I wonder about having pit bulls!!!

[JayMcGee]

Here in the UK, pit-bulls are recognised as being one of the most dangerous breeds of dog. There have been many, widely publicised, incidents like those that have been recounted here. So much so, that any parent who undertakes to owning a pit-bull after the birth of their child would be looked at very closely by social services.

[Pangloss62]

Some good friends of mine, already with two dogs, once noticed that the "family" next door had the penchant for keeping their pit bull mix chained to a metal post on their front yard; to them (my friends) it seemed almost an aesthetic thing since the neighborhood was pretty nice and rental homes were going the way of the Dodo. There was no real security reason for having a pit bull hangin out on your front yard with a big heavy chain. Now, don't jump down my throat when I say this, but yes, this "family" in question was Black; Iwill state without any shame on my part that Blacks in Atlanta find pit bulls among their dogs of choice. The problem with this "family" is that they pretty much just kept that dog on that chain and collar and that was it. The dog just lived this life on a chain.

My friends were kinda concerned for the happiness of the dog, and actually confronted (in a nice way) the neighbors about whether they could take the dog for an actual walk and such. The neighbors were kinda "Whatever" and let them take the dog for a walk. My friends noticed that these people never let out the collar to compensate for the growth of the dog; it was choking to death. Over about a month my friends slowly "adopted" the dog through mere atttention to it. The "family" eventually left. The landlord of the furnished house came to my friends and asked if they had seen the "family." It turns out they took all the furniture and just took off to likely less greener pastures.

This dog, named Buddy, is by far the most friendly dog I have ever met. He is just filled with love and affection, despite his past. But when you play with him, if you do the roughhouse thing, he starts a' growlin and drooling and you can see he might have the potential to hurt you or someone else. But in my mind, it's only potential, and if you treat the dog right, you get nothing but love in return. He remains my favorite dog I've ever met.

[chrisinhouston]

Northwest Harris County horse may die after dog attack


By KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A veterinarian said a miniature horse attacked by at least one pit bull dog early today could die from multiple bites.

"They almost killed him," said Crosby veterinarian Dr. James Hofmann, told a Chronicle photographer after the owner of a dog that attacked the 30-inch-tall horse around 3 a.m. brought the horse to Hofmann's clinic.

Hofmann said the horse suffered severe leg wounds and bites to its snout, among other injuries. It was too early to tell whether the horse would survive, Hofmann said.

The man who brought the horse to Hofmann refused to identify himself in a telephone interview from the clinic.

But he maintained that only one of two dogs he owns attacked the horse, which was tied to a tree at a small trailer park near the business where the dogs are penned up in the daytime but free to roam the property as guard dogs at night.

The man maintained that dogs owned by other neighbors were loose in the night and joined in the attack on the horse.

It was unclear whether Harris County animal control officers had taken the man's two dogs, one a pit bull and the other a mastiff, into custody by early afternoon.

"I'm taking care of the horse," the dog owner said. "I brought it to the doctor. The owner of the horse didn't want to do anything."

The man said he did not know the name of the horse's owner.

In another incident, sheriff's department spokesman Lt. John Martin said deputies on Tuesday were called to the 17300 block of Bamwoodin North Harris County at 5:34 p.m. to investigate a pit bull attack on a girl who entered the fenced yard of the dog's owner.

The girl, who is eight or nine years old, was taken to an area hospital by ambulance for treatment, Martin said.

Colleen Hodges, spokeswoman for Harris County's Veterinary Public Health division, said the dog involved is in custody at the society's shelter. She said the owners were considering having the dog euthanized because of the attack. But, because the dog was properly secured and the girl entered the owners' yard before the attack, the owners could choose to take the dog home after a 10-day quarantine, Hodges said.

The identities of the girl and the pit bull's owners as well as the nature of the girl's injuries could not be released because of privacy laws, Hodges said.

[xoxoxoBruce]

There is a question in my mind about gnawing on the kid for an hour. I Think it's more likely the four toes went in one bite...quite easy for that, or any, dog, approaching from the side. An hour of gnawing would cause massive blood loss, and probably death.

The Pit Bull breeders know their market, and too many of them are striving to build a reputation for breeding the baddest, meanest, most vicious dogs on the planet, because the demand is there. The breeders striving to breed gentle dogs are behind the eight ball, because many of their potential customers are scared off by the headlines and animosity.