[Shermy]

Local Child Attacked By Pit Bull

Child Mauled To Death By Pit Bulls

Family Leads Push To Ban Pit Bulls In Michigan

(FR thread)Brooklyn(Md) infant is killed in home by family pit bull

Wild Pit Bull Breaks Into Home, Attacks Family

Pit Bulls Banned -- Again -- In Cincinnati

4 Pit Bulls Maul FPL Meter Reader

Girl Mauled By Dog Released From Hospital (Pit Bull of course)

Pit Bulls Attack Small Dog, Man Kills Dogs (with .45 ACP)

3-Year-Old Mauled By 2 Pit Bulls - Girl Remains In Intensive Care Unit

Grandmother mauled to death by family's pit bulls

[EggsAckley]

How is it that the dog GOT rabies? No vaccinations? And why? Sounds like a bunch of lazy hillbillies to me.

[wideawake]

This is simply not a breed which makes for a household pet.

[mhking]

Royal Marshall on WSB this morning had a great analogy. "If you had a gun that had a habit of going off out of the blue and firing by itself, into tables, walls, people, whatever was in the way, you'd get rid of that gun, wouldn't you? What's the difference when it comes to a breed of dog that goes off out of the blue?"

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[MineralMan]

Rabies vaccine for dogs? What a novel idea! Pity this guy didn't bother to vaccinate his dog. But maybe that's part of the whole pit bull community. Don't castrate the males. Don't vaccinate against rabies. Don't bother to get a license for your dog. Teach it to be mean as heck. Feh!

[Cobra64]

That's when a .38/.357 with snake shot comes in handy.

[Choose Ye This Day]

I call for pit bull control.

Seriesly, I can't stand these animals. With so many other beautiful, well-behaved breeds out there, why people would choose to have these often-vicious brutes is beyond me.

But, it's a free country. (I think.)

[Billthedrill]

Yipes - I have a term for people who strangle pit bulls.

"Sir."

[I still care]

This is an interesting article from a website on pitbull aggression.

http://www.realpitbull.com/agg.html

I have personally witnessed this, the dog is friendly, loving, and sweet, to people, and the moment they see another dog they try to kill it. To do the dog justice, it was removed from a fighting home.

[Born Conservative]

The puppy that wasn't known to be aggressive suddenly turned violent last week. The dog bit or scratched four adults and two children in an Indian Trail neighborhood and was later found to be rabid.

Sudden aggression and violence are classic signs of Rabies. I think the key points are 1. Why was the dog not vaccinated?(I forget what age the 1st rabies vaccine is given; maybe it's after 6 months of age?) and 2. How did the dog get rabies (was it loose and caught it from a wild animal? did it get bit by a rabid bat inside the house?).

I believe that generally a dog will behave based on how it was trained. I've seen Rottweilers that were big "pussycats", and chihuahauas (sp?) that would rip your face off if they were only large enough to do so. We don't know whether this Pit Bull was trained to be vicious, we only know that it was behaving consistent with the symptoms of rabies.

Everyone has different likes and dislikes with certain breeds; myself-I'll stick with my Springer Spaniels.

[joesnuffy]

Take some time and read up on the history of the bully breeds in the US (the days of Boone & Crockett)

Their frontier history makes for interesting reading is ...they were THE dog of the frontier
without them we would have had difficult if not impossible time settling America

They were pioneers first defense against bears, wolves, big cats and Indians bent on ravaging the farm and the women and children..

Not to mention that the rugged cattle back then were capable of taking on bears, wolves and big cats...and it was the bully breeds that were able to take down bulls that went rogue...

Amazing animals...that saved many early Americans lives and property back in those days...

They have to be socialized at an early age...and worked with daily...you cannot chain them up and leave them alone day after day...they need to be with their people..if they are they are and can be great dogs...

And great representatives of early Americana...imo

When dogs attack kids...they must be put down...end of story...

[Conservababe]

Rabies shots are no longer painful nor prolonged in treatment regimen. This is outdated information from the time that rabies shots had to be given in the abdomen.

[auntdot]

Know a guy who many years ago purchased some super pure bread Rottweiler from Germany for ten grand, yep, ten grand.

He has been breeding them ever since. And apparently has made money on the venture.

Not too long ago he offered me one of his dogs who happened to eat a small dog of another breed for reasons unknown. He did not want to give away the dog, but his wife insisted.

He told me the Rott was a really nice dog, the little pooch just annoyed him.

Some people just don't get it.

[jmc813]

Hi Cathryn. There are few FR topics that get more heated than WOD threads. Pit bull articles are one of them.

[annyokie]

Wow! Thanks for all the links!

[ModernDayCato]

I don't post on Free Republic anymore between the Bushbots and the Moderators, but I couldn't break the tradition of posting to alarmist 'kill all the pit bulls' threads.

Meet Pooh:

Staffordshire Terriers (Pit Bull isn't even a breed, but that's another story) are by far the nicest, most intelligent and responsive dogs I've ever run across. That's why they can be trained so easily by morons.

[vetvetdoug]

This dog was unvaccinated. The most likely dogs to NOT be vaccinated are the dogs that are the most likely to come into contact with wildlife and stray dogs, ie. hunting dogs. In rural Ms, Tn, and Alabama I would bet there are fewer than 10% of the hunting dogs that are vaccinated properly against rabies. The beagles, coonhounds, birddogs, plothounds, red bone, and Walker hounds that I see are rarely vaccinated against rabies and the redneck owners refuse the vaccines. The animal control officers and other law enforcement officers rarely even take the time to cite one that is not in compliance with animal control laws.

It is not the pit bull that is the problem, it is the owner. The breed, when properly raised and handled, is no more dangerous than any other large breed dog.

The owner should be prosecuted because of his/her failure to vaccinate the dog and thereby jeopardize the health and safety of their children and neighbors.

[sandydipper]

Had a pit bull named Trooper - we'll always remember him as a fun loving watch dog that would chew the tires off a bad guys car but loved the kids and the neighbors.

Another plus - he hated cats.

[RichardW]

I'm a dog lover but I draw the line at pit bulls. I once had one come after me and I was never so scared in my life. And I'm 6'6" and 260 pounds. All the rest of the breeds seem positively sweet compared to these monsters. If it were up to me the breed would be exterminated.

[Delbert]

Dog of Peace Bump!

[Mr. Mojo]

Choking a rabid Pit? Damn. How about using a gun, or even a knife?