Yes, I concur. The people attracted to pits are a part of the problem.

"Animal" people are weird. You got your tiger people, snake people, monkey people, old cat ladies, pit bull dudes..... I'm not sure what it is about a person that attracts them to the animal they want to be identified by, but I'm sure there's a study out there.

In my case I just like dogs and I pick up strays and if I have a spot for them I will keep them. Most of the strays that I see now are pits. When I was younger I never saw pits and now they are everywhere. In truth I prefer a more useful dog like a retriever of some sort but I will take whatever fate sends my way. The only real "Pit" that I have personally owned is the one I have now; he was a starving probably 10 week old puppy when I found him. Prior to him I had a very aggressive American bulldog mix that I got from a member on here as a puppy. She mirrored my personality in that she was murderously hostile to strangers and incredibly loving and loyal to people that she knew. I understood the danger that an animal like her could pose and she was extremely well trained. She felt like an extension of my hand and I swear she could read my thoughts. You don't realize how comforting it is to have something that guards you every moment of every day until it is gone. For 11 years she never left my side and no one could get close to me without her getting between myself and a stranger. It was like being followed by a violent shadow. She was also incredible with children and I didn't find out until later that American bulldogs bond with children like few other dogs. A lot of my clients have children and when myself and Daisy showed up each week the kids would rush outside to play with her and she loved them all.

There's a fairly typical stereotype for a few of those.

Joe Exotic comes to mind.

Think about most of the people that own pits. Many are socio-economically challenged and allows their dogs to run wild and procreate at will (much like their children). Then, they pawn off the puppies to family members who do the same. Couple that with the huge push for 'no-kill' shelters and you have a giant population explosion of these dogs.

You are right I believe. I found a skin and bones nursing mother Pitbull in the Bluffview neighborhood about 15 years ago and she was wandering around trying to find food. She was from an adjacent neighborhood that were all rentals and typical ghettos trash lived in them. I had to go back over several days feeding her until I could find her litter and I took all of them in. All of her puppies and her were adopted by my pool clients and grew into wonderful well-behaved dogs. I got to see them weekly until they all passed from old age and there wasn't a bad one in the bunch and the starving mother was sweet and very submissive. She would rollover if you even gave her a stern look.

Originally, what were pits bred for? I think that pretty much answers the question of their potential for destruction. Add in the fact that a few pits and other dogs get together with no discipline, no fear of humans, and antagonize each other and destructive behavior occurs. No difference than the gangs in big cities or the way the cartels act in Mexico. There has to be fear of a consequence in animals or people for civilized behavior to occur.

Cannot believe this is still going. I abide by SSS

Lost 18 head of registered Boer goats to 3 pit bull looking dogs a few years back and it ended up being pretty costly. I showed up as the event was winding down and killed 2 of the 3 with the other one making an escape. I did not follow the SSS method. I called the police and had them come out and survey the damage. I also took numerous pictures of dead and dying goats and of the dead dogs. I found out who owned the dogs, went to their house and saw dog that escaped. Finally got in touch with dog owners and met them in a public place. Showed them their dogs and they got all hot and bothered about me shooting their dogs, then I showed them all of my dead goats and they calmed down a bit. Took them to small claims court and police could never find them to serve the papers because they split their time between here and Mexico, with more time devoted to Mexico after this event. Ended up being my tough luck, so I am not too impressed with pit bulls or worthless people that use Mexico as a badlands hideout. Probably would have never received any money, but would have enjoyed seeing them squirm.

In 1977, while in college, I was an electric company meter reader. I worked in the fair-sized city of Victoria and the surrounding metro area. I was bit about two or three times but I don't recall ever seeing a dog that we would now call a pit bull. They really started to get more popular later.

This thread has been interesting, and perhaps mildly entertaining in some respects. The fact is, it's okay to have differing opinions.

It sucks what happened to the hunter. I can't even imagine.

i think you are much more apt to be attack by this than a dog

This weeks podcast was about wild dogs going on a killing spree: Wild Dogs

I am sure the high fenced property will be blamed and not the dogs.

yep, when they form a pack they go into a killer frenzies

Even here we have fools who ignore the HORRIFIC statistics that PITS, who are only 7% of the total dog population, yet are responsible for 75% of ALL human maulings and deaths.

How sad that the poor pit is the only breed who is cursed to have bad owners.

Also insurance agents and companies are just heartless and mean to this poor breed!!!

Take a walk in the hood and tell me what dogs you see and the conditions they are kept in and then ask yourself why we have a statistically lopsided problem with that type of dog. The same thing can be said of the residents in the same neighborhoods.

Domestic dogs have been bred for thousands of years to not think for themselves and without responsible ownership they run amok.

Packs vs. Gangs (point well taken)

I have enjoyed this thread, I went back and read the entire Turtle thread, Very Very entertaining. I have seen pits that are as gentle and responsible as lassie. I have been attacked by a pit in Killeen Tx on my own property, I had to slam my front door on its biting face as it tried to come into my home, I called every authority I could. Nothing was done. A 11 year old boy was killed 2 weeks after by a Pit in that neighborhood, I assume it was the same dog. I bought a home in Belton several weeks later. When I was in the country, we shot dogs that came onto our land. We had livestock and all kinds of free-range birds, over 100 of Chickens, Guineas, Geese, turkeys and even a peacock, It was a known thing to do. Most were dumped by people from a nearby city. Farm dogs for the most part knew the rules. Most neighbors understood this fact and taught their dogs to stay on their land. It didn't hurt that most parcels were 160 acres or more. I have seen dogs in packs tear deer apart when the snow was deep or harass them so much it caused death. I know people in Texas that have shot dogs harassing livestock and deer on their property. They bury the collars and tags and let the Coyotes and buzzards take care of the rest. Protecting yourself, your livestock or property should not be a crime. So many people buy puppies or adopt dogs that they have no business owning. Raising a dog is about a 15-year responsibility. Today a lot of people don't seem to have much responsibility for their dogs, their children, their marriages, their community or their country. It is all part of a sad decline. Thank God protecting yourself in Conservative parts of Texas is not a crime. If you go to many liberal cities in Texas, you would be the criminal. PS, we shot red ears in ponds also, heck we shot everything to include mosquitos. Without predators they can overpopulate any water source.

That guy is lucky to have gotten out alive.