A neighbor up the street has a pit bill that he puts out on a cable sometimes. The dog is massive and wears a spiked collar.
Its quite obvious the owner knows his dog is dangerous and likes it.
But if the dog attacks someone he will be described as a loveable teddy bear, a service dog, a nanny dog etc. People will post pictures of the dog licking their child’s face.
I had a young friend who found a pit bull dumped in the countryside. During the 3 weeks he had that dog it escaped every fence he tried, even chewed up wire fencing until a piece of wire stabbed up through the cheek of the dog. This did not deter the dog. The dog’s vet required $500 to treat the wounds - the 25 year old man had to beg and borrow the money to get the dog treated. After that, he gave up fencing the dog; he let the dog run free rather than fence it knowing it would hurt itself if need be to get out again.
I really worried that this unknown dog could harm visitors or pets - no one knew the animal and the breed has instincts that don’t make sense (chewing up metal fencing?) and lethal, unpredictable fight capabilities. I was relieved for my friend when the dog ran away. He was heartbroken but he was a good man and if “his” dog had hurt anyone, how could he at 25 years of age afford to pay for the damages and worse, how could he live with himself? He was a good guy who meant well but I didn’t want to see a young man saddled with liability and guilt based on what kind of day that dog was having. Yet - out there in the countryside a dog inclined to chew through metal fencing roams free.
Many pit bull owners use their animals to intimidate their neighbors.