Greetings and Salutations....

On Sat, 2 Oct 2004 10:18:37 -0500, "Swingman" wrote:

*snip*

I am generally of a live and let live philosophy on most issues, but to me
there is no reason a sane individual would own one of these dogs,
particularly in an urban environment. They are anti-social assault weapons,
and no other animal, child, or human is ultimately safe around one, except
for the owner.

I have to take some issue with this, as it is exactly like
saying all African-Americans are shiftless, promiscuous drug dealers.
Here is a fairly good look at the breed and its characteristics
http://www.rescueeverydog.org/pitbull_breed.html
The bottom line is that with pit bulls, as well as every other
breed of dog, the behavior of the dog is directly related to the
training given it by the owner. If the owner trains it to promote
its aggressive tendencies, then, it will be aggressive. If it is
trained to attack...it will attack. On the other hand, if the owner
has treated the dog with love and promoted its friendlier side, then
it will not endanger any human.
Now...as the above points out, they WERE bred for fighting,
whichs means that they WILL have a tendency (hard to overcome) to
fight with other DOGS. However, again, with proper training, it
is possible to overcome this, so the pit bull will not automatically
attack on sight...but...it does require training.
Of course, I do realise that dogs, being living creatures,
come in QUITE a range of personalities, so, I am sure there are some
Pit Bulls that are so filled with aggression that they cannot be
brought to heel without constant supervision. In that case, either
the owner has to understand and take on that responsibility, or have
the dog put down.

To let one run loose in an urban situation, even accidentally, is akin to
assault with a deadly weapon and should be treated as such.

I agree with the first part of this sentence, although I
strongly disagree with the last part. Actually, that is one reason
I have not owned a dog for the past 20 years. The area just got too
grown up to allow the creatures the sort of life that they need.
While there are a number of breeds that do well in "indoor only"
settings, the larger dogs that I preferred really need to be able
to roam. The more folks packed into the area, the more chance
that the dog will run across someone whose irrational fear will
cause problems...so...no dogs.
THe bottom line for me is that it is a bad thing to
label ANY breed of dog as "evil". The behavior of ANY dog
completely depends on the training and level of attention
that the owner gives to the dog.
Regards
Dave Mundt