A violent dog can be as deadly as a loaded gun, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday - and the dog can get you in just as much trouble with the law if you misuse it. The pit bull that a Vancouver man ordered to attack a police officer last year counts as a "deadly weapon" under Washington law, Judge David Armstrong found, and can justify a harsher sentence in an assault. It could be an especially important ruling for owners of pit bulls, a mixed breed whose surging popularity since the mid-1990s has led many puppies to be...