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I agree with you both-I also have not had a dog in the home with my babies and toddlers. It simply isn't worth the risk to my family.
When I was born, my parents had a bulldog-had her for years- and she got snappy and mean, moreso when my brother came along. They had to get rid of her for our safety.
In my old neighborhood, some folks thought they could let their pitbulls run around on the common grounds where kids play-I called the police each and every time I saw them. It took awhile but they started leashing them. I don't care how 'nice my dog is'-I'm gonna call the cops on you if your dog is loose around my kids!
THANK You. I cannot imagine people allowing their pit bulls to run around unfamiliar children. The risk they are taking legally is enormous. I'm sorry but I've read too many stories of pit bulls suddenly snapping and attacking children. Parents who have left their children alone with the pitbulls that were RAISED alongside the children. And the kid was killed by the dogs.
I have to agree with BM on this...its in their blood, they can't help it, anymore than it can be helped if a big hungry polar bear came at you, it would attack you and that would be it, they are no different, you just can't take any kind of animal and tame it, that has been proven repeatly and the stastics on death and injuries speaks volumes here.
I would rather be reguarded as highly paranoid than have my baby attacked, good for you!
This is ridiculous. Attitudes like this are exactly how this country ended up doing horrific things like putting Japanese-Americans in prison camps during WWII. Its an excessive response that is over-compensating for illogical and unfounded fears.
Part of the problem for the perceived increase in aggressiveness of pit bulls is the way many of the handlers intentionally treat their dogs. They antagonize it and encourage it to act aggressive towards other people. Its about an image of toughness for most, even going so far as using a heavy gauge chain for collar and leash (when was the last time you saw a collie in a rap video or cd cover?). When a large portion of these dogs are being treated in this abusive aggressive manner then its going to lead to more attacks from them. Its similar to the plight of people in the projects that grow up in broken homes and in a negative environment that have a higher likelihood of being involved in crime, gangs, and/or drugs. For example, blacks have a higher murder rate and a higher incarceration rate for violent crimes NOT because they are genetically "aggressive" but because of environmental factors, social influences, and because of the failures in urban communities to ensure a healthy upbringing. Are you saying we should ban black people too because the numbers show an increase in aggressive and violent behavior? I mean if we really want to tread the slippery slope we might as well go full tilt, no?
As I said before, pit bull attacks result in about 3 deaths in a year while deer kill 220 and horses kill 150 a year. A horse's size and their power can be dangerous in certain situations (just like a pit bull), but they aren't inherently dangerous or aggressive. These dogs do not have genetics that make them a killer.
In my old neighborhood, some folks thought they could let their pitbulls run around on the common grounds where kids play-I called the police each and every time I saw them. It took awhile but they started leashing them. I don't care how 'nice my dog is'-I'm gonna call the cops on you if your dog is loose around my kids!
Good for you, I wish everyone would do this. There is no excuse for people letting such dangerous animals run around loose on the streets.
Can you imagine if people had pet lions running around on the streets? Then we'd get the same defenders, "oh it was the trainer's fault, they just didn't train the lions properly", or "I left the door open by mistake", and finally, "he's never done that before".
Such behavior of having dangerous animals running around the streets on their own and/or allowing them to be around children, women - or any person they are very likely to attack and have a history of doing so - is unconscionable.
Falls Forks, you've got to be kidding, right? How DARE you compare Japanese Americans to dogs? Vicious dogs with case after case after case of attacking and mauling, and killing women and children?
Pit bulls have been BRED for generations to be fighting dogs. To have powerful jaws and to bite down and not let go come hell or high water. That aggressive nature is bred into them deeply. It's not their fault, it's the stupid and wicked people who purposefully bred them to do that. However, it doesn't matter. The dogs are killing people, not the dog fight breeders.
Sorry, but the statistics speak for themselves. Pit bulls should be banned. If you love them so much go live in the middle of the country with no one around for miles.
Ok I feel just a tad bit more justified in not owning a dog after following alice's link (I put an excerpt below). We have four little boys 6yo and under and there is no way we would have a dog in the house with them. Particularly of a type historically bred to be aggressive. Personality traits ARE inherited, and that's true for humans as well as dogs. Though I'm not of a mind that animals can be compared to humans in any way shape or form, as much as I have loved my pets in the past It's so sad - they brought up the death of that newborn baby girl by a 4 pound Pomeranian dog
My inlaws have two large dogs, one of which is a mentally unstable boxer and I can never feel completely relaxed while there :/
Studies of dog bite injuries have reported that:
The median age of patients bitten was 15 years, with children, especially boys aged 5 to 9 years, having the highest incidence rate
The odds that a bite victim will be a child are 3.2 to 1. (CDC.)
Children seen in emergency departments were more likely than older persons to be bitten on the face, neck, and head. 77% of injuries to children under 10 years old are facial.
Severe injuries occur almost exclusively in children less than 10 years of age.
The majority of dog attacks (61%) happen at home or in a familiar place.
The vast majority of biting dogs (77%) belong to the victim's family or a friend.
When a child less than 4 years old is the victim, the family dog was the attacker half the time (47%), and the attack almost always happened in the family home (90%).
Dog bites rank second among other common causes of emergency-room injuries (table derived from Weiss HB, Friedman DI, Coben JH. "Incidence of dog bite injuries treated in emergency departments," supra, p. 53):
Here is something of particular distress to me: The way the pit bulls often attack the child's face, resulting in horrible disfigurement. In my view, for a girl to grow up with huge scars across her face is almost worst than death. The cruelty of many young kids to anyone "different" or "ugly" is incredible. I've always had a fear of big dogs and now I know that my fear is absolutely grounded!
I say after reading this ban ROTTWEILERS AND PITBULLS!
The face is the most frequent target
Studies also have shown that:
* Dog bites result in approximately 44,000 facial injuries in US hospitals each year. This represents between 0.5% and 1.5% of all emergency room visits
* The face is the most frequent target (77% of all injures). Mail carriers are an exception where 97% involve the lower extremities.
* The central target area for the face includes the lips, nose, and cheeks.
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It's so sad - they brought up the death of that newborn baby girl by a 4 pound Pomeranian dog 
