A Letter Sent To a Newspaper (in VA I Think)

The writer remained anonymous, but his ignorance can't be ignored! People like these cause people like us to suffer!



You strut along the road with your four-legged magnum by your side.

Leashed, thank goodness.

But menacing nonetheless.

Your pit bull - complete with studded collar - does not impress.

It does not scream macho or gangsta.

All it says is "I'm stubborn enough to own a dog that is inclined to attack and sometimes requires a pry bar because its jaws lock so tight on its prey. I can't afford homeowners insurance because of this risky dog. No neighborhood will allow me in. And I owe thousands in animal-control fines."

That is how pit bull owners should be perceived.

Unfortunately, it's quite the opposite.

Pit bulls were already glorified by rappers. Now the suspicion that Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is a heavyweight in the dog fighting world and possibly linked to as many as 55 pit bulls found at his home only fuels the cool dog perception.

Watch pit bull breeders cash in on No. 7.

Despite the deadly costs.

Of course, not all pit bull breeders and owners are involved in dog fighting. But even those of you that aren't need to realize what kind of risk you're taking by having this breed in your home.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a 3-year-old boy was mauled to death on Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah.

Few details have been publicized because the Army is less than forthcoming about the case to the Savannah Morning News.

What is known is a pit bull, pit bull mixed breed and a small terrier breed were seen standing over the toddler.

Chances are the response from pit bull defenders will be: "Blame the deed, not the breed." And "Don't condemn a dog for what's usually the fault of the owner. You're looking at the wrong end of the leash.''

Or "It's the fault of the kid's mom for not teaching him to stay away from unfamiliar dogs.''

With all those excuses, what you fail to realize is a child died a terrible death, one of the worst imaginable.

Pit-bull breeders and owners, stop breeding and buying these animals.

Having a certain type of pet is not worth jeopardizing other lives.

Just look at this mere sampling of pit-bull attacks nationwide in May.

In Missouri, a grandfather pulled a neighbor's pit bull off his screaming granddaughter. An Alabama 7-year-old suffered bite wounds on his left shoulder and bicep from a neighbor's pit bull.

An Ohio couple taking their 2-year-old daughter for walk in a stroller witnessed a neighbor's pit bull go straight for the little girl's face, biting her there several times.

After a pit bull nearly took an Indiana girl's arm off, the Indianapolis mayor called for countywide pit bull ban.

Why breed such a dog? Why put children at such risk?

Cody Fox was 11 when he was mauled by pit bulls in 1998 in central Northern California. Unlike the toddler at Hunter, Cody survived. His ear and arm were partially torn off.

I was working at a newspaper in Redding at the time of the attack and interviewed Cody and his mom.

The dogs dragged him to the ground as Cody walked near his home in rural Tehama County.

The district attorney successfully rallied, with support of the community, for statewide dog-attack legislation. It allows prosecutors to charge dog owners with a misdemeanor or a felony if their animal attacks someone, depending on the severity of the injury and whether the owner knew the dog had a propensity for violence.

The legislation became known as Cody's Law.

If only a similar outcry will be voiced here to make breeding and owning pit bulls as difficult as possible, both financially and socially.

Banning the breed won't work. Determining a dog's breed with certainty is too difficult and a strain on already tightly-stretched animal control.

Instead, neighbors need to report vicious dogs and abusive or neglectful owners and demand compliance to fencing and leash laws. Problem behaviors of dogs and owners often precede attacks and could trigger preemptive steps.

You pit bull breeders and owners should face hefty fines and jail time when your dog attacks as well as high home or renters' insurance rates just for owning such animals.

Without action, other pit bulls will attack.

Next time it could be yours.

If you encounter a vicious dog or experience a vicious dog attack, call 911. A police report is required. Your police department will then determine if Animal Control needs to be notified

Wow...can anyone say stereotype...I don't disagree that there needs to be enforcement of dangerous dogs, HA dogs are not acceptable. BUT, to say all pitbull type dogs are dangerous is absurd. The dogs that have attacked humans, were they pitbulls or was this the name that was given to them because they didn't really know what they were. Were they mixed dogs that you really couldn't tell what they were? I have been bite my 2 dogs in my lifetime, a chihuahua and a weiney dog. Should these dogs be banned? Of course not. But they should have been properly restrained as to not chase little kids down the street to attack them.
Do these people really think putting a ban on these dogs is going to prevent attacks, I don't think so. I would be curious to see the statistics for cities tat have put a ban on them, do they still have dog bites? I bet they do.
Leash laws and confinement laws should absolutely be in place and enforced, but that goes for ALL animals. Sorry about the rambling, this is just a very hot topic for me

I read at Understand-a-bull.com (I think that's where it was I'll find it and post it in a few) that Austrailia banned them in 89...and their dog attacks haven't went down at all...and I know Miami (banned in 89 also) hasn't had a reduction in dog bites either!

That is exactly what I thought...