This will be my only response on this issue, because this is a baseball card forum, and I have no wish to get into a drawn out argument on this issue here. The AVMA is in the minority on the issue of the dangers of the pit bull breed, and their studies are at odds with most others that have been conducted (and no, I'm not going to cite them here - if anyone is interested they're not too hard to find online). For whatever reason, the AVMA is a staunch defender of the breed, and their studies are what pit bull defenders always fall back on - but the AVMA's conclusions are simply not supported by the data, which is that about 2/3 of all deaths from dog attacks in this country are due to pit bulls and pit mixes. This is a fact. The figures for serious dog bite injuries are also skewed heavily towards pit bulls. Because of this, a growing number of jurisdictions in this country are putting restrictions on pit bulls, along with insurance companies, airlines, and even the military, which does not allow soldiers to own pit bulls if they live on base or in military housing. But I guess all of these municipalities and organizations are "uninformed."
The dogs are what they are - they've been bred for hundreds of years for dog fighting, aggressiveness, and lethality - it's in their nature. It's also not their fault - this was instilled in them by humans. And now they've been reintroduced into general ownership - but they simply don't have the same history of domestication as the other common breeds. And that's why these dogs are more prone to be involved in aggressive incidents, despite the environment they've been raised in - it's in their nature - and when these dogs are startled, or feel threatened, or are faced with an out of the ordinary situation, they are much more prone to react in accordance with this nature - which is with viciousness and aggressiveness. And with their strength and strong jaws, they can do much more damage than an ordinary dog can. In short, these are very dangerous animals, and in my opinion, should not be allowed to be owned by anyone.
This breed certainly has its defenders though, and their devotion often borders on fanaticism. I've often wondered about this, as we are just talking about dogs here - but it's been said that you can tell a lot about a person by the type of dog he owns, so I guess it's not surprising that pit bull owners lash out as aggressively as they do when challenged. Just a personal opinion, but I think if "dog people" spent half the time they devote to supporting these animals towards making sure kids don't go to bed hungry at night, this world would truly be a better place.
It would have been interesting to read your "tirade" that you deleted Leon, and the vitriol that you no doubt spewed in my direction. Call me what you like, but if this conversation dissuades just one person from bringing one of these animals into their home, especially if you have kids, or live around kids, then it's worth it. There are several examples of families that have adopted one of these "rescue pits," and have wound up losing a child because of it. Read the Wikipedia page on dog attack fatalities for examples - although fair warning, it makes for some tough reading.
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