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I have however, read many stories about pitt bulls killing children, adults and other animals. Any thinking human should be able to put this puzzle together.

You are correct, but not in the way you think. Pit Bulls are different from other dogs. They are very big, tough, agressive, TERRIERS. That means they are working dogs. They need a job. They are not "pets." In my area, bulldogs rarely live "inside."

That being said, I personally know the owners of literally hundreds of these animals. Incidences such as you read about are vanishingly small, but these dogs are family "pets" in the same way horses are pets.

Labs? ROTFLOL! They are the sweetest puppies! Cocker Spaniels, I don’t know about...

I babysat a mixed pitbull. I ended up putting her in bed with me, mainly because of the potty training problem. She got up, I grabbed her by the collar and ran her out the back door. Then her owner got her back :(

That was a good dog. She was sweet, but boneheaded. She’d climb up on my lap, and snore. I miss her and her girl puppy. We tried to keep one of the inbred pups, and he went after my little girl’s leg. He also chewed up furniture belonging to my grandma. He was sold, along with the other inbred pups.

Imo, mistreating an animal is about 1/16th of an inch past mistreating a child. That includes not spaying or neutering your animal.

I understand what you're saying, and appreciate your reasonable tone.

I want to point out that the worst elements of our society don't keep Labs and Cockers for fighting and/or ridiculous status symbols of "toughness". Labs and cockers are also not subjected (by the same sort of people) to abuse, starvation, neglect, and flat out torture to make them vicious.

I'm not remotely denying news stories about them killing or maiming people. Given some of the irresponsible owners out there, I'm surprised that it's not worse.

I will point out however, that our media culture has it's "if it bleeds, it leads" mentality, and pit bulls are always a hot topic. Rightly or wrongly, they fit right into the "bogeyman" role and pit bull stories always make for good copy. Keep in mind that the same media that pushes sensational pit bull stories also pushes the hype of man-made global warming as pure, unassailable fact.

I didn't set out to be a pit bull defender on the forum. I just have a decent familiarity with the breed and have been researching them. What I've seen and read doesn't square with the negative image that is portrayed all too often.

Does all of this mean that I want to go out and find the next pit bull walking around my neighborhood and give it a great big kiss? Certainly not. I don't know anything about its breeding or upbringing. I just don't believe that the dog type is at fault. If breed-specific legislation bans pit bulls and similar dogs, I believe that the same thugs who currently have pit bulls will simply adapt and change to another powerful dog breed.

Thanks for your time.

I've come close to being attacked by stray/leashless dogs, and while I believe dog attacks are survivable without a firearm, I'm not confident I'd come out without getting bit. Also, if you end up having to kill a dog in self-defense, if you can't show that you, your companion, or your dogs got bit before resorting to lethal force, I believe you are more likely to face criminal charges or a civil suit.

I Have never seen a story about a Labrador retriever or a cocker spaniel, ripping anyone up. I have however, read many stories about pit bulls killing children, adults and other animals. Any thinking human should be able to put this puzzle together.

I've read about several cases of kids being killed by a lab, or even a cocker spaniel. The thing to remember is that "pit bull" is like "assault rifle", the media will classify any threatening looking dog as a "pit bull". The other issue is that people who want a "tough" dog that they can train to fight/protect go out of their way to get themselves a "pit bull" type dog and train it to be vicious. I've been out walking a rat terrier, pug, or even a Chinese shar pei and had people say "Hey, is your pit bull going to attack me?" Makes me want to get a Savannah cat and walk him on a leash, just to shut people up.

I Have never seen a story about a labador retriever or a cocker spaniel, ripping anyone up.

Really? Well here's a story you must have missed:
Isabelle Dinoire received the world's first partial face transplant. Dinoire was severely disfigured in May 2005 by her pet Labrador. In November 2005, surgeons grafted the lips, nose and chin of a brain-dead woman onto her face.

You don't read much about these stories because the media decided yrs ago that "pitbull" scare stories hooked readers by praying upon their fears...you'll notice that we don't have posters here scouring the net looking for Labs attacking children stories, but we do have posters who are always seeking out "Pitbull Attacks!" articles and posting them. I suppose they relish the ensuing hysteria.