... I love dogs, LOVE them, more than the majority of people. I know how to defend myself if attacked by ONE (thumbs in the eyes, with gusto; compliments of a Pennsylvania K9 trainer), but 6 and pits?? Not a chance.

Golden, pit, cocker, or ankle biter... they kill my dog, or make me a prisoner in my home or car, I go out however I need to protect myself.. I'd be devastated to have to kill a dog, but truly, I kinda like all my body parts where they are, and my 2 dogs are too dear to let them be hurt...

Pit Bulls are irresponsible hunters - they never eat what they kill.

maybe the neighbor was just a @!$%# who prevoked the dogs !

All domestic dogs, big or small, are the descendants of wolves and will behave as such in the absence of a strong human pack leader. Even an ankle-biter will dominate you and everyone in your house if you let it. The compact we made with our canine companions requires us to provide them with firm but fair leadership in return for their companionship and enhanced senses. We have failed them. Pitbulls are smart and loyal and wonderful around kids. They are remarkably tolerant of the abuse children can inflict. They have been an ideal companion for children for generations. Petey from the Little Rascals was a pitbull. It's only been 30 years or so since gang members started collecting them as status symbols along with gold-plated Glocks and blinged-out SUVs, essentially reducing the animal to a living, breathing phallic symbol for insecure boys with tiny pee-pees.

Another Pit Bull attack killing a person--

Sorry, the breed is not banned. Less Rottweilers, and Dobermans these days.It's time.

Not against dogs; having 2 ownerships of family breed dogs. Please people, research, and research before one buys a dog, how it will fit into your family, and/or neighborhood. Also Rescue Dogs--take them to a Vet before taking a dog home, and get good check out of the temperament, the "mix", and health.

Many dogs bite because they are bored, in ill health, injured, or frightened. A recipe for biting, even the owner who thinks they are the "Alpha Dog"..

*sigh*... when will people learn..Keeps sticking up for them guys its great population control for the trashy people that like this breed. Fact i live in CA in a city with the highest rates of pits. Fact, every one i have ever come into contact with (quite a few) has been nice up until they turn vicious at the drop of a hat. People try to bring them to dog parks, they bite and viciously attack other dogs. In carmel during my last trip there two pit bull owners sat down and chatted together about how sweet,caring, gentle dogs they had. I sat down to watch because i knew it would go down. 3 min into the convo the dogs started attacking each other. I laughed except for they almost knocked some pedestrians over including children. No other dog fights that day. Yaaaa it got reallllly quiet after that. keep it up guys. If a ballot ever comes up, i will vote to stop the breeding, selling and owning of this breed that people stick their heads in the sand about. FYI i have come into contact with hundreds of pits in my 25 years of life.

Kill the dogs and sentence their owners to life in prison as a lesson for others! These reports have been appearing far too frequently! We don't need dangerous dogs anywhere!

Pit bulls actually "are" good dogs when raised correctly. The problem lies in when they're in "Packs".

It's in a canines nature to survive when in packs even if they are fed well and raised good. One dog feeds off of another dogs actions.

When one dog shows interest in checking something out, as in, this guy, the other dogs naturally join in not even realizing the harm they're doing. It's in their nature. Theirs something in their head that just clicks and off they go until the fun is over.

The owner will be charged for involuntary manslaughter. Especially the fact that they killed the neighbors dog a month earlier. This was a warning sign that was blatantly ignored. If a neighbors dog ever killed one of my children, the cops better get to that neighbor before I do. You can count on that.

RIP dude. That had to be a very painful and terrorizing way to go man.....

You really can not argue with people about their dogs , because even though some say their dogs are smart , the owners themselves are not.

A little left over or cheap anti-freeze could have solved the neighborhood problem. A shotgun would work too , since he lived outside the city limits. Cats and dogs need to either be on a leash or off the streets.

Avid motorcyclist and bird watcher sends.

Did you see the recent article earlier in the week about the white couple breeding/fighting/killing dogs in their home with their five kids in residence, Doug?

And who exactly are "these people" that you refer to?!?!?! They did not show the owners in the video nor is there a picture of the owner with the article. I would point out that the people they did show were all white. It sounds like you are making some very bigoted assumptions about the owner without any facts to back it up.

Or maybe you are JS in SD. "These" can account for all races. It's you who put the color in the sentence.

Did you see the recent article earlier in the week about the white couple breeding/fighting/killing dogs in their home with their five kids in residence, Doug?

Maybe they were white, but the last name of the couple was Santiago.

'Santiago' is a Spanish European derivation of 'Saint James', as in Church of Saint James, or 'Saint Iago' Spain is a European country and their people are identified as white Hispanic.

I would respectfully like to point out that it is what YOU do that matters, not what your last name is, where you come from, what ethnic background you are or what you call your God.

Why do people bring race into something like this? Idiots and psychos come in all colors and nationalities. Stop with the racial nonsense folks!

Having a Spanish Surname does not automatically specify a person as Hispanic. Just like Smith does not automatically mean your not Hispanic. But they could be who knows at this point.

Doug Logan can you elaborate on your comment, their culture.

it doesn't matter what race he is referring to....he profiled and stereotyped a particular demographical group by using "their culture"! Call a Spade ...a Spade! With that said, I have a pit who has the weetest disposition...I know she is somewhat of an anomaly given the reputation of her breed and their inate tendencies to be agrresive dogs...but I do think that it does have something to do with the way a dog is raised as well...These tendencies can be accented, intensified and ultimately amplified...or they can; with ALOT of effort, be abridged or curtailed!

Islamdboi- yours may be the EXCEPTION rather than the norm. There are 100 other breeds to choose from that do not have the history of pit bulls. Why bet your neighbors or children's futures on yours NEVER turning and going off?

J burk, actually it is the other way around. It is the biting pitbull that is the exception. These are all you here about as the news has a tendency not to care of the other thousands of pitbulls who are nice. One of mine once saved my 1 year old from falling down the second floor stairs. She's 33 now. All of my children were raised with pitbulls in the house. Unfortunately there are those who mis breed these dogs as they are still actually using them to fight or guard their drug caches. Some live vicariously through their mean dogs soas to think of themselves as tough. These are all human frailties that cross over to what I know is a wonderful breed of dog and sully their existence. It is totally unfair to indict an entire breed or race of any species for the few that give the rest a bad name. You are not the only on who has been brainwashed by the media.

I bet some alligators are nice too, but I don't want some idiot raising them in my neighborhood. There are a million other breeds. This one is not essential. People are too stupid to have the option to raise a breed of dogs that can do this much damage. PLEASE outlaw this breed because outlawing idiots, unfortunately, is not an option.

My question is why they didn't take all if the owners animals? He has already been shown to be a negligent owner.

"Pit Bulls are employed as police/armed services dogs, search and rescuers, therapy animals, and livestock workers. They compete in all manner of organized dog sports, from herding to agility to conformation to obedience and the bite sports like Schutzhund and French Ring."

Travis - Think about this. The entire country seems to be on a witch hunt to get this breed of dog destroyed. Of course the media will constantly report on this breed, even if there are a handful of incidents. They always make it sound like the dogs were just born that way, when 90% of the time they were raised to be vicious, and violent. So BAD PEOPLE who own Pit Bulls will eventually devastate someone's life and make the news.

Do a little research on the breed love. You might find that they are a great breed. Watch Animal Planet, if it's not too difficult. But I'm going to guess you dislike animals anyway.

As with just about every other subject that comes up for discussion on the net, there are
SO many ignorant people who have no business commenting, other than to spout off with their scared or uninformed crap.

For everybody's information, the history of this breed precludes violence toward humans. Starting back when these dogs were bred for actual fighting several hundred years ago, (yes this goes to before the colonization of this continent) The breeders/owners were not the pit handlers, which required someone other than a person that the dog was aquainted with to climb in the pit during the heat of battle for various reasons. Due to this fact, the breed was actually very carefully bred to not exhibit ANY violence toward humans. So much so, that the slightest indication of any inclination of aggression toward humans garnered an immediate destruction of the dog, even if just a puppy not yet weaned. This was done for hundreds of years and the tendency was for all intent and purpose bred out of them.

For this reason the Pit Bull breed was actually considered one of the best family dogs to exist for many many decades. I personally was raised with a couple of them over the years and even raised my children with one who just happened to be the most loving animal we have ever had. Forget the whole gaurd dog thing, for that she was worthless, but she was a great companion to us all.

With all of that said, I will try once more to explain the dynamics of this issue for those too lazy or illiterate to research this for themselves. This was not an issue with this breed until certain dispicable people decided to start inbreeding this dog. As with any animal which is inbred long enough you start to get undesirable traits, one of which is aggression and a retardation of the abilities to control these emotions or instincts. Yes this even happens in humans. Now when you take the parasites who have inbred these dogs for profit, and who raise them to be aggressive then you have a recipe for disaster. (Gang Bangers and Drug Dealers are infamous for this) The problem for the average person who happens to aquire one of these animals is that they are ignorant of this fact and quite often come accross one of these inbred llines several generations down the line. The dog may very well be sweet one day, and then just turn on its owner the next. Just like the Doberman which was known for turning on its owner or a family member. The reason for this is partly due to the cross between a large skull dog breed and a small skull dog breed, which made the brain too large for the skull in many of them. Add to this the extensive inbreeding which was necessary to "refine" the breed and you have the Dr. Frankenstein recipe for disaster. The key to a good pet is to research and vet the line of the dog and confirm proper breeding. So many people like to get this breed on the cheap by buying unpapered pups, but all that does is invite a very powerful animal into your home that can not be varified as to proper breeding, which does invite the potential for aggression.

You all must also realize that the miscreants who have created this mess are not exactly the brightest or the most educated, and their ignorance of genetics is the glaring cause. Add to the mix a selfish desire for profit at all costs and this is what you get. This is a fact.....And they think it's cool.

Then you add into the mix, the aggressive training of some jerk wads and one day voila', you have a tragic death.

So, before we go off half cocked and call for the genocide of a very beautiful breed, how about we legislate regulations on the breeding of these animals requiring every owner to present proof of good lineage. Those who can't present automatically have their dogs altered and those who can provide proof are the only ones eligible to breed. Make the fines/sentences stiff enough to seriously curtail the desire to participate in this kind of activity. That way we don't have to do like the ignorant asses in the past and try to make an animal go extinct.

whatever you say mr. bureaucrat. kill all the dogs as quickly and painlessly as possible. the owner however, should be shot in the stomach and tied to a tree till he dies. have a nice day.

Contrarian001....THANK YOU too for your intelligent comment on this thread!!! I own 2 Dobermans at this time, adopted from a Doberman Rescue, and have had a Doberman in my life since 1976. They too are an incredible, amazing, loving, sweet breed, but often labeled as mean and aggressive. My 2 dober-girls even have a rescued Siamese cat brother and a Yorkie sister.

I am a strong believer in spaying and neutering! And strongly against BSL, which I believe should be againt the law.

I especially like your last 3 paragraphs on your comment. You nailed that PERFECTLY!!! Again, thank you for your intelligent comment!!

Contrar..That's all well and good..but for every responsible pitbull owner out there,,there is one like the owners in this article.

I raised and showed dogs for many years, and have been around many breeds at the shows over the years, and the ONLY dog that ever attacked me was a Pitbull when I was out walking one of my dogs one afternoon. I never found out who owned the animal. I fought him off my dog with a stick and he ran off.

I agree that all animals used for breeding, pitbull and otherwise should be personality tested and certified. Their Pedigree tracked back at least 4 generations.

Most responsible breeders require "Companion" animals be spayed/Neutered, but it's the people like shown here who will breed Anything so long as it's purebred.

I have a pit who has the sweetest disposition...I know she is somewhat of an anomaly given the reputation of her breed and their inate tendencies to be agrresive dogs...but I do think that it does have something to do with the way a dog is raised as well...These tendencies can be accented, intensified and ultimately amplified...or they can; with ALOT of effort, be abridged or curtailed!

As for the inbreeding "issue"...from a scientific perspective....yes diversity does lend to stability and viablity (MOST of the time) but not always! I don't believe that genetics is the sole determinant of what we are seeing in this breed...if you look at this animal's abiogenetics...you'll see that this breed was actually a result of CROSS-BREEDING...with that said, i'm also not saying that the breed didn't suffer genetic drifts or any other significant occurrences at that level that ultimately contributed to its reputation and predominant disposition or even its phenotypic prevalence! I think, this is indeed a case of nurture and nature yielding a problematic end!

@Contrarian001:

Well said, and a relief to see someone who can provide a wider view in an intelligent post! As you might guess, I am a pit bull owner, and was also raised with the breed. My dog is also a poor watch dog, but an EXCELLENT companion, and without a doubt the best dog I've ever had, exceeding even the Golden Retriever I had for 14 years, who was a wonderful dog.

I am sick to death of the incredibly stupid mindset of the degenerates who have produced the pitbull of the common media. You are correct on all counts--they think it's cool to have created a monster. Can any breed be the victim? Yes, absolutely. Please everyone remember the German Shepherd, the Rottweiler, the Doberman, and all the other breeds who have been exploited, abused, and inbred in the past to create something that is nothing like the true nature of the dog.

People, it's not the dog, it's the owners, breeders, illegal dog-fighters, and all-around ignorant fools who keep 4 of these animals in the same house and allow them to run free in the neighborhood.

My current pit is a rescue, who's pedigree is unknown. For this reason, I don't own another dog, and would never take him out unharnessed. Even though he's undoubtedly the sweetest-natured dog I've ever had the privilege of having for a companion, I don't know what traits might be running around in his silly head. I personally can't handle 4 inside dogs--no matter what the breed--and wouldn't even try.

I used to get angry with the folks who spewed hatred for the breed, but have come to realize that this feeling is misplaced, and should be directed to the owners of the animals who attack. After all, I get a little uncomfortable when I see an unescorted Rottweiler or Doberman. Medium and large sized dogs of any breed are a big responsibility. If you aren't willing or able to control the animal, and pay the price for a pedigreed bloodline, you shouldn't have it.

Professional breeders are true professionals. My dog is neutered, and I have NEVER raised a litter of puppies of any breed. The price for a properly bred dog is high for a reason. If you can't afford it, you shouldn't have it, and you certainly shouldn't be allowed to breed it. Period. End of story.

Thanks again, Contrarian. Great post.

Well said Contrarian001. I have been saying the same thing for over 35 years. I've had quite a few different breeds myself growinig up. Be it mixed or purebred. I didn't have any pitbulls until I caved and let my son and grandkids get a dog, which they live with us by the way. Rex is a Blue Brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier. I have my own thoughts as to the breeding. I do and will keep a close eye on him. It has been over a year and 1/2 since he came into my home. So far all I see is seperation anxiety when my son and or his family leaves the house. I think he needs prozac or something. I have spent a lot of time training dogs and I work with him alot, but I try to get my son to do it as Rex is his dog.

Enough rambling. Again, well said! The OWNERS are the ones in need of training.

Please, people, don't buy a puppy from someone who has a cage sitting by the side of the road with a sign that says 'Puppyes $100.' You're just feeding into the 'backyard-bred' problem. PLEASE check out your local shelter first, check the internet for rescues (there's a rescue for practically every breed--I had a coworker ask me yesterday for a rescue for Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and yes there's a rescue for them too).

And while many people, including shelter volunteers, will knock getting dogs off Craigslist, I'm not--for many, a Craigslist ad is the last ditch effort before being abandoned at Animal Control and a possible trip to the euthanasia room (euphemistically called the 'Rainbow Room'.)

And while we're going on about dogs biting people--look at what people do to dogs! Had a pit come in who must have lost a fight, the owner poured battery acid on the dog and chucked him out the back of the car in the middle of the highway. By the time a woman saw this dog in the road, picked him up and brought him in, the acid had eaten into his muscle, tendon, skin and fur and when he came in you could see internal organs hanging out and he could no longer even stand.

While we're punishing the dog for what he does to people, why don't we punish what people do to the dog?!

As an illustration of how inbreeding ruins a dog...

We are wrapped up in a lawsuit right now between a mailman and the female owner of a group of six dogs we are currently quarantining at the shelter that have been dubbed 'The Pack'. The owner started with two, a male and a female. Which was OK, there were never any problems except that she didn't have shots and dog licenses and they got out of the yard sometimes, but they never bit anyone, human or animal. Let's call them Dog A (male) and B (female).

Then B went in heat, and she had four puppies. The owner kept two, both girls, Dog C and D, but she didn't get them fixed, so when they went into heat, they got pregnant by their own father, and she kept two, one puppy from C and one puppy from D--let's call them AC and AD since they are the product of their own grandfather also being their father. (incest, or inbreeding.)

AC and AD have Hannibal Lecter/Jekyll-and-Hyde personalities. They can be really sweet one minute, and turn around and bite you the next. They are currently being quarantined in our shelter until we know the results of the VDHB hearing and the civil lawsuit and our staff handles them with catchpoles because they know these dogs WILL bite. Their owner brought all six of them to the shelter one day last year to get their rabies shots done (we offer low-cost rabies shots at a once-monthly shot clinic) and Animal Control had to bring catchpoles out ot the parking lot because The Pack (led by AC and AD) attacked a pitbull and ripped one ear completely off--the whole Pack, following the two Alpha dogs AC and AD, (including A, B, C, and D, who never had behavior problems before AC and AD came along.) AC and AD are also responsible for biting children, and on one occasion they killed AND ATE a cat that wandered into their yard.

So this lady lets The Pack out onto the yard one day, and the mailman comes up. He swears he checked the yard to see if The Pack was out before opening the gate to put mail in the box next to the front door. When he turned around he was attacked by six furry bundles who knocked him off the step, put him on the ground, shredded both pant legs and bit off one testicle (and presumably ate it since we found blood but no body parts.)

He's suing the woman for having vicious dogs.

She's protesting that they only attacked because he was in her yard, that he should have checked the yard before he came in to see if her dogs were out, and anyway her dogs are little darlings and would never do that deliberately, they were just protecting her property. We are currently waiting on a VDHB hearing to determine if the dogs will be euthanized for viciousness--the entire neighborhood has filed notices saying they will show up to testify against this woman being able to keep her dogs because they are a huge problem in the neighborhood. Every single one of us in the shelter, volunteers, care staff, and Animal Control, as much as we love all animals, feel the whole lot of them is irredeemable and want all of them euthanized. There won't be any crying either.

Oh, by the way--the dogs are a pack of Chihuahuas.

We tracked down the other three puppies from the litter created by crossing A with C (dog C had four, the owner only kept one, the Alpha dog we dubbed AC) and the other two from the AxD cross (D had three, owner kept one, sold the others.) The five inbred puppies, when we talked to their owners, all said their dogs were unpredictable, not safe around children, and two owners said they were currently involved in bite cases (albeit in other jurisdictions) and one owner had said his puppy was too unpredictable and he'd already had the puppy euthanized because he didn't feel safe around it--a week after he'd gotten the dog he said he just felt the puppy was 'wrong' and didn't feel safe taking the dog out on the road with him (he's a trucker.)

So here's validation of the problems with a dog being poor breeding/genetics, poor ownership, and not getting your dog(s) fixed.

The only thing a pit is good for is hunting! Period. They make excellent catch dogs and love doing it for hogs. Other than that, you people that think they are a great family dog, should have your children taken away. You would only be fooling yourself and you would be a complete and total moron for thinking anything else. I have been around tons of pits, they are great hunters. That is it.

ps NyNy-2742735, please show me all those news prints about labs and german shortair pointers going around killing people. I missed it.

ps NyNy-2742735, please show me all those news prints about labs and german shortair pointers going around killing people. I missed it.

Travis you rock!

Travis you clearly are ignorant and no nothing about dogs.. I happen to personally know a Chocolate Lab who had to be put down as he was AGGRESSIVE toward his family. He also was aggressive towards me. Any dog can be aggressive, it has nothing to do with the breed but the people who are raising it. Just like a child, a dog is taught how to act, and how they are taught is how they will act. Any person who thinks that specific breeds are "bad" know nothing about dogs what so ever and should keep their ignorant thoughts to themselves.

not to mention the lab who ate off his owners face when she was asleep (this woman had the very first full face transplant)

Any dog can be aggressive

I agree, that is true (and i do not like pits) . I am a relatively quiet and passive person. Many people unfortunately see this as a sign of weakness. I live on 5 ac of land outside the city limits, most of my neighbors are decent people. One who needed a education received one from me one day. His dog a shepherd mix hated me for some reason from day one.

I could not leave my home without that dam thing growing at me though the cheap fence that separated us. I complained politely and was told he could make as much noise as he wanted on his side of the fence as long as he was not hurting anyone ,their is nothing i could do about it that is why we live in country.

I thought about what he said, and got my little noise maker a 22 snub nose revolver it is small and low caliber but sounds like a cannon.

I walked right up to the property line the dog acted like the Tasmanian devil his owner never said anything or even came out. I fire 2 shots in the ground the dog left for the house as fast as he could , his owner came out .He asked me , why did you shoot at my dog?

My reply back ..I could make as much noise as i wanted on my side of the fence as long as i was not hurting anyone ,their is nothing you can do about it that is why we live in country.

Were friends now, but for long time he would not talk to me. I never had anymore trouble.

So would a gun if the victim was able to have one!

Stonepipe.......AGREED!

That's right! The neighbor already said he killed his dog. If that happens in my neighborhood which I live in the country, the dog is eating a bullet right then and there. I have my gun loaded by the door right now waiting on this stupid black dog to come back around. I've talked with the owners that don't care, I've called animal control who is too lazy yet nothing gets done. This dog has been tearing up stuff, stealing stuff from my property, urinating on new bushes I'm trying to establish and worst of all cost me $300 to get my Corgi and emergency spay. I'm done dealing with him almost 2 years. Time for a bullet!!

lol ...this dog must really like you!

Would be a doggone shame if the irresponsible owner's residence was to somehow catch fire in the wee morning hours... wouldn't it now?

Very good point, A person can train a dog to do things just at the snap of a finger or a point without saying anything. Cops do this so that the person they are trying to arrest doesn't catch on to their sneaky ways!

Third degree murder: killing that resulted from indifference or negligence.

I'd say this covers it pretty nicely. Letting a pack roam free.

OTTER........................AGREED!!!

I remember that. The owners were Lawyers who were so dam arrogant, as to blame Ms. Whipple's perfume or something. I loved it when the b*tch lawyer heard her sentence, then started crying. Before that, she was also arrogant and was the one who was home at the time of the attack.

She couldn't even control the dogs, who dragged her azz to get to the victim. Those were Canarie or something....not sure, but not pit bulls. Very large @ 140 lbs, and extremely powerfull looking.

The male lawyer was not there, but I just wanted to smack his azz for the total arrogance they both displayed after this poor woman was mauled to death - in her own apartment complex, simply living down the dam hall!

To this day, I see RED when I think or hear about that case. Very sad and tragic.

I think they were Cane Corsos.

Presa Canarios.

The APBT is a small-medium dog, 40-50 pounds, anything larger is crossed with something else--usually Lab.

Part of the problem is that pitbulls are highly allergic to stupid people so when a stupid person owns a pitbull or two, it creates a dangerous environment. All joking aside, I myself own a pitbull that was from the dog rescue where I work and he came with issues. I, as a responsible owner, make sure that I do not put my dog, or any other person or animal in a situation that may result in injury.

@Sweetie and Raidaz - Another interesting part of the Whipple story is that the dogs were actually owned by a "lifer" prisoner who was, from prison, trying to set up a protection dog (for his fellow drug dealers) breeding program. The 2 idiot lawyers were his buddies and keeping powerful killing machines in their apartment. This story also made my blood boil - trying to blame Whipple on everything from her perfume to her fear scent to her homosexuality to the groceries in her bag. The blame is solely on the idiot who keeps dogs that are much to much for them to handle.

Dimonz,You can be responsible until the cows come home but if your rescued dog gets out and attacks somebody you will be paying big bucks to the injured party.Secondly,your home owners insurance must be pretty expensive or is it that they do not know you rescued a pitbull?

you're an idiot

your right a bullet will work, aimed in your direction

It's just fine to leave kids with a Golden Retriever. How many pit bull attackes are there compared to Goldens? Probably about a million to one.

Actually German Shepherds, pitbulls, golden retrievers, and cocker spaniels are always in the top for bites. Just like pitbulls it has to do with the popularity of the breed more than anything else.

@bob - Funny you just said that, we just had to put my little brother and sisters golden retreiver down for biting people!

Bob, it's NOT FINE to leave kids with ANY dog, regardless of breed.

A quick google search about dogs killing newborns or children will yield reslults including Lab mix, Husky, Jack Russell, etc...

Only an idiot would assume their dog is so sweet that it would never bite anyone (eg. well he's never bitten anyone BEFORE...).

The problem isn't that pits bite - all dogs can bite. The problem is that they have an enormous propensity for damage. It takes a very special kind of dog owner to responsibly manage such a dog, but there is NO RESTRICTION on who can purchase one. I see people all the time with pits who have no business owning ANY DOG, let alone any kind of pit.

Want a good dog? Get a schipperke. They're a one-family dog, but are known to be fond of children. When my parent's 2 1/2 year old neighbor girl figured out how to open the chain-link fence gate, she got in to the delighted dog. The dog wouldn't let dad in though!

Mike,I live in a state that has one of the highest incidents of dog fighting and also am a volunteer at my SPCA rescue sheltter where we have taken in a lot of pits over the years. The people that breed them to fight ie gamblers,gang bangers,puppy mills have changed the temperament in a lot of dogs for the worse. However, many of the fighting dogs can be rehabilitated and placed in good homes safely. It's the morons that don't neuter/spay the dogs and keep them under CONTROL that these tragic incidents happen.

Good comment Mike.D!

airlar73 "The problem isn't that pits bite - all dogs can bite. The problem is that they have an enormous propensity for damage. It takes a very special kind of dog owner to responsibly manage such a dog..."

I think that was one of the more intelligent things written tonight.

I believe part of the issue also is that even when raised "responsibly" dogs sometimes will get loose and roam. It is also not possible to watch them 24 hours a day. They can potentially be a danger to neighbors, postal workers, delivery persons and others in the community.

A pitbulls bite is no more powerful than many other dogs, that's a wives tale. W german Shepherds bite is about three times as powerful.

There is no doubt that the dogs are dangerous though because of what they were bred to do.

My daughter is one of the tree-huggers

Wow. What a sad thing for a parent to say about her child.

Thanks Pedestrian - I was thinking that too and I'm a gun, cow and dog owning rural Texan! I love my tree-hugger daughter even though she has cats!

Mike, why do they refer to pit bulls as having "lock-jaw" biting? I never hear that about ANY other dog, although I know all dogs bite. I would think the locking pressure would be similar to visegrip-pliers.

Am I mistaken?

The "lock jaw" is also an urban legend, their jaw is no different than any other dogs and less powerful than many others. The wolf and German Shepherd have much more powerful bites.

Carol - Thank you. Exactly my point. I have heard that a ton of times from people. "No not my dog it must be the owner. They must suck and beat them, etc. I KNOW how to handle them". And then bam they bite a baby in the face. Same thing happened here. Our old neighbor had 2 and said they were so sweet and wouldnt hurt a fly. Well they kept getting out so when I took it back to him one day I told him next time the are running around the neighborhood like that they won't make it home. He asked what I meant and I said "You know exactly what I mean. Perhaps they will get hit by a car?". I wasn't joking that ticket me off big time. My kids were playing out in my yard more than once when they would be roaming around. Well guess what they ended up attacking someone walking his dog. Killed his dog and messed him up pretty badly too. Wow so sweet. Again must be the owner right? Problem is most FOOLS don't think they are that type of owner. Surprise you aren't a special and unique snowflake.

Granted, as in any animal (also human..) there are inheritated traits for behavior. Triggers lets say.

And then...environmental and human intervention...bad or good.

All domesticated dogs need/require behavior modification/training to transition into life with humans.

Bad parents=bad dogs. Good parents=good dogs.

@MikeD34 - Actually the jury is still out on the PSI bite of the pit bull. Some tests have shown their PSI is considerably lower than some other "power" dogs. However, when you take into consideration the size of the jaws of a massive pit bull and the ferocity of an attack by a dog that is "on" you then have a killing machine. I have looked into the mouth of a pit bull and it is an awe inspiring sight but not one I would like to come up against. I have also owned a St. Bernard and an English mastiff and even though the dogs are considerably bigger than a normal pit bull, their mouths (jaws) don't even compare. My current big dog, an Irish Wolfhound has quite a small jaw width for his size even though the breed is the (statistically)tallest of all the dog breeds. Given my choice, I'd rather not be attacked by a pit bull!

BTW - I just read a more current account of this attack and the man that was killed had his jugular vein punctured. Perhaps he could have survived his bites were it not for bleeding out dur to the punctured jugular.

Very sad ending in any case.

You don't own one, you have no idea.

Carol O and Dan123, not all who make the comment "I know how to handle my dog" are ignorant to the natural instincts of the canine species. There ARE some owners who know that their dog possesses strength and determination, especially in the pit bull breeds; some ARE aware that their dog should be under constant control and supervision. Any dog left alone to roam without the guidance of their leader (their owner) will act under pure territorial instinct, and anyone caught in the middle is in the danger zone. The answer is not to ban the breeds that humans have created, rather to promote responsible ownership. In fact, the term "pitbull" is grossly misinterpreted, as it encompasses a wide range of breeds (ie. American Bulldog, American Staffordshire, American Pitbull Terrier, Bully, etc.). Dogs that have the characteristics can also be mislabeled. I am not going to say that I've never seen a mean pit; I am going to say that I've seen a lot of different mean dogs. But I've also seen pits that are certified therapy dogs, service animals, even one working for the police as a drug sniffing dog. I have seen people attacked, and have personally been attacked by Chow, German Shephard, Chihuahua, Labrador Retriever, Pug; all of which have been because of human error (even if the dog is left alone without the owner, it is human error). The issue is not the breed, the issue is when people let the animal take control. Accidents happen, many of which could be prevented by constant supervision. If you own a dog, you must KNOW the dog. You must know the signs of nervousness, fear, aggression. I for one am an advocate of wanting every dog owner to be required to go through basic training with their pet in order to be able to own one; to have dogs spayed and neutured, and to have stricter punishment for those who fight their dogs, neglect or abuse them; or let other people/animals be attacked by their animal. I personally have lived with a variety of dogs, but my most recent one is a American Pitbull terrier / Lab mix. He is my 7 year old son's best friend. Would I leave them alone together? No. I wouldn't leave my dog alone with anyone not capable of handling him. My dog is under control. That is the most important thing when it comes to owning a dog. Humans are the species that harbor hate, and do things out of malice. Dogs do things out of instinct, and fear. They live in the moment. If you can't realize this, then you shouldn't own one, or even talk about others owning one.

Yes they are, I only keep one at all times for the reason of their breed. She is a very very smart dog and for her only being three, she would put most breeds to shame when it comes to her personality! I won't take in any other breed now, might take a boxer, they are another fun dog!

In this particular case the fact that there were so many untrained dogs together was more the problem than them being pitbulls. I mean the pitbulls feeding frenzy is probably why it was fatal, but the attack was because when dogs pack together they essentially become a**holes. They are much more likely to attack as a pack in that situation.

Correct about humans. But, how many people you know would intentionally fuk with a pit bull? Just looking at one tells you "don't fuk with me", as with Rotts, Sheps, Dobermans and any other large powerful, menacing looking bread, which is by far the reason people get them. They are NOT cute and cudly, IMO - more like Cujo, if you fuk with them.

Would YOU fuk with any of the dogs mentioned, if you did not know them? Don't lie.

Raidaz, it would be stupid to mess with any strange dog, or even dogs you know...

No need for murderers. Destroy them all. Good post stsue

yeah no need for pitbulls...or goldens, or labs, or poodles, or Pomeranians, or beagles.

dogs are dogs. if you're a stupid owner and don't know how to properly train your pet of course it's going to have issues.

Dogs are dogs? Wow. You just wont the "couldn't be any more wrong" award. Certain dogs have the ability to inflict much more damage than other dogs. Find me a story about a poodle, beagle, or pomeranian killing an adult human and I'll withdraw my comment.

JC is the type of person who would compare GUNS to bats, hammers, cars, etc....

I own guns, but there is no comparison to the intent they were made, versus tools or transportation.

Pomeranian vs Pit Bull? How about Adult vs Child? People are people, right JC?

People who don't get it....don't get that they don't get it.

simply no need for people like maine1058 so we should go ahead and annihilate his whole family for his actions. sounds logical right?

The size/strength of the animal is only relevant to the severity of the damage. It doesn't dismiss that any sign of agression in ANY breed should be unacceptable...A 6 week old girl was killed by a pomeranian. Look it up. Labrador killed a 2 month old. But for some reason the one that gets the most attention is the one that is labeled "pit". Lots of stories about a Husky killing babies, if we're starting with the "kill all" pitbull type dogs why not move on to huskies, or all dogs for that matter? . If the animal has a potential for aggression...oh wait, isn't that something humans possess too? You see where I'm going with this? It would simply be more effective to enforce responsible ownership.

EXACTLY!!!

Thank you!

A responsible breeder of show APBT's carefully chooses two parents for each litter for exceptional intelligence and full conformation to breed standards.

The backyard breeder breeds for money or if they are dogfighters, they bred for the enlarged adrenal gland and increased aggression. They may keep one or two pups out of the litter who show the most aggression and sell the others as family pets without ever letting the new owner know that the do has a higher-than-normal aggression index.

While I would normally advocate for animals to be adopted from classified ads before they wind up in animal shelters like the one I volunteer for, in this case I make an exception DO NOT BUY A PIT-TYPE FROM ANYONE BUT A LICENSED, REGISTERED BREEDER.

Or a shelter or rescue that carefully tests these dogs for temperament and intelligence before adopting out, and one that requires home checks to ensure the dog is going to a good home.

Pit bull saves child... count them:

https://www.google.com/webhp?source=search_app#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=pitbull+saves+child&oq=pit+bull+saves+child&gs_l=hp.1.0.0i10l4.1484.10632.0.13783.20.20.0.0.0.0.144.1593.17j3.20.0.les%3Bpchsnhac..0.0...1.1.GWlYARW2yls&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.1355325884,d.cGE&fp=77447c92523872b8&bpcl=39967673&biw=1205&bih=912

Pit bull kills... count THEM:

#hl=en&sugexp=les%3B&gs_nf=3&gs_rn=0&gs_ri=serp&tok=OSUaqOg7pxEYNiZLI0TFeg&pq=pitbull%20saves%20child&cp=10&gs_id=8&xhr=t&q=pitbull+kills&pf=p&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&oq=pitbull+ki&gs_l=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&fp=677d9cb28fc608b&bpcl=39942515&biw=1280&bih=963

Looks like 1.49 million results for saves, and 8.67 million for kills.

airlar. *WHOOSH*

http://technorati.com/lifestyle/article/what-happens-when-a-pit-bull/

yep lets kill all the pit bulls that are used as service dogs

I see this a lot in my little town . Young punks walking around town with their pitbull dragging weights behind them and not on a leash but on a thick heavy chain..Most of them are skinny gang banger punks trying to look tough by walking these damn dangerous animals around town ...Makes them look tough by the typeof pet they have !? What a bunch of sorry losers !! Regarding one of them near my children or grandkids ..they'd be dead a second after they stepped on my property !!

Young punks walking around town with their pitbull dragging weights behind them and not on a leash but on a thick heavy chain.

Sad thing is that most of those dogs would probably protect those punks with their last breath.

you make very good points. Alot of dogs, especially mixes, that are bully breeds get mislabled as pits. I found a website once that showed pictures of 25 dogs and you had to pick out which was the pitt bull terrier - to be honest, it took me about 8-9 tries to pick the correct dog.

Any dog can attack, especially one that has been trained AND socialized. I think many people who want dogs who will be good guard dogs don't realized that a dog will guard your home even if you expose them to many people. I have a pure bred Chow (she's almost 5 and most importantly, she is spayed) and she is very well behaved, well mannered and well socialized and surprisingly non-confrontational - we go to the dog park all the time and if people pass the sniff test, she lets them pet her and occasionally she gives kisses. As for people who do not pass the sniff test, she just walks away. Now when we're at home, she's a great guard dog and I think she would scare off any inturder from entering.

I firmly believe that you should not discriminate against the breed, you should discriminate against the owners who do not give their dog the respect of knowing their breed and taking the time to train and socialize them. And yes, as others above have pointed out, once you get more than 2 dogs together, they act as a pack and it only takes one to rile up the rest of them. We see it at the dog park all the time, a group of dogs playing and it only one out of control dog and then suddenly there is a pack running wild. Just 2 weeks ago, my German Shepherd/Chow (she's small, only about 50 lbs and very submissive) mix got attacked by two old english bulldogs. They had her pinned under a bench and she was howling and screaming for her life - I thought she had been bitten. Luckily, she wasn't bitten, just very scared from the experience. One one of the bulldogs started it, but his energy fed the other dog and they both took after her - and yes, both male old english bulldogs had NOT been neutered... People don't understand that neutering and spaying your dog really helps with the temperament. Oh and neither of the dog owners did anything and did not apologize to me as I sat on the ground holding my dog looking for wounds.....

If anyone's curious- this is one of those "can you identify the "pitbull" games.

They are almost always misidentified by the media and even shelters.... Another problem with reporting a headline like this when we can't be sure if it even was one of the pitbull type breeds.

Pitbulls were bred over hundreds of years to fight and kill things, characteristics like aggression and gameness were bred on while softness was culled. To pretend that doesn't matter will only work in your little dream world. I like pitbulls, the same characteristics that make them excellent fighting dogs, eager to please, loyal are what makes them great dogs in general. But I don't for a minute pretend that all that breeding doesn't impact how the breed reacts.

Yes, and by that logic they were also bred not to be human aggressive. Fighting handlers needed to be able to get in and break up fights without being hurt themselves. They were certainly trained to be dog aggressive, but human aggression was culled out. And temperament testing of breeds supports this- they are less aggressive, less prone to "snap", and a more stable breed than even golden retrievers, for example etc.

I know that each breed has been bred for certain traits. Ideally, before someone gets a dog that is prone to agression, or any breed for that matter, they should have enough respect for that dog to research the breed and research the training methods that apply to that dog. For example, I have a pure bred Chow, you don't train a Chow the same way you train a Lab because Chows are not people pleasers by any means. They have been bred for over a thousand years to be guard dogs. They do their own thing and if they don't see the point of obeying your command, they won't. I'm not saying I'm the perfect pet parent, however I took the time to research the breed and research training methods specific to Chows due to their nature that has been bred into them. I'm just saying that if people are going to become a dog owner, they should have respect for their animal and do their homework instead of letting them run wild with no training or socialization.

CFin that's a load of nonsense, I've heard it all before, I own pits and have owned pits for 20 years, they are game and aggressive it's their nature. The handlers would go in with thick leather gloves up to the shoulders and huge sticks to beat the dogs back.

mike you're the one full of crap. i have a pit and a pit/basset mix and they thinks they are lap dogs. they do not attack people they lick them to death or smothers them trying to sit on their lap. wow pretty damn aggressive if you ask me.

Ya Taintted these pitbulls licked that poor guy in the article to death let me tell ya.

@ Tainted, I could take your two "lap dogs" have them tearing apart a mutt in two minutes if I wanted to, you would be absolutely shocked at the ferocity of the attack once they got started. I don't condone dog fighting, but if you own a pitbull and don't acknowledge what they're capable of and what they were bred to do over hundreds of years then you're a fool, sorry.

mike you are definitely the textbook definition of a moron. i have 3 dogs and only 1 of them is a pure bred pit the other is a basset hound and basset/pit mix. the pure bred pit has been around more dogs in other peoples homes than the other 2 dogs and gets along the best with other dogs compared to my other 2 who just sit there and stare at me because they are in an unfamiliar situation and dont know what to do. now as to your comment about turning my dogs into fighting dogs. the only person who you should be afraid of tearing something apart in that situation would be me beating the crap out of you for even thinking for a half a second i'd let you anywhere near my dogs considering your intentions on attempting to turn them into fighting dogs. people like you make me sick to my stomach because you are the type to abuse animals and neglect them.

And now enter the racist, ignorant @!$%#...

I originally wrote something else, but CFin said it all.

Don't insult pitbulls like that.

Sure they kill people but they don't strap bombs to their own puppies and put them on a school bus.

and then you would be going to prison like that 72 year old man who poisoned his neighbors dogs.

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21751074/firestone-man-pleads-guilty-poisoning-neighbors-dogs

Sure, just try to prove it...

Ya it's hard to prove i've heard of more then a few cases of dogs being poisoned in my area with no arrests made it depends where you live. A nice suburb with friendly and well-funded police force somthing might happen but in an inner city neighborhood or a smaller city with a poorly funded police force good luck

determined the software the client was attempting to install was designed for a pc not a mac and would require them to contact verizon and obtain the correct software.

Or we will cite the facts...as in not just regurgitating what you have been told in the sensationalized media. But, I know it's easier to read these articles and run with it rather than doing your own research.

Stupid post Letusreason. So tell me something? Say, there are 2 brothers who have been convicted of murder, do you go lock up the entire family? Cousins included as they are part of the same gene pool. You guys are as smart as well, nothing

Say, there are 2 brothers who have been convicted of murder, do you go lock up the entire family?

It would probably be a really good idea to lock up the parents.

you're right letusreason, lets kill off the entire breed for the actions of a few. now with that line of thinking how bout we kill off your entire family for you running a red light because you were driving recklessly and then ran over a pedestrian, killing him. sounds logical right?

Taintted - The bogus human scenario has already been raised by Jay, and his was better than yours.

With respect to the actions of he few, this is just this week's Pit Bull attack. Of course you don't want to deal with the reality that for whatever reason, these dogs are a dangerous problem.

I'm a pitbull owner and I'm not saying that it's not the breed. The problem is, that pitbulls are HIGHLY allergic to stupid people, so if a stupid person owns a pitbull, of course, that is definitely a problem. I will say that as a person that works at a Detroit pitbull rescue, pitbull ownership is not for everybody. Same way not everyone should own a car or a gun.

This breed must be exterminated.

And so should you.

Thank you Dimonz! :)

I'd rather reverse that.

The owners need to be put down, and quite possibly the dogs too.

How many more people including kids have to die or be maimed by these worthless animals? I say if you see pit bulls, rottweilers, their close mixes, and wolf hybrids unattended that they should be considered the same as someone pointing a gun at you and shot on site. Enough stupidity from idiot pit owners who claim their dogs are just like little bunny rabbits.

Look at it this way s Carey. There are many dangerous animals in the world, like lions and bears. You just pretty much said we should kill them all because they could, and do, kill humans. So if a human is stupid enough to bring an animal into their home, and not raise it right, and be responsible for its care and safety, then its the humans fault. In this case, I would never have that many Pittbulls in my home, and definitely not roaming free.

Blame stupid humans.