Some people acquire vicious dogs as kind of an alter ego, Bergan said. Those people are likely to mistreat their animals. The trend is evident by the disproportionate number of these dogs that wind up in Utah animal shelters, he said.

Pit bulls are particularly dangerous because they have been bred as fighters, said Utah Humane Society animal cruelty investigator John Paul Fox. Other dogs, such as poodles, were bred for their looks.

Disparate breeding practices make pit bulls harder to identify, Fox said, making breed-specific laws hard to enforce.

The Humane Society of Utah generally discourages breed-specific laws but encourages vicious-dog ordinances that restrict individual canines, Fox said.

"It's unfair to those dogs and those owners who are good owners and have never become a problem," he said, saying the laws are as inequitable as a hypothetical law that fined drivers of certain models of cars just because similar cars had crashed.

Sandy's vicious dog discussions are coinciding with similar discussions in Provo. Leaders there had considered a breed-specific ordinance but decided instead to tighten laws on all vicious dogs.

Other Utah cities have gone further. North Salt Lake, for example, requires owners of certain dog breeds to keep their dogs either fenced in or muzzled and leashed and take out $100,000 insurance policies.

"That alone is usually enough of a deterrent," said city recorder LaRae Dillingham. The North Salt Lake law restricts the bull terrier, American Staffordshire terrier, pit bull, Tosa, and Shar-Pei.

South Jordan outlaws pit bulls except for those acquired before the ordinances changed. For the remaining dogs, a $50,000 insurance policy is required. Several other Salt Lake County cities have rules for dogs deemed vicious but don't specify breed.

Sandy attorneys are considering adding insurance requirements to the proposed breed-specific ordinances. The City Council has scheduled a short presentation on the issue during its regular July 15 meeting.

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E-mail: rpalmer@desnews.com