Dad, son fend off pit bull

You know…as I am reading these comments I know we have SO many people who own pets and do not adhere to the fact that Lee County has a leash/confinement law.  You have to keep your pets kept in your yard.  With animal control called so many times on these dogs, why were they still running around?  If they were in a yard and are “masters of escaping” then the owners should have had the electronic collars on them to keep them in their yard.  About a $100 investment…Didn’t have the $100…look where it got them.  If you are going to have dogs (pitbulls or whatever breed) you have to take that responsibility and think of “what could happen”.
If this is a mobile home park/community then those owners/managers of that park as well have a responsibility to the other tenants/renters to follow up and enforce their rules about pet confinement, too, if the animals reside in that park.

Dogs are like humans.  Humans are animals, too.  Now, the reason pitts are hated and feared, is because MOST often they are owned by “drug dealer, dog fighters, and gang bangers” like jeg said.  You put a dog in this environment, with those owners, of course you get an overly aggressive dog.  If a pitt is owned by a family that takes care of it and provides discipline, you most likely get a good dog.  However, just like humans, there is a chance that the dog can snap given the right circumstances.  At that point it is the owner’s job to provide the dog with enough discipline to keep this sort of thing from happening. 
The dog is hardly to blame and I don’t think anyone was doing that.  Just thought I would point out why pitts are perceived as more aggressive than say a gold lab.  It doesn’t have to do as much with the breed as it does the owners.

One thing that is missed throughout this debate is that ALL dogs, period, can snap. They somehow revert back to the wild. Let your beloved Fido go run with a pack of dogs and see if he is not joining with them dining on you.

Upbringing certainly helps bring this out, but after you’ve been chased enough times by wild dogs - and the family dogs that join them in the woods, you’ll agree with my assessment. But, you had better be armed out there or be quick at climbing a tree.

I do not in anyway deny that they are a potentially dangerous breed.  Any dog is potentially dangerous.  They all have instincts and listen to them from time to time.  My issue is with the unproportionate and biased reporting by the media and how it fuels the “witch hunt”.  There are a number of factors that are hardly ever considered when reporting a dog attack.  No animal on earth has the instinct to kill for no reason.  Consider this:

Breed-specific laws were enacted because, in the past, courts and legislatures considered it to be a “well-known fact” that pit bulls are “unpredictable,“ “vicious” creatures owned only by “drug dealers, dog fighters, gang members,“ or other undesirable members of society. [Citing State v. Anderson (1991), 57 Ohio St.3d 168.] ... As scientific information advances and becomes available, courts have a duty to reconsider issues and make decisions which are supported by the actual evidence presented, instead of relying on “common knowledge” and opinion generated by newspaper sensationalism and hearsay, rather than accurate, scientific evidence. [Par.] As the evidence presented in this case demonstrates, previous cases involving “vicious dog” laws, especially from the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, relied on what is now outdated information which perpetuated a stereotypical image of pit bulls. ... The trial court noted that all the animal behaviorists from both parties testified that a pit bull, trained and properly socialized like other dogs, would not exhibit any more dangerous characteristics than any other breed of dog. After considering all the evidence before it, the trial court agreed, finding that pit bulls, as a breed, are not more dangerous than other breeds.“

I think the debate is absurd.  A friend of mine had a pitbull, it was loving, never witnessed an aggressive act until the day it attacked a child at a bus stop.  The owner was a dear friend, they did not abuse the animal, they loved this dog.  In her words, “She just snapped”.  She was present when it happened. Not all pitbulls attack, but if they do, they are made to kill.  What is ignorant and wrong jeg005 is to totally ignore the fact of how potentially dangerous this BREED can be.  They are not the only breed to be wary of though.