You won’t find me constantly defending or constantly attacking police officers who shoot dogs (or anything else). It takes a rather mindless person to fall into either of those categorical traps. But can we be a little more careful here and say this animal was an “alleged” pitbull? An animal that has been unscrupulously bred and trained to become (or abused into becoming) aggressive, vicious, a fighting dog, etc., is not representative of the breed. A hellhound can be produced from any breed. It doesn’t mean the entire breed is bad.
Your response contains false dogma (no pun). The photos show dogs that look like pit bulls. Pits kill more people every year than all other types of dogs combined. So a pit involved in a mauling is not anomalous and we can’t logically say that it’s behavior is not representative of the breed.
I’ve read too many accounts of people who raise the dogs gently and then are shocked when the dog becomes agressive. This is why SPCA units are stuffed full of pit bulls. Even this article, someone says this specific dog is normally nice. That’s the problem with pits. They are nice until they are not and then someone or someone’s pet can die or be maimed.
The majority of types of dogs bite and release but pits have been bred to hold on - this is a prized trait among pit bull owners and breeders that they call “gameness”. They have physical attributes and behaviors specific to fighting dogs that are not comparable to other dog types. Most types of dogs won’t hold on despite shouting, screaming, baton strikes and gunshots.
“A hellhound can be produced from any breed. It doesnt mean the entire breed is bad.”
That’s propaganda. Pits strip arms off, they get out of their enclosures and go hunting for people. They usually don’t even bark or growl prior to attack (a pit fighting advantage) so I’ve seen videos where people can’t figure out how to respond as a pit bull runs up to them - some people realize that you don’t know if the dog wants to play or will try to kill you until he seizes your face or leg. Pit behavior is comparable to wild animals tamed to receive food from people but still unpredictable and capable of damage comparable to wild animal maulings.
“A hellhound can be produced from any breed. It doesnt mean the entire breed is bad.”
Yes any dog can be vicious. It just so happens the % of pitbull and pitbull mixes have a much higher percentage of vicious dogs.