My husband walks in this neighborhood every day, as do many neighbors. I told DH he needs to carry mace, pepper spray, or something else when he walks. He has a sense of security because the subdivision is pretty upscale where people contain their dogs. Also, some have those invisible fences for their dogs. But they can fail. Strays could come in.
It’s nuts to walk alone considering the possibilities. And a couple days of watching true crime can be a real eye opener. How many bad outcomes are there for lone runners and walkers?
Yes! We must defend ourselves.
I found out from my friend that lost his neighbor, in TN if you are at a public dog park, and one of the pits attacks your dog, you’re not allowed to use your carry-permit gun to shoot the pit bull. You are only allowed to shoot if your own life is in jeopardy (not sure about another person, but that’s probably okay to shoot in that circumstance). So basically you have to get between the pit and whatever dog it’s mauling in order to have legal pretext to shoot.
Pit bulls and “mixes” need to be banned from dog parks (and they are probably, if you interpret “vicious dogs” as posted on most dog park signs at their entrances — but most pit owners don’t think their dogs are “vicious”).
It’s too risky for the public and the other dogs to allow this breed to mingle with the rest of us.