oooh! I love it...but I still think it should have his head on a pig's body. Where I used to live (no, not Michigan) was home to a lot of dog fighting (and cock fighting) venues....seeing dogs which have been trained by hanging on chains ....was pretty nasty. And going to the Humane society and see scores of mean, nasty pit bulls (and yes, I know not all pit bulls are nasty, but these were ones which were fighting dog rejects or abandoned) was kind of scary.

Below is an appropriate entry on one of my favorite blogs

Here is a link that might be useful: Cute Overload!

Yup, that is good.

Right now, some state rep or something has been trying to get pit bulls and a few other breeds banned in the state and then last week a 7 year old boy was killed by one of these in his own home - the family pet no less. Not sure how the proposed ban is going.

I don't know if that's the answer or not. I personally despise the breed, but I wish owners were held more responsible for how they raise these creatures. I'm sure they could ban all sorts of breeds, but the folks involved in the dog fighting would just find a way to train chipmunks or something to act nasty.

Are "pit bulls" even a recognized breed? I always thought they were just degenerate bull terriers, a breed I love to pieces.

I think the only actually recognized 'pit bull' is the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Breeders and owners alike need to be more responsible.

Entertainingly, I've only ever been bitten by a miniature schnauzer, collie, and multiple toy dogs. Every rottie, bull terrier, aggressive dog I've ever met was extremely polite...probably because the owners had a brain in their head and threw the problem ones into homes that could handle them or destroyed them.

Stacy

Just came across this in a news story about Vick. This dude (White) who is president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP doesn't think Vick should be banned from the NFL.

"White also said he didn't understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable."

Sure, no prob. Make them eat the dogs they kill.

What does dogfighting have to do with hunting? I think the NAACP really needs to do a better job of picking their fights, but that's a whole different can of worms.

I'm with Stacey, the only "mean" dogs I've ever run across are the toy breeds (my own included), collies and chows. Personally, I think chows are far worse, hands down, than pit bulls. All the rotties and pit bulls I've ever known have been sweethearts.

Banning breeds isn't the answer either. The people who own them will only go underground with privacy fences and avoiding vets. Then you have an even worse problem, seriously, poorly-socialized dogs that are never spayed or neutered and have never had shots, rabies included. Those are far larger public health risks.

I'm not disagreeing about the banning thing, but there's a difference between a dog biting you and a dog ripping out your throat. I haven't heard too many stories about chows or collies killing people or chewing off their faces. It seems when pit bulls decide to attack, they do it in a big way.

I don't see much difference between a habitually biting dog and one that can rip your throat out. With my dogs, even a nip out of irritation isn't tolerated because they're too big and the step to doing major damage isn't very far away.

Here is a link that might be useful: Death by chow.

You're a good dog parent. I've been following the reported dog attacks around here and so far they've all involved pit bulls.

I know, I know we could probably go on forever giving examples of other dog breeds that can be nasty. Any killer purse dogs out there?

Here is a link that might be useful: Kid killed

As for killer purse dogs, the mini schnauzer that bit me ended up leaving me with a gash that needed six stitches. If I'd have been under 100lbs, I might have had a problem.

Toy dogs are evil.

I agree about Chows. My uncle's dog would follow me around growling and nipping even though he had known me for years. But the only dog I was ever bit by was a wire-haired fox terrier.

Never knew a happy, well-socialized dog to bite anyone. Lived, raised and showed Rotties for over 20 years. Before that Dobies. The only time I was ever bitten was by a Collie/Golden mix and a Yorkie Terrier. The Yorkie bite required 6 stiches and the Collie mix bit through my finger, leaving me with a shattered knuckle. Both these dogs lived with little old ladies who never took them out and never had anyone in.

I've volunteered for many years at our local shelter and found pit bulls to be smart, funny and very high energy. Many have issues due to their quality of life. Any breed can be dangerous. Large or small. That lovely Collie-mix could have killed a small child easily.

Back to my plants!

Jane