Why don't you count up the number of fatal Lab and Golden Retriever attacks for any given year and compare that with the number of fatal pit bull attacks?
We had a wonderful black lab when my son was small - followed him everywhere. One day my son fell in a hole and couldn’t get out but was able to extend part of his hand far enough in the air and Lady grabbed hold of it and literally pulled him out. His hand did have some teeth marks but we were so thankful for that dog’s action.
“Why don’t you count up the number of fatal Lab and Golden Retriever attacks for any given year and compare that with the number of fatal pit bull attacks?”
Why don’t you count up the number of labs and goldens that are bought under the assumption that they be guard dogs or fighting dogs. Then from those, count the number that are chained their whole lives, beaten and prodded to bring out aggression, or generally neglected basic socialization and training. A different kind of owner makes a different kind of dog.
Perhaps you weren’t aware that bloodhounds used to be considered the most vicious dog in the late 1800s. This occurred after a certain type of people saw a popular play using bloodhounds as vicious mankillers, and the demand for such a dog began to grow.
For the record, the total average number of fatalities has not grown since pit bulls became popular. The average grows every few years by a few deaths to account for the growing population of both dogs and humans. Before pit bulls were popular, there were other breeds that took the number one spot, and they always were the most popular tough dogs. Take pit bulls out of the picture, and see that people still die every year in the same numbers. Places that have banned pit bulls have seen zero relief from dog attacks, even serious ones. The UK has even had an increase in dog attacks since their ban. Several countries have repealed their bans on pit bulls in favor of responsible ownership laws, after admitting the breed was never the real issue, as was proven by attacks when they weren’t around.
Being able to put the blame on a breed of dog has taken it off the owners, which are ultimately responsible for what their dogs do. Nevermind that 19 people died last year from dogs that were not pit bulls, let’s just get rid of pit bulls anyway and call it a day. That will make us so much safer. Even though the death toll will stay the same because other dogs will be replacing the ones banned, the owners get to stay and mess the new dogs up too, which is why places that have banned them have seen no relief. But as long as we aren’t having any pit bull attacks, we must be safer.