A small percentage of people who own and breed the dogs abuse them to make them ferocious attack dogs and fighting dogs. They choose Pit Bulls because of their strenght and tenacity. Most people who own the dogs are regular people. These criminals combined with the medias distortions are responsible for the breeds reputation. They were the most commonly owned breed of sog in the 1920s America.
I'd like to see the stats on that one. I have a very hard time believing that "most" pit bull owners are "regular people." I never see any regular people with these dogs on the news, even the ones who haven't attacked (yet).
Perhaps a middle ground would be to ban these dogs from urban and suburban areas. We don't allow pigs and sheep to wallow in city streets, and they haven't mauled any children.
I would disagree with you that people that own pitbulls are normal. There is plenty on record to indicate that it's not just "people who've turned pitbulls into ferocious attack dogs and fighting dogs" that have problems with them.
IMO, if you own a pitbull, you should have to sign some sort of statement indicating that you're fully and personally responsible for anything that the dog does. Anything!
IMO it's reprehensible and remiss to own a pitbull. There are thousands of other dog breeds to buy that can offer security and other things important.
The ONLY folks in my 'hood--downtown Lansing--who own pit bulls are criminals. Not a single family around here owns a pit--just the single guys who hang out on the street corners from 4pm until the wee hours of the morning, selling their dope, roping in johns for their "girls."
Detroit Animal Control has the right idea about how to deal with the breed. I sure wish Ingham County would take a page from their book.