where the dogs we not really pit bulls?
Or is it the case where loving playful pit bulls killed the little girl?

Any dog that attacks a person is automatically labeled a pit bull by the media. A dog in my neighborhood bit a child and animal control called it a pit bull. I knew that dog and it was no more a pit bull than my Chihuahua.

owners" thread. Getting used to the Pit Bull apologists here; except that most of them are on "ignore" now, because their rhetoric is ridiculous. I don't want to see PB's put to sleep...I want to see them spay, neutered, and legislated out of existance.

... and her grandmother having to watch. Just horrible.

Were these strays, or did they just have absurdly negligent owners?

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=9044088

I'd want to kill myself. Oh my gosh. That is so awful! SEVEN DOGS? Were those her dogs? Poor baby girl!!!!!!!

they did something wrong, behaved some way that EVERYONE knows you're not supposed to behave around dogs. For example not having your face too close to theirs.

My response is, what if someone doesn't know the rules? For example, if they haven't even turned two years old?

... the gentle loving "Nanny Dog" breed at it's shining best.

again.

Yes, pit bulls have a relatively strong bite compared to other breeds, but you set loose a bunch of golden retrievers and let them run in a pack, and bad things will happen.

Very few people can handle that many large dogs in a home setting.

of any type with a two year old & I adult is a bad idea.

attack its easier for them to hurt people. Pitbulls get a bad rap for this, but I've seen it with other large breeds too. A lot of people want a watchdog more than a companion dog, and encourage violence in their dogs. Its not a breeding thing, its the way the owners intertact with the dogs.

All the pitties I've ever seen have been goofy, lazy, fun loving dogs. My friends have a pitbull, a schnauzer, and a chihuahua, and the schnauzer is the "leader of the pack". Their pitbull is the lowest dog. Its gentle when playing with the smaller dogs.

The most vicious dog I've ever seen was my grandma's toy poodle. She'd give it a 6" long piece of some kind of "slim Jim" like dog treat and it was so protective of the treat it would bite anyone that got near it. It was the sweetest dog when it didn't have a treat. But the things were so big it took it a week to eat one, and as soon as it finished one it got another one. That dog bit me two or 3 times a week for 5 or 6 years. Of course its little teeth couldn't even break the skin, but still.

Most here have a fanatical hatred of this particular breed. I'm not a fan of them either, but it's not all consuming.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_dog_attacks_in_the_United_States

Fatalities reported in 2013. This is a repeat of a post of mine from two days ago, with the addition of one more attack:

January 8, Pit bull, Betty Ann Chapman Todd, 65 years
Emergency Medical Technicians found the victim with dog bites to neck, head, and face, and could not revive her. According to the owners, the victim had visited the house on several occasions and the dog had never shown aggressiveness towards her.

January 19, Pit bull, Christian Gormanous, 4 years
Climbed over a fence and got too close to the neighbor's tethered dog.

February 8, Pit bull, Elsie Grace, 91 years
Killed in her motel room by her own two dogs.

February 16, Pit bull, Isaiah Aguilar, 2 years
Killed in a neighbor's yard by a dog tied up in the yard.

March 2, Pit bull, Ryan Maxwell, 7 years
Killed in the back yard of a home he was visiting.

March 6, Pit bull, Daxton Borchardt, 14 Months
Killed by his babysitter's two dogs at the babysitter's residence. The babysitter was also injured but survived.

March 27, Pit bull & Pit bull-mix (7), "Jane Doe", 21 months
Killed by her family's dogs. Two non-pit bull dogs did not attack and were spared by authorities.

Every fatal dog attack so far this year have been by pit bulls. These are just the fatal attacks.

Yes, it is all pits, but look at the circumstances and think of how many Pit Bulls there are in the US and you're not even including all the details.. on the first one, the dog had already shown aggression and killed a Husky, 2 mentioned were killed by dogs that were tied up in someone else's yard, which is a dangerous situation for any breed. This most recent was 7 dogs, 7. Dogs are pack animals. Any breed will be dangerous if kept in a pack like this and any large breed can kill once they are aggressive. Pit Bulls suffer some of the worst abuse of any other breed.

Think of Gypsy, who even after being left on the side of the road to die never hurt a single person: http://petopitbulls.blogspot.com/2009/08/gypsy-most-beautiful-dog-in-world.html.

And how about the fact that Pit Bulls are one of the least likely breeds to bite? Remember the Little Rascals? That was a Pit Bull. Any animal and any breed has the capability of becoming dangerous, just as any person can. It is not breed specific.

http://gprime.net/flash.php/thepitbullproblem

Also, just for the record, I wouldn't take information found on Wikipedia too seriously since it is not always accurate and can be modified by anyone. How many Pit Bulls have you known and how many of them have killed or even bitten someone?

The National Canine Research Defense helps educate the public to prevent dog bites and dog attacks. Pit Bulls are not the first, and surely will not be the last breed to be vilified: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/uploaded_files/publications/230603563_Pit%20Bull%20Placebo.pdf

Welcome to DU! It's great to have you with us!

If you're another animal lover (as most of us here are), you might be interested in this forum:

Pets
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1161

Why am I not surprised? I knew a guy who had a pit bull puppy. The puppy bit a stick, and the man would swing him around. That little puppy had such powerful jaws it could be swung in circles for long periods and not let go.

That whole breed is made to kill. Unfit to be around children.