The danger of the pit bull is one of my pet (no pun intended) peeves.
I don't care how nice and playful the animal may be. The fact remains that the dog's jaws, by direct breeding design, are the most dangerous out there among dogs. Without even intending it a pit bull or mixed-pit bull can break an arm or leg; crush the skull of an infant and maim or disfigure a child or an adult for life. I'd never own one and if one came into my possession, I'd put it down without hesitation - even it it were a nice and playful cutie.
Here's some stats for 2012 from DogsBite.org:
2012 statistics Dog Attack Statistics:
38 U.S. fatal dog attacks occurred in 2012.2 Despite being regulated in Military Housing areas and over 600 U.S. cities, pit bulls contributed to 61% (23) of these deaths. Pit bulls make up less than 5% of the total U.S. dog population.
Together, pit bulls (23) and rottweilers (3), the second most lethal dog breed, accounted for 68% of all fatal attacks in 2012. In the 8-year period from 2005 to 2012, this combination accounted for 73% (183) of the total recorded deaths (251).
The breakdown between pit bulls and rottweilers is substantial over this 8-year period. From 2005 to 2012, pit bulls killed 151 Americans, about one citizen every 19 days, versus rottweilers, which killed 32, about one citizen every 91 days.
Annual data from 2012 shows that 50% (19) of the victims were adults, 21-years and older, and the other half were children, ages 8-years and younger. Of the total children killed by dogs in 2012, 79% (15) were ages 2-years and younger.
Annual data also shows that males were more often victims, 61% (23), than females. The majority of male victims, 61% (14), were ages 8-years and younger. Of the total female victims, only 33% (5) fell into this same age group.
In 2012, roughly one-third, 32% (12), of all dog bite fatality victims were either visiting or living temporarily with the dog's owner when the fatal attack occurred. Children 8-years and younger accounted for 75% (9) of these deaths.
34% (13) of all fatalities in 2012 involved more than one dog; 13% (5) involved breeding on the dog owner's property either actively or in the recent past, and 5% (2) involved tethered dogs, down from 6% in 2011, 9% in 2010 and 19% in 2009.
In 2012, dogs referred to as a "rescue" accounted for at least 13% (5) attacks that resulted in death. Children suffered the brunt of these attacks with 3 deaths. The adults afflicted,
2 adult females, were killed by their own pack of "rescued" dogs.5
Dog ownership information for 2012 shows that family dogs comprised 58% (22) of all fatal occurrences; 82% (31) of all incidents occurred on the dog owner's property and 18% (7) resulted in criminal charges, down from 29% in 2011.6
California and North Carolina led fatalities in 2012, each with 4 deaths. 75% of the California deaths occurred in San Diego County. Pit bull-type dogs accounted for 88% (7) of the 8 deaths. New Mexico, Ohio and Texas followed, each with 3 deaths.
And this graph from the same website puts this clearly into perspective:
The stats, and especially the graph, should leave no doubt that the pit bull is the most lethal dog breed in the U.S.A.
This all the more reinforces my nickname for this type of dog: The Walking Gun and - like the AR-15 Assault Rifle - should be banned.
“Ego delustro sic non tu poteris nutu”.
I disabuse so you can’t snooze.
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