Reader comments
New lives for pit bulls

"...most dogs improve with traing..." it the others that will kill and you can't tell by looking or by past behavior. Get rid of the breed. All pitbulls should be spayed or neutered. No one should be allowed to breed pitbull.

I posted a comment earlier, but it was never published. I applaud this story on pit bulls. I am an owner of a 9 month old pit bull named Tito, and he's the kindest, most obedient dog you have ever met. All the kids in our neighborhood love him!! and i would trust him around anyone. You cannot say that all pit bulls are bad. It's the people and not the breed. They only long to please you and be with you!! They need to be exercised daily, like any dog owner should be doing in the first place. Place an un exercised animal in your back yard and ignore it and it will become aggressive at some point. People need to do the research before they get a dog and know what its specific needs are!! I did and am so happy with my dog.

It is the humans that are supposed to love and protect these innocent and defenseless animals, that need to be 'trained'. They get a big dog, chain him up in the back yard, and condemn the dog to insanity, loneliness, and abuse. A chained up dog can't protect anything. They are defenseless against other predators, and especially evil humans that torment them. Dogs are very social, and living as a yard ornament, kills them slowly. More often than not they are also victims of severe neglect. There needs to be a uniform federal anti dog fighting law that confiscates all property, and money of convicted dog fighters. Money is the only thing they care about. If drug money can be confiscated, then so should dog fighting money.

With all the wonderful dogs of all breeds available, why do we insist on keeping pit bulls among us. They are, and will always be, unpredictable attackers and killers of humans and other domestic animals.

The reason some pits become vicious I believe is because some of the type of people that just want to have a tough-looking "pit bull" to prove a point about themselves are the same type of people that will neglect it (ie put it on a chain in the yard and not socialize it or give it attention and training). I've seen incredibly friendly well-behaved pit-bulls and I've seen really mean labs. Its all about the owner.

I have had dogs all of my life. Each dog has been a different breed. They have all been great dogs. I can tell you one thing though, it doesn't matter if the dog is big or small, ANY breed of dog can become vicious from abuse & neglect. I have seen it with my own eyes from other peoples dogs. I have seen very vicious Chihuahuas, and also well behaved & loving Pit Bulls. Those of you commenting that it's just Pit Bulls that are vicious are so misinformed it's sad. "mrs.dibbs" is right. Do your research before you buy ANY animal to see what they require in order to grow up happy & healthy. If you are not prepared to provide those specific requirements, then don't get that animal! And if you think you know it all & get that animal anyway but don't provide the things it requires, then don't be surprised when you end up with an animal that doesn't act/behave the way it should.

Doug and Geedub: Should we get rid of other breeds that have had issues too? Like the Chihuahua, German Shepherd, Poodle, Chow, and the HUNDREDS of other breeds that statistics prove have a higher incidence of biting? Do your homework before joining the genocide-parade. Better yet, maybe we should just ban uneducated people from breeding?