I have a pit bull and have had her for years. She was bred over and over, dumped and left to starve when I found her in a park.
She is the most well behaved dog I have ever had cross my path. She has even raised several "foster puppies" of various mixes, and they turned out gentle as well.
The stories you hear in the news do not share the stories of the "typical" well bred pit bull. They are sensationalizing the few bad things that happen because that is what gets people all riled up.
The reason that "pit bulls" like the one that attacked this family (considering it was more than one member) are the product of the OVER breeding of the dogs, in breeding, without concern of what is created.
Years ago Dobies were "the demon dogs" that the public cried to be banned. Rottweilers have also gotten bad press.
This was clearly a case of an improperly bred dog who should have been euthanized at the FIRST sign of trouble....it never should have gotten to a bite...
You can see Liberty on my website. She is my best friend, and goes with me every where I can take her. She has been a wonderful ambassador for her breed.
Pit bulls were (and in a lot of cases are still) bred for fighting by insecure, immature (enter your own words as well) people who have to use a dog to make their ego liveable. However, pit bulls were NOT bred to be human aggressive. Human aggressive pit bulls were immediately killed because the owner had to be able to get his dog from the pit and attend to the wounds himself, since dog fighters do not use vets.
This is one fact that many do not know about. However, due to the stupidity of people, some dogs were bred to be human aggressive, or made that way by the way they were treated. Also, those big pitbulls you see, and the "low riders" as they call them, are all BRED with different breeds in their backgrounds to encourage human aggressiveness, size, and a meaner look.
I want to share with you MY story.
I had lost my lab, and was devastated. My husband had a friend who was getting rid of a dog his ex girlfriend abandoned with him. He brought her over and she was a beautiful, pure white mixed breed I named "Abby." She was all of about 45 pounds.
While at the lake with my 2 children, my dad, my pit bull Liberty and my white mixed breed Abby, Abby launched a full on attack on Liberty from the rear and when Liberty turned to protect herself, Abby latched onto her face, almost removing her eye.
My dad and I stepped in and Liberty accidently got my finger in her mouth and immediately let go, even though she was being ripped to shreds by my other dog. Abby, on the other hand, turned her attention and launched her attack ON MY FATHER!!
I almost lost my dad that day at the lake. As I ran with my two children for help, my dad was bleeding severely. Abby bit down to the bone in his hand, and almost severed the artery in his arm. And she was NO pitbull.
In the album, you will see a pic of Abby. I'd had her two years. The pic of my finger with the scratches from Liberty, the near fatal bites to my dad's arm (almost severed his artery) and the bite to his hand that exposed his bone.
For the pics, see this link:
libertydogtraining/dog fight - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting